Azusa Pacific University’s experienced faculty and close proximity to Los Angeles, a hub for the arts and entertainment industry, draws in talented students looking to grow as creative professionals and disciples of God. Rachel Presby ’26, an acting for the stage and screen (BFA) and honors humanities double major, began acting at the age of five and will enter the professional world at the end of the spring semester. Her time in the BFA program has challenged her to refine professional skills while learning to connect her acting to her knowledge of human nature from reading great works in the Honors College.
Presby knew from a young age that acting was her passion. She attended Orange County School of the Arts, focusing on building foundational skills in theater and acting. “It can be scary when you find your calling so young, and people kept telling me that I would find something else that I wanted to pursue,” Presby said. “My time in acting school made my transition to college much easier, and I knew college was the next step for me because I love to learn.” Presby wanted to attend a Christian university in California with close proximity to LA, and APU’s program is unique in that it allows students to audition for roles at outside organizations simultaneously with their classes and usual on-campus auditions.
As Presby progressed through the BFA program, she found support and guidance from a community of creatives who are all looking to learn from one another. In high school, she realized that the artistic community around her was vying for popularity and superficial things. At APU, Presby has seen how everyone is pursuing their passion for a higher purpose. “Acting isn’t about being liked for superficial things, but being respected for being a hard worker, glorifying God, and putting your love into your craft,” she said. Presby recently participated in callbacks for the upcoming performance of Steel Magnolias. Unlike callbacks at many other programs, while there is strong competition for the roles, they don’t result in jealousy or trying to put others down. “The level of competition at APU doesn’t lessen, but it’s balanced by support and love for each other and a desire to see each other grow which has pushed me to be a better actor.”
Along with the support from her peers, Presby shared that the professors in the BFA program have been catalysts for students’ transformations as well. Jill Brennan-Lincoln, MA, and Kirsten Lundin Humer, MFA, are in charge of the BFA program and have been pivotal mentors for Presby. “It’s nice to feel supported by not just a hands-off leader, but someone who is actively a part of our growth process,” Presby said. “With their support, I feel safe enough to try new things and make mistakes because I know that they won’t let me fail—they’ll help me to get better.” Last semester, Presby took an acting for the camera class with Andi Chapman, MFA. “I realized that all of the tools I had in my toolbox weren’t working, and that was a scary moment,” she said. “Her advice was that I need to be ok being uncomfortable and with not always being right, and that snapped me out of my funk and showed me how I needed to focus my acting on working towards something bigger than myself.” This shift in focus helped Presby land a leading role in APU’s production of Anastasia.
As a senior, Presby has had many pivotal moments of transformation in her acting, and playing Lily in the university's performance of Anastasia this semester was both a challenge and a blessing. Presby did musical theater in high school and had the opportunity to perform as an understudy during the opening weekend of a performance her freshman year where she realized that she still had a love for musical theater. She was shocked to find out that she had gotten a callback for the part of Lily and eventually landed the role. “It was a challenging part to play,” she said. “I’d been praying for a push in my acting experience, and it challenged me physically, vocally, and professionally. It was exactly what I needed.”
Behind each on-stage performance, Presby connects with her characters using her love
of learning and the knowledge she has gained from the Honors College. “There are so
many classical works performed in theater which is what honors focuses on, and that
has allowed me to be educated and informed going into auditions,” she said. “I can
have an educated discussion with casting directors, and that makes me feel comforted
that I can do difficult things.” Presby’s experience as a double major has been challenging
yet rewarding. “There is something so important about being an educated woman because
that’s something that can never be taken away from you,” she said.
Combining the academic rigor of honors with her experiential learning in the BFA program, Presby has also grown in her faith. She was raised to have an open mind and explore all aspects of faith to form her own based on what she believed. “It’s been transformative to learn from other denominations and take what I believe to build my faith into something I can live out,” she said. Questions of faith can come up for Christian actors when deciding which roles to take on and which characters to portray. Presby has been comforted by the way her academics have allowed her to explore human nature. “I may play characters who make wrong decisions, but if God made everyone, who am I to say that I will only portray certain people? Redemption isn’t mine to create but to reflect, and it’s not my place to judge a person or character for the way they were created,” she said. “As a Christian actor, I can better understand characters and not judge them, but rather play them how God made them.”
As Presby goes into her final semester at APU, she is thinking about her next steps for after graduation. She loves LA and sees herself pursuing film in the city. Later, Presby hopes to write and star in her own sitcom or move to London to perform Shakespeare. Although Presby isn’t sure exactly what God has in store for her, she knows that acting is her passion, and that APU has allowed her to refine her God-given talents for something bigger than herself. “The past 15 years of my life have been dedicated to training for a professional career in acting, and I’m excited to one day look back and see how all my hard work has gone into creating something special that glorifies God.”