April's Featured Faculty: Rachel Tracie, Ph.D.

Written by Nicole Johnson 

Rachel Tracie earned a B.A. from Trinity Western University, a M.A. in Drama from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in Drama & Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway University of London. Tracie currently teaches in the Department of Theater Arts and has an expertise in Canadian and Irish theater as well as theater history.

Tracie has received several grants administered by Azusa Pacific, including a Faculty Research Grant, an Earning Scholar Grant, and a Creative Teaching Mini-Grant.

Lately, she has been focusing on teaching theatre in the prison system. Tracie has taught two courses with the Prison Education Project in California. This past semester, two of her APU students assisted a course she taught at the California Rehabilitation Center on Shakespeare.

In graduate school, she was given the opportunity to teach a play analysis course and fell in love with teaching. Tracie explains, “I really enjoy the students and being able to teach something that I am so passionate about. It's really wonderful to learn and understand more of my discipline through their eyes.”

Tracie wants her students to know studying theatre sets them up well for any job they get in the future. She says, “Theatre, to me, is amazing. The study of theatre develops core competencies of empathy, imagination, listening, confidence. It explores the human condition. It includes all of the other arts.”