One of TASIS England's first students Rachelle "Shelly" Carson, joined mind-year in 1977, a few months after the school had opened. Her family had moved to England from Atlanta when her father was posted in the Middle East.
As a sixteen-year-old, Rachelle knew that she didn't want to go to a typical liberal arts school. "I wanted to act." The vision she had for herself was to attend a performing arts school either in London or in New York, and her first foray into the field was to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
Now Rachelle Carson is on the forefront of living the green life with her husband, Ed Begley, Jr. As green activists, together they promote 'living off the grid' in the popular television series Living with Ed - a program that reveals that it is possible for an American family to offset what is for most, an enormous carbon footprint. However, living like this requires some adjustment, and as Rachelle often discovers, and sometimes resists, the challenges of fully embracing a greener life: like taking short showers and making not-so-beautiful eco-friendly devices fit in with the decor.
Rachelle spoke with the Alumni Relations team recently about her earlier years and her life now as an actor and green activist:
My fantasy was to apply to an English acting school and to stay in England. Being at TASIS England was good practice - there were not as many students, so I got to be more involved. I had a vision of going to a performing arts school either in London or New York. I ended up going to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Then, I landed a part in a Neil Simon play in Los Angeles 26 years ago, and I've been here ever since.
The school introduced me to many different kinds of people and many different lifestyles. The classes were small, so I got a lot of attention. I was more arty than academic, and I've since learned that I am dyslexic, which no one knew back then. English was baffling for me, and I remember my English teacher, Max Page, distinctly. I think he may have almost left teaching because of me. No one had ever put the energy into me before and at TASIS England, you had to study. It was not an option, so I stepped up to the plate.
I memorize everything, and I practice a lot. Still, I always have a bit of anxiety.
I don't watch a lot of television, but I do keep up with the reality shows - as that's the business I'm in. I love the theatre and find plays much easier to read that books. If I'm not working, I'm in an acting class.
Being a young actress in New York, then coming to Los Angeles. When I first arrived here, I was on Falconcrest and worked episodically. I was in a cult film Eating (1990), which was about women and food; I went on tour for Dial "M" for Murder which required and English accent! Also, working with my husband on Disney films and independent projects.
A friend of ours who had done an independent film had seen us interact. Ed and I have a particular way of interacting - funny banter, which some people find funny and others find annoying - but he found it amusing. He came up with the idea to do a show on people in the environmental movement and came to me, which was smart. If he'd approached Ed, he would have said, are you kidding?
I love having a platform. I play the adversary, but you couldn't live the way we live and not love it.
Ed's advice is always to start by picking the low hanging fruit: get out of your car, bike if you can, and do things that are easy for you to do.
We'd like to take the show out of Los Angeles. If we could go to the UK, we would love it.
Get informed, try to understand the cause and effect of what you consume; connect with nature - don't take it for granted; travel to third world countries; and look at the effects of your actions on others. The message of recycling and conserving resources is real, not propaganda. To those who live in a privileged life: be the leaders, we've been given so much, now we need to give back.
This article first appeared in the TASIS England Today magazine, Autumn 2010 issue.