Close a Door, Open a Window
by Jason Eness

REBECCA MCFARLAND

You might know Rebecca McFarland (N '95) by face if not by name. Anyone who has watched television in recent years might recognize her from episodes of such shows as "Seinfeld" and "Party of Five," or as a regular on the sitcom "Working." To the McFarland fans who have been watching this young rising star, the latest news may be upsetting--she is ending her career as an actress.

But this is not the end of a story about a local hero who went off to Hollywood with dreams of stardom only to walk away, disillusioned and rejected. This is the beginning of Rebecca McFarland's new dream, one of a life she finds more fulfilling.

Contrary to the stereotype of a hopeful actor heading to Hollywood and working for years to finally earn a steady income, McFarland found so much success in a short time that the thrill of the spotlight quickly waned. "It was never satisfying," she says.

"It just wasn't making me very happy. I realized there were a lot of other things I would prefer to do." As an experienced actor of the small and large screen, she feels she didn't have as much creative power as she wanted, so she found a new outlet as a writer.

This sudden change came as a surprise to her parents--McFarland is the daughter of Tulane business school dean James McFarland. "They got behind me 100 percent and have supported me since I decided to pursue acting. When I decided to give it up, they were disappointed."

They are also supporting her in her change of direction, McFarland says, though it comes as a surprise since she has pursued acting so diligently since junior high school. "In high school and at Tulane I was driven," she says. "I had this view that I was going to Hollywood to be a star. There was never even an inkling in my brain that I wasn't going to be a star. It was just what I was going to do." Though she feels she missed out on some aspects of college life, it is a trade-off she does not regret. Also, she says it was this attitude that helped her find her way in Hollywood.

McFarland's change of heart toward the acting profession came as a sort of epiphany while shooting a scene during her latest film, "Elvis Took a Bullet."

"What it comes down to in Hollywood is, you get a job because you look right. It really has nothing to do with talent. I knew that and I worked that. I took care of myself, I wore the right outfits.

"But then I thought, 'This is what my life is about? Finding the right outfit?' It wasn't fun any more."

While she is leaving the door open to the possibility of acting again, for the past few months McFarland has been working on a couple of screenplays, pursuing her new dream, and she says she's finding the change exhilarating. "It's very liberating for me. It's very exciting to be able to sit down with my script every day and create the characters and the story I want."

Following his dreams: Paul Michael Glaser
Path to glory: Harold Sylvester
Giving his regards to Broadway: Bryan Batt
Stars of (back)stage and (off)screen: The Lincecums