Our Faculty
Dr. Valerie Rae Smith is Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Theatre at Messiah College. She received her BA in Theatre/Education from Taylor University, her MA from Miami University in Oxford Ohio, and her Ph.D. in Theatre History, Literature and Criticism from Tufts University. In addition to teaching theatre at Tufts and Boston College, Dr. Smith served as Artistic Director for Circles of Girls, a pilot performing arts program for at-risk adolescents in Boston. She teaches theatre history, theatre and social change, and acting. Recent directing credits include Dead Man Walking, Nickel and Dimed, Noises Off, and Romeo and Juliet. Dr. Smith continues to perform and direct professional theatre and is a past member of the Boston chapter of AFTRA. She recently appeared as Lisa Kron in the Open Stage of Harrisburg production of Well and played a variety of roles in the Vagina Monologues for Harrisburg's WomenSpeak Festival. Dr. Smith debuted her one-woman-show, Between 2 Chairs, at Touchstone Theatre in Bethlehem, PA. Between 2 Chairs is a theatrical exploration of memory development and memory loss which tells the story of her father’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease alongside her young son’s experience of memory development. The play tours to colleges, universities, community centers and churches. The script was published by Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2008. Dr, Smith will bring Between 2 Chairs to Harrisburg’s Flying Solo Festival in the summer of 2009.
Messiah College
One College Avenue
Grantham, PA 17027
717-766-2511 x7386
717-796-5248 (Fax)
vsmith@messiah.edu
