Rachel Dawson

Rachel Dawson joined the Department of Theatre and Dance faculty at Winthrop University in August 2022. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Florida Atlantic University.

Dawson is an experienced educator and teaching artist who has instructed students of all ages in acting, movement, stage combat, musical theatre, and dance. Her previous academic appointments include teaching in the Stage and Screen Acting Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as in the undergraduate theatre program at Florida Atlantic University, where she taught courses in voice and movement.

In addition to her academic work, Dawson maintains an active professional background in performance and movement-based storytelling. She is trained in Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Linklater Voice Technique, Knight-Thompson Speechwork, Michael Chekhov technique, Viewpoints, Meisner, and Laban movement analysis. Her ongoing artistic inquiry focuses on the integration of breath, body, movement, and presence in performance.

At Winthrop University, Dawson has directed productions including Cabaret, Into the Woods, Pippin, Noises Off, Everybody, and An Enemy of the People. She also conceives and directs the musical cabarets for Musical Theatre Workshop, the capstone course for students in the Musical Theatre concentration. Her additional directing and choreography credits include Bright Star, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Rock of Ages, Romeo & Juliet, and The Taming of the Shrew.

Dawson holds a Certificate of Completion from the Consent-Forward Artist Program through Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and is a Certified Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. Her work as an intimacy professional and fight choreographer emphasizes consent-based practices, collaborative storytelling, and expressive movement. She is particularly dedicated to fostering joyful, empowering, and inclusive rehearsal and performance spaces.