Biography

Dr. Rachel Aker is an experienced theatre educator in university, public school, and theatre settings and has served as the CMDA Career Coach since March 2024. Rachel taught undergraduate courses in acting and introductory theatre at LSU, and she was formerly a high school theatre teacher in Temple, TX, where she was a TX State UIL Theatre One Act Competition Director in 2010. Her secondary teaching specialties were scenic art and stagecraft, special needs theatre, children’s theatre, acting, and introduction to theatre. As an artist-educator, she has also worked with early-childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students with Main Street Theatre in Houston and the LSU Prism Project and Playmakers in Baton Rouge. In addition to her work as an educator, Rachel has worked as a dramaturg, set designer, and scenic artist with companies like Houston Shakespeare Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Swine Palace, Playmakers, and Main Street Theatre. In Baton Rouge, she has directed for the LSU Lab Season and the SciArts Festival. Additionally, Rachel has also served in student-serving support roles at the LSU Graduate School and the LSU Screen Arts program. She holds a PhD in Theatre from LSU, an MA in Theatre Studies from University of Houston, and a BA in Theatre and Sociology from Austin College.