COLLEGIATE THEATRICS: University of Evansville's Rachel Woods

Make no mistake about it: Rachel Woods is a remarkable young woman. One of the finest young actresses to come out of Nashville theater - she's performed on such diverse stages as Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Franklin's Pull-Tight Players - she's currently spending a semester abroad at Harlaxton, the University of Evansville's British campus, having new adventures every day and adding to her magical bag of theatrical tricks that will serve her well as her career progresses.

Remember her name, because you're likely to hear it a lot in the future. Rachel Woods is just that good. And she's just that dedicated to becoming a better actress, one who is more intuitive and more focused, more committed and more compelling.

Rachel first came to my attention in 2011, when she played Anne Frank in Pull-Tight's production of The Diary of Anne Frank, a role which won her the 2011 Broadway World Nashville award as Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play. In 2013, she was named Outstanding Younger Actress at the BWW Nashville awards.

A 2014 First Night Most Promising Actor, Rachel took part in events at the University of Evansville's first week of the 2014-15 academic year. Then, during Labor Day Weekend, she packed her bags and drove home to Nashville for the First Night gala. Upon arrival, she rehearsed with the orchestra and the other MPAs to prepare for the Sunday night gala, during which she dazzled the First Night audience with her performance of "What's the Use of Wond'rin'" from Carousel, performed with the rest of the 2014 MPAs on "A New World" from Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World, then packed her bags to return to school to start another year of studies and to play the role of Hecate in Macbeth at the University of Evansville.

That followed a summer filled with days of being a teaching artist at Nashville Children's Theatre and nights spent as a hard-working waitress at a German restaurant just across Centennial Park from the site of Nashville Shakespeare Festival's summer productions. Rachel Woods, to put it simply, never stops.

Read on (especially her advice for high school students)...and you'll have a better idea why Rachel Woods is our favorite...(I tried really hard to write this profile without saying that, but I finally gave up and threw objectivity out the window, onto an ice-covered tree)...

So, how's your college theater career going? Has it lived up to its advance hype? Absolutely - it's so much more than I expected, to be honest, and I expected a lot. One of my professors remarked that part of what being an undergrad is about is learning how to be a person, and learning how to be a human being is definitely one of the hardest parts of being an artist, but so, so rewarding - I've never been more thankful that I chose to go into theatre.

What's your favorite part about the University of Evansville? Class! My professors are beyond brilliant. I'm doing things I never thought I'd do - howling sessions, mask work and Tennessee Williams.

Have your plans for the future changed since you got to school? They've expanded! I'm spending a semester abroad at Harlaxton, the university's English campus, and so the immediate plan is to travel and experience as much theatre as possible!

What collegiate theatrical moment looms largest in your mind? Getting to play Aasa in Peer Gynt. We did it promenade style, so the audience got to walk around in our playing space; I was never more than three feet away from an audience member at any given time. Definitely a little bizarre to die with a total stranger standing over your bed, but it was such a cool thing to do with such cool people - Peer was entirely student-run.

What advice would you offer to high school students considering making the plunge? The work is the best part. Enjoy the little moments, the dull moments, the moments you might otherwise forget. Empathy is vital. Find people and laugh with them. Nothing is the end of the world.

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