Class Notes: Rebecca Jimenez in “Indian Princesses”

Summary

BroadwayRadio – Class Notes: Rebecca Jimenez in “Indian Princesses” (May 16, 2026)

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Episode Overview

This episode of BroadwayRadio’s “Class Notes” features host Lauren Klasschenider in conversation with Rebecca Jimenez, who stars as Andy in the play Indian Princesses, co-produced by Rattlestick Theater and Atlantic Theatre Company. The interview dives into Rebecca's experiences performing the play in different cities, her reflections on working with the cast and creative team, and the significance of her personal and artistic journey.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Cultural Context and Audience Engagement

• Performance in California vs. New York (00:56–02:29)
  • Rebecca describes the change in audience energy from La Jolla Playhouse in California to the current New York production.
  • She notes a younger, more diverse, and left-leaning audience in New York, which she feels relates more closely to the play’s themes.
  • Quote:

    "I think this is a play where you want people of color to come and see the show so they can see themselves and relate to it. And I feel like that's what we're seeing more of, you know, so far."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (01:20)

The Ensemble and Learning from Colleagues

• Working with the Cast (02:29–03:20)
  • Rebecca expresses admiration for both the seasoned men and younger women in the cast.
  • The collaborative environment is rich for learning and growth.
  • Quote:

    "I feel like I'm with some Off Broadway legends. So I feel like I'm learning so much watching them, you know, the first week of rehearsal, I was really taking them in..."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (02:41)

Relationship with the Playwright and Director

• Collaborating with Playwright Eliana Theologia Rodriguez (03:20–04:11)

  • Rebecca praises Eliana's openness to actor input and her passion in defending her story.
  • Quote:

    "She's so open to an actor's point of view, and she defends her work so fiercely and full of heart."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (03:53)

• Story of Meeting Director Miranda Cornell (04:11–04:57)

  • Their professional relationship began after Miranda saw Rebecca’s prior work, creating a foundation of mutual admiration and artistic respect.
  • Quote:

    "I got introduced to her through this play...I had seen a production of this play called Chairs that she directed at Club Thumb, and I was so interested in her, in her work."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (04:29)

Navigating the Theatre Industry

• On Breaking In and Building Genuine Connections (05:02–05:38)
  • Rebecca acknowledges the difficulty of breaking into the industry, emphasizing how organic relationships can be a rare and treasured gateway.
  • Quote:

    "It's so hard to get the gates open sometimes. So when an opportunity of mutual admiration arrives at your door...it's so welcome and so exciting."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (05:17)

The Setting: Recalling 2008 and its Relevance

• Rebecca’s Own 2008 Experience and Its Parallels to the Play (05:38–06:39)
  • At age 12, the same age as her character, she recalls the financial crisis affecting her family – an undercurrent of the play’s story.
  • Quote:

    "I remember, you know, money being issues in the house, but not being able to put two and two together...that's what the issues were in my house."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (06:39)

Education and Training: Foundations of a Professional Path

• High School: New World School of the Arts (07:00–08:33)

  • Rebecca’s mother's influence as a drama teacher, the audition process, and the school’s discipline formed her foundation in theater.
  • Quote:

    "You get what you put in, right? And I feel like that's what my mom taught me, and that's what I continued to do."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (08:34)

• College: From Pace to SUNY Purchase (08:41–10:09)

  • Financial constraints cut short her time at Pace University, leading her to a professional theater stint in Miami and, later, acting studies at SUNY Purchase.
  • Rebecca speaks passionately about the rigorous training and diverse techniques she encountered at Purchase.
  • Quote:

    "I've had some of the best professors ever...such a variety of teachers and techniques and I owe so much to that program."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (09:58)

Passion for New Plays and Artistic Creation

• Drawn to New Work (10:09–10:46)
  • Rebecca expresses her enthusiasm for shaping new plays and contributing to the development of original theatre.
  • Quote:

    "Creating something from the ground up is so exciting because there's so much more play, you know, and I think I love being in the room where someone is—you’re help crafting a world."
    — Rebecca Jimenez (10:25)

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Notable Quotes

• "I always had a feeling, I was like, I think this play would read so well in New York." (01:17)
• "The women are just so smart and also impulsive actors and willing to try and full of so much heart." (03:09)
• "Eliana is such a brilliant writer and so smart and generous with her work from the beginning." (03:46)
• "Such a gift. Because it’s so hard. It's so hard to get the gates open sometimes." (05:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Comparing La Jolla and NYC Audiences: 00:56–02:29
• Experiences with the Ensemble Cast: 02:29–03:20
• Working with Playwright & Director: 03:20–04:57
• Breaking into Theater & Artistic Connections: 05:02–05:38
• Parallels Between 2008 and the Play’s Setting: 05:38–06:39
• Educational Journey:
  • High School: 07:00–08:33
  • College: 08:41–10:09
• Passion for New Plays: 10:09–10:46

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Episode Tone

The conversation is warm, candid, and inspiring, highlighting Rebecca Jimenez’s reflective attitude, gratitude, and passion for creating new theater works. The discussion gives listeners a sense of the collaborative spirit and personal investment that goes into bringing a work like Indian Princesses to life.

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Transcript

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[Rebecca Jimenez]

Foreign.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Hi, I'm Lauren Klasschenider with Clash Notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Rebecca Jimenez. She's playing Andy in Indian Princesses, co produced with Rattlestick Theater and the Atlantic Theatre Company. Welcome.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Hi. Thank you for having me.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Of course. Let's talk about that summer of 2008 when five young girls of color and their white fathers attend a program designed to bond families through handmade activities, camp like adventures and a heavy dose of cultural appropriation. So this play had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse and you were a part of it. What was it like performing Indian Princesses there and is it different in New York?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Great question. It well, first of all, California is beautiful, so that I have to say that. But and it was really nice being in San Diego. But I will say it was a very different audience experience. I think I always had a feeling, I was like, I think this play would read so well in New York. You know, there's something about more of a left leaning, you know, culture here in New York and a lot of young people going to the theater. I'm finding that a lot of the audience can relate to it more here. And it felt like the demographic in California was a lot older and not too many people of color going to the theater. And I think this is, this is a play where you want people of color to, to come and see the show so they can see themselves and, and relate to it. And I feel like that's what we're seeing more of, you know, so far.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Uh huh. Uh huh. Right. Well, you're part of an extraordinary cast of young women and older men. Talk about being a part of this ensemble.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Oh my goodness. It I just feel first of all, with the men, I feel like I'm with, I'm with some off Broadway legends. So I feel like I'm learning So much watching them, you know, the first week of rehearsal, I was really taking them in, and you see someone work and follow their impulse, and it's just a great reminder to do so. And the women are just so smart and also impulsive actors and willing to try and full of so much heart. So. So it's been such a pleasure to work with them.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Say the playwright's name for me.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Eliana Theologia Rodriguez.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Thank you. And, of course, having written Indian Princesses inspired by her own experiences in 2008 in a program of the same name, what was it like being in the rehearsal room with her in La Jolla? And was it different in the remounting for New York?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Eliana is such a brilliant writer and so smart and generous with her work from the beginning. She's so open to an actor's point of view, and she defends. She defends her work so fiercely and full of heart.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

The play is directed by Miranda Cornell. Have you two worked together before?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

I had worked with her on a reading of Indian Princesses, but that's. That's about it. Yeah. I got. I got introduced to her through this play.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Oh, how did the introduction come about?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

I think she saw me in my first Off Broadway show, which was Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, and from there, I think she. She stayed, you know, watching my work, and I think had wanted to work with me, and I had seen a production of. Of this play called Chairs that she directed at Club Thumb, and I was so interested in her, in her work, so I was so glad a few months later that I got to. To work with her.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Oh, the mutual admiration club.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Yes, for sure.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

And I think people are always curious how those relationships come about and develop. It's so difficult for an actor to get a foot in the door sometimes. It seems like it was natural and organic for the two of you.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Yeah. Which is such a gift. Such a gift. Because it's so hard. It's so hard to. To get the gates open sometimes. So when. When an opportunity of mutual admiration, you know, arrives at your door, you know, it is. It's so welcome and so exciting.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

So elements of the play are so specific to the time that's reflected in 2008. You were probably just a kid. Can you zero in on that time for us and how it's relevant to the stories?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Yeah, funnily, I was 12 years old in 2008, and that's how old my character was. So. So that's. It was really helpful for me to be aware of, you know, the time Period. We're in the references. 2008, the, you know, financial crisis, which, you know, we talk a lot about how men, fathers were affected. Right. A lot of them losing their jobs and that affecting their pride and how they took care of their family.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

And your own memories of being 12, was the financial crisis part of your recollection before being associated with the play?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

I remember, I remember it happening. I remember, you know, money being issues in the house, but not being able to put two and two together, you know, realizing, oh, yes, that's what was happening and that's what, that's what the issues were in my house.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Well, let's go back to that a little bit. I've read that you went to high school in Florida and you attended the New World School of the Arts. Why? Well, why did you go there and then how did it influence you?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Okay, so my mom was a theater teacher in Miami for 20 years, and she ran like one of the best drama programs in Miami, Florida. And it was a magnet school, so you had to audition to get in. And I got into that program and everyone who went there, like all of the kids who are really passionate about theater, wanted to go to New World. New World. New World. And New World was. New World School of the Arts was one of the top, like, performing arts high schools in Miami. So I, I, I always took theater very seriously. So I auditioned and I got to, I went there for musical theater. And, yeah, that's how I found my way. And I was so lucky. New World taught me, taught me so much and gave me a lot of discipline.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Right. Did it, did what you learned there ever conflict with your mother's style of teaching?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

I don't think so. I think it just, it added to it, you know, because you're, you're in, you're in middle school. So when we were learning from her in middle school, so she taught us a lot of discipline. You know, she taught us how hard you can go. And then high school getting to go even deeper and.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Oh, that's great.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

You know, at the end of the day, you get what you put in, right? And I feel like that's what my mom taught me, and that's what I continued to do.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Oh, nice. Then college was at SUNY Purchase. So same question. Why and how did you end up there and how did it influence you?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

I originally, when I went to, when I graduated high school, I got into Pace University for musical theater. And I was, I was there for one semester, and then I ran out of money. I couldn't afford it just after one semester. So I moved back home to Miami for almost two years and I started doing professional theater in Miami. And there came a point where I realized, okay, if I want to do this seriously, then I have to go and better my craft. So instead of going for musical theater, I decided to go for acting. And I auditioned for three different colleges for acting and purchase was one of them just because I, I, I'm obsessed with training and the, the training was good and I, I loved packed schedules where you're just being, becoming a sponge of the craft and I got to go there and I've had some of the best professors ever and I, it taught me so much, such a variety of, of teachers and techniques and I am, I owe so much to that program.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Well, you also are very inspiring and thinking about that program and your bio seems to have, you have a knack for new plays. What draws you to them?

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Oh my gosh. Yeah. I've been so lucky. So many new plays. I, I mean creating something from the ground up is, is so, it's so exciting because there's so much more play, you know, and, and I think I love being in the room where someone is, you know, you're help crafting a world.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

Oh well, thank you for that insight and thank you for your time with us today.

[Rebecca Jimenez]

Thank you.

[Lauren Klasschenider]

I'm Lauren Klass Schneider with Rebecca Jimenez in the role of Andy in Indian Princesses, co produced with Rattlestick Theatre at the Atlantic Theatre Company. Thank you.

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