From high school stage starlet to professional actress and director, Laura Downing-Lee always had a passion for theatre arts. Now as an instructor and director at SRJC, Downing-Lee still has the passion of a budding actress tempered by the wisdom of experience and strives to create the most fascinating theatre productions she can.

Downing-Lee grew up in South Lake Tahoe, graduating from South Tahoe High School. Her parents didn’t want to let go of their daughter who starred as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.” After Downing-Lee played Juliet she moved on to UC Davis, a good school for her and close enough to keep her parents smiling.

Her next goal in life was to go to SF State, which she chose so she could be in a city that had a lot of theater productions. Downing-Lee just couldn’t help but push away even farther, moving on to the University of Washington.  The school has a reputation for being one of the best acting schools, but also has a great children’s theater, something Downing-Lee was interested in.

Her first memory of being involved with theater was in middle school when she was cast as a Bingle Bug in a collection of Doctor Suess stories. Another ” more sophisticated” play was also holding auditions and she really hoped to get cast in that show, but instead she played a bug. She said she had a lot of fun in that role, once she accepted it.

She used to dream of being an actress, and one day as an undergrad, she was given the opportunity to try directing. She realized how fun it was to make a world of her own. So she decided to follow that path instead. She said, “Once I started directing, I was getting professional acting jobs.”

Every actor has a dream role, but as one progresses in life that role changes. Some of the roles Downing-Lee would love to play are Evita, which she tried out for, but her audition went sour. She also said it would be fun to play Dolly from “Hello Dolly,” or Mrs. Luvitz from “Sweeny Todd.” Although she can name a few specific roles she would like to play, she says, “There are so many good roles, I can’t possibly pick one.”

Her favorite drama is “Arcadia,” which she has a soft spot in her heart for. She says it’s a brilliant piece of art, with vibrant, dense British humor. While she was directing this play, she was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. She was studying abroad in London, just before directing a show and going through chemotherapy, a period that shaped her life. She also loved directing her own adaptation of “Alice In Wonderland.”

Downing-Lee couldn’t choose one favorite musical, but in her top three is “West Side Story.” She explained how it is such a fascinating interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” with fantastic music by Leonard Bernstein, fantastic lyrics by Stephen Sondhiem and a great script written by Arthur Laurents. After that we moved on to play writes. As for her favorite playwright, she joked and said, “I’m supposed to say Shakespeare right?” while struggling not to laugh.

Her favorite aspect of theater is that each production is a microcosm of life. The community of actors come together to create something that goes way beyond the parts. “We ultimately get to see what we are capable of and face our biggest fears. The best part about it is it lasts for a moment but then it’s gone.”