Pacific Index

Sophomore theatre major, Rachel Kaufman, discusses their time so far at Pacific

   “I think the more that I study theater, the more I’m like, wow, there are so many different parts of it that I’m interested in,” says sophomore theater major, Rachel Kaufman. After going to Pacific for nearly two years, they have already been part of many theater productions. “I’m in the show right now, and I’ve been in a couple shows in the past,” says Kaufman, noting that they were part of productions such as Cabaret and last year’s The Lantern of Jack. “That was a really educational experience,” she said about The Lantern of Jack, “because we wrote the show ourselves. I think that one really showed me what I was capable of.”

   Outside of theater, Kaufman engages with many extracurriculars on campus. “I am on the swim team here. I am in choir, I’m in the chamber ensemble here, and [I’m] in Vera Voce, which is the a cappella group,” says Kaufman. Though campus is close to their home, Portland, they mainly chose Pacific due to all of these opportunities. “I knew I wanted to go to a liberal arts college. I didn’t originally want to go somewhere so close to home, but when I visited here, I was like, I know that I would find my people here,” they explained, noting that they didn’t start their freshman year with the intention of studying theater. “Part of the reason I was looking at liberal arts colleges is because coming into college, I was like, I do not know what I want to major in. I’ve always loved theater and kind of like two weeks into my freshman year, I was like, no, I’ll say I’m a theater major,” they expressed.

   Kaufman is currently working on a new theatrical production Galatea, which plays March 12 – 15.