Rachael N. Blackwell is a native of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia but now calls Raleigh, NC home.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts with an emphasis on Technical Theatre from Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL in May 2016. She received her MFA in Lighting Design & Technology in May 2020 at CCM, University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH.

Rachael's main interests lie in working collaboratively with other creatives across the many different mediums of art. She enjoys working on original and new works as well as opportunities that allow her to stay connected to her African American roots.

She was the 2020 recipient of both the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Internship and he Judy Dearing Design Competition for Lighting, presented by the Black Theatre Network (BTN) and in 2021, Rachael received an Off Broadway nomination for her NY lighting design of new musical "Rathskeller: A Musical Elixir."

Rachael currently has design experience in lighting for live events, drama, opera, and dance. Rachael has worked with the Cincinnati Ballet, Yale Repertory Theatre, The Alley Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery Ballet, NSU Theater Company and The VA Arts Festival