She played a school girl in "Evita," a beggar child in "Scrooge: The Musical" and a little monster in "There's a Monster in My Closet" at Riverside.

Doing five shows a week, she learned about the demands of theater life.

Rachel quickly demonstrated that she's really good at conveying different expressions and multiple personalities, said Rollin Wehman, the general manager at Riverside and part of the bell choir at Falmouth Baptist Church with Rachel.

"She's remarkably versatile and a joy to work with," he said. "She's just a sweet kid, and she has not let the success change her at all."

Her contacts at Riverside led to contracts with agents up and down the East Coast. Once she got the part for "Lake Effects," which was shot in October 2010, she got more auditions, callbacks and parts. She played a young Jena Malone in an episode of Biography Channel's "Celebrity Close Calls," and got to do a simulated car crash with so many rolls she had to struggle to keep from laughing.

She also played a child eaten by zombies in a remake of the cult classic, "Plan 9."

Rachel has agents in Baltimore, Raleigh, Portsmouth and Philadelphia. Her manager is working to get her into the New York market.

She also takes vocal, dance and acting lessons, plays soccer and softball and does her schoolwork on location.

At home, she has to do chores like her older sisters.

"We want her to have as normal a family life as we can," her mother said.

Rachel's flair for the dramatic surfaced again.

"This family's not normal, and it never will be," she said.

COMING INTO FOCUS

If Rachel had been the first child, she probably would have been the last, her mother said.

"I am so offended," Rachel quipped.

As a child, she was nothing short of outrageous. All over the place, into everything, demanding immediate attention.

"Acting was the one thing that brought her focus, it gave her a way to apply all this energy," her mother said. "That's why I really encouraged it in the beginning, not because I wanted her to be famous or to make a lot of money. I thought, this is going to be an opportunity for her to focus on things."

Rachel has an outgoing personality all the time, but "she just comes alive when you put her on camera or put her on a stage," said Ruth Daiger, one of several Riverside mothers who share tips about agents and auditions.

Daiger believes Rachel is already successful at acting because she understands the process. She knows there will be a series of auditions, that she'll need stamina and discipline to get through them and she'll have to handle the rejection that comes with the turf.

"She really enjoys the process, and she thrives because of that," Daiger said.

Daiger predicts that the movie roles and commercials, parts on stages and appearances in videos are just the beginning for Rachel Rose Lynch.

"I feel fortunate to know her now," she said.

Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com