Rachel Portelli trained at Mtada in the evenings between 1992 and 1995, while at the same time reading for her BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy. A couple of years back she decided she’d had enough of the hospital environment and switched to using her brain’s right hemisphere instead (although she admits that her scientific background is strongly rooted and surfaces at times!). She now works as marketing co-ordinator at Merlin Library, where she loves to immerse herself in the world of children’s books. She enjoys travel and needs to “run away” regularly.
She is one of the three actors performing The Fall of the House of Usher by S. Berkoff, directed by Fredrick Testa and produced by MADC. This play will be performed at St James Cavalier this weekend and the next.
n How old are you? Star sign and date of birth?
30. Leo. Born 5 August 1974
n Significant other? Children?
Husband Chris.
n What would you like to be doing in 10 years’ time?
Being a kid with my own kids.
n What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A week last year with my husband, on a mountain in Bezau, a remote village in Austria, surrounded by the most total silence imaginable.
n What is your favourite occupation?
Organising events related to children’s books.
n What is your greatest fear?
Having to be admitted to St Luke’s Hospital.
n What is it that you most value in your friends?
A sixth sense of when to be there and when not to.
n How would you like to die?
On a white fluffy cloud, with the sun shining...
n What is your greatest extravagance?
Make-up that I never wear.
n What is your greatest regret?
Not having left for a UK drama school when I had no commitments.
n What is your most treasured possession?
My bed.
n Which talent would you most like to have apart from the ones you already have?
Ballet Dancing.
n What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Being on one’s deathbed and realising that missed opportunities have outnumbered lived ones.
n Where would you like to live?
The Scottish Highlands.
n What is your most marked characteristic?
Drama!
n Who are your heroes/heroines in real life?
Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman.
n What is it that you most dislike?
People invading my personal space. Lack of planning.
n What is your motto?
Depends on my mood...