Every performance is an audition for heaven for actress and teacher Cheryl Felicia Rhoads.
“We need storytellers. Jesus told the parables in the Bible. He was a storyteller,” Rhoads said.
As a seasoned storyteller and parishioner of St. James Church in Falls Church, Rhoads remains committed to her faith. Currently, she serves as the national casting director and voices the role of “Liberty the Eagle” for the “Star Spangled Adventures,” an educational television series that is a part of the Little Patriots Learning program through the educational nonprofit, the American Cornerstone Institute.
“It’s just been wonderful,” Rhoads said. “I feel like here I am, later in my career, doing something I love. I love American history, I’m working with people of faith, I get to sing in most of the episodes, which is really fun.”
Rhoads works under the guidance of former politician and neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson at the American Cornerstone Institute and recounts the graces she has received to combine her work with her faith. She has overseen episodes that featured Catholic historical figures, including the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
“One week they gave me Antonin Scalia to record, and Scalia’s son Father Paul Scalia is our priest at St. James,” Rhoads said. “We were going through the details, and I checked that with Father Scalia to make sure that we had the details correct.”
After over two decades of living in Northern Virginia, Rhoads is a participant in the women’s ministry at St. James, has been a regular lector for Mass, and has taught acting for students of a variety of faith backgrounds in Falls Church.
“I always tell my students, ‘Think, how can you help? How can you be of service?’ ” she said. “I just pray, ‘How (I can be) of help.’ ”
Rhoads grew up in Western Springs, Ill., and is the youngest of six children in a faithful family. As she grew up, Rhoads learned from her parents how to discern God’s will.
“My mom was very courageous and stood up for people, as did my dad,” Rhoads said. “That was my upbringing, and it just gave me a very good foundation.”
Shortly after graduating from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Rhoads became a member of Second City’s traveling acting troupe based in Chicago. Instead of losing sight of her faith when she pursued comedy, her experiences strengthened her reliance on God.
“Both at Second City and even with my comedy partner, I always wanted to keep everything family-oriented (and make) clean comedy,” Rhoads said.
She also had role models in the industry, such as Rosalind Russell, a Catholic actress best known for her performance in “His Girl Friday.”
Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles and found several ways that her faith was present in her work. During her time in L.A., she received the leading role of Mother Goose on the children’s television series, “Mother Goose Treasury,” became a producer for “America’s Funniest People,” and served as a member of the Parents Television and Media Council.
Amidst a busy acting schedule in L.A., Rhoads maintained a rich prayer life and was a CCD teacher at her parish. After a period of discernment and what she describes as a “gift from God,” she became an acting teacher at a theater school in Northern Virginia.
“Once I did a talk about how God is my casting director,” Rhoads said. “Not everybody wants to be an actor. I said, ‘If I was supposed to be an accountant, God would have made me better at math.’ ”
In the years since she moved to Virginia, Rhoads said that God has remained a constant. She recalls a conversation she had with one of the attendees at a talk she was giving on faith.
“I said, ‘All right, I know you’re a strong Christian, but here’s the deal: Jesus was never on Instagram or Twitter, or any stuff like that, but somehow people heard about the Sermon on the Mount,’ ” she said. “If you have something important to say, it’ll get out there.”
As Rhoads continues to glorify God through her work, she wants aspiring creatives to know that their talents are a gift.
“I just say, ‘Know that God gave you the desire to be an actor, a writer, a singer, in the first place. Trust that, and you will be led,’ ” Rhoads said. “God won’t hide you under a bushel basket. You’ll be set on a lampstand. You’ll give light to all around you.”
