Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an
American actress and
comedian, perhaps best known as a cast member of
Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.
Biography
Early life
Dratch was born in
Lexington, Massachusetts,
USA, the daughter of Elaine, an energy director, and Paul Dratch, a
radiologist. She was raised in
Reform Judaism[Rachel Dratch] at Temple Isaiah. Dratch graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1988, where she majored in drama and psychology and was a member of the improv comedy group the Dog Day Players. She attended the
National Theater Institute in the fall of '86. She is also an alumna of
Lexington High School in Massachusetts.
Career
Dratch was a member of the mainstage cast of
The Second City comedy troupe for several years, performing alongside future
SNL head writers
Adam McKay and
Tina Fey, as well as future
30 Rock performer
Scott Adsit. The first incarnation of her
SNL "Wicked" sketch was performed in Second City's
Paradigm Lost. In addition to acting, Dratch also played the cello onstage. The theater also hosted the first incarnation of
Dratch & Fey (her critically praised two-woman show with Tina Fey) which was later performed at the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, where it was dubbed "the funniest thing to be found on any New York comedy stage" by
Time Out New York.
