Rebecca Lingafelter

Rebecca Lingafelter is an actor, director and educator based in Portland, Oregon. New York credits include work at Classic Stage Company, PS122, The Ontological Hysteric Incubator, HERE Arts Center, The Bushwick Starr, The Chocolate Factory, Judson Church, Vortex Theatre Company, Target Margin Theatre, and The Metropolitan Opera. She has performed internationally in Korea, Germany, Italy, England and Budapest, Hungary. She was co-artistic director of experimental theatre ensemble Performance Lab 115 from 2005-2010, where she produced and performed in over 12 productions. In addition she was lead-artist for PL115’s six-month residency with Mabou Mines mentored by Ruth Maleczech in 2008. In Portland, she has performed with Profile Theatre, Third Rail Repertory, Boom Arts, and CoHo Theatre. Her acting work was recently recognized with a 2015 Drammy for Outstanding Solo Performance for her work in George Brandt's Grounded. Recent directing credits include The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno, Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elis, and the upcoming Bright Half Life by Tanya Barfield. She is co-artistic director of Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble which has produced five full-length works in Portland as well as shorter works shown at On the Boards NWNW, Risk/Reward Festival and Caldera Arts. Rebecca is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Lewis and Clark College where she teaches acting, directing, voice and movement and devised performance. She was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2015.  In addition she has taught at the The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Art, The Public Theater, Classic Stage Company, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Portland Actors Conservatory.  Rebecca is a proud member of Actors Equity and SAG/AFTRA.

Alumni Spotlight Interview

Was there a specific faculty member or peer who especially inspired you while at the School of the Arts? If so, who and how?

It's honestly hard to name one faculty member who inspired me the most, as all the faculty I worked with in the Theatre Division had a profound effect on both my work and my trajectory as an artist. Kristin Linklater gave me voice. She taught me the value of letting go and gave me the gift of thought connected to breath. Anne Bogart gave me context. She taught me how to see my performance as part of a larger event defined by time, space and collaboration. Andrei Serban gave me guts. He taught me that every time you step onstage there is an opportunity for something new to happen. Niky Wolz gave me body. He taught me how to move always from the inside out and the outside in. Ulla Wolz gave me vulnerability. She taught me how to create performances that revealed inner landscapes. Who I am as an artist and a person is defined by these incredible teachers and mentors and I am grateful daily for the opportunity to work with them.

 

How did attending the School of the Arts impact your work and career as an artist?

I owe a significant amount of my career to my time at the School of the Arts. My teaching job, and my current artistic practice both continue to be defined by the experimentation and aesthetic that I honed at SOA. I continue to practice many of the trainings that I studied at Columbia, as well as teach them to the next generation of young artists.  In addition, my work with my theatre company, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, is inspired by much of the work of my teacher/mentors, and continues to investigate questions raised in classes I took over 10 years ago.