Rachel May oral history interview, August 23, 2013

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: MayR_20130823

Staff Only

Rachel May oral history

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Hillary Rink. In this interview, Rachel May provides an overview of her life and work. She describes her childhood in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., which she describes as an idyllic, if homogeneous, place to grow up. She discusses her grandparents, including her maternal grandfather, who survived Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II. May describes her mother as "quirky" and "bohemian" and details how, as an adult, she has come to appreciate her mother's unconventional tendencies. May talks about how her experiences traveling abroad in college helped her develop a sense of confidence. She briefly discusses an on-again, off-again relationship she had that resulted in her moving to Atlanta, where she met her husband Daniel May. She talks about the process of co-founding Synchronicity Theatre with three colleagues, and the evolution of Synchronicity from an itinerant theater company to an independent theater. May discusses the desire to give back to the community that led her to engage with various community groups through Synchronicity, and she talks about several specific community projects that Synchronicity has participated in. She discusses her children's burgeoning interest in theater, as well as the challenges of parenting while sustaining an intense and demanding career.

Dates

Creation: August 23, 2013

Creator

May, Rachel, 1971- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

One of Synchronicity Theater's original founders, Rachel May has directed more than 15 productions for it, including In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, Exit Pursued by a Bear, Women + War, 1:23, Language of Angels, Three Sisters and Marisol. Her directing work has been seen in and around Atlanta at Actor’s Express, Aurora Theatre, Theatre Gael, Dad’s Garage and the University of Georgia. Creative Loafing named her best director of 2002 for her work on One Flea Spare and Kia Corthron’s Breath, Boom, the production that led to the creation of our Playmaking for Girls program. In June 2004 she was chosen for the highly competitive NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors and was named a Bank of America “Local Hero.” In addition to her executive role at Synchronicity, she actively teaches and leads workshops across Atlanta, and spent eight summers as director of the Ferst Center’s Drama Camp at Georgia Tech.