Christopher Trela

Assistant Professor, Artistic Faculty

Film and Media Arts, Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

Biography

Christopher Trela teaches Principals of Public Relations, Media Relations, PR Case Studies, Student PR Agency (including the national Bateman competition) and PR Campaigns (capstone course). He is also the faculty advisor to the Chapman University Public Relations and Advertising Association (PRAA) and a member of the Dodge College Curriculum Committee.

Trela is the lifestyle editor of the Newport Beach Independent, and executive dining columnist for the Orange County Business Journal. An award-winning writer and photographer, he is the author of the photo/essay book Newport Beach Centennial: Celebrating a Century and has had more than 3,000 articles and columns published in various newspapers and magazines over the past 30+ years. He has contributed arts, food and wine, health, business and travel articles to Westways, OC Metro, OC Menus, Coast Magazine, Orange County Register, Newport Beach Independent and Newport Beach Magazine, among others.

Trela is also the owner/president of ArtsPR, a boutique PR consulting firm whose clients have included Pacific Symphony, Laguna Playhouse and Irvine Barclay Theatre, among many other arts organizations.

He currently serves on the board of directors for the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, is the past president of the Orange County Press Club and a former arts commissioner for the City of Newport Beach.

A recipient of a special PROTOS Award in 2021 for distinguished service, Trela is the recipient of two other PROTOS Awards and three Awards of Excellence from the Orange County chapter of PRSA.

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications: Lights! Camera! Action! Newport Beach Film Festival: Take 25; It’s a Wrap! 25th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival; Musical Version of ‘Back to the Future’ Lands at Segerstrom Center December 26 – January 5; Pacific Symphony Announces Alexander Shelley as Next Music Director; Heist Comedy ‘Stealing Pulp Fiction’ Screens at Lido Theater Oct. 19; National Choreographers Initiative Celebrates 20 Years with Performance at Irvine Barclay Theatre July 27; 25th Annual Eric Marienthal & Friends Concert in Newport Beach on July 14 Raises Funds for High Hopes; Meet New Pacific Symphony Pops Conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez; Newport Beach Independent: Article on Newport Beach Film Festival; Newport Beach Independent: Newport Beach Film Festival movie review; Newport Beach Independent: Maestro for a Day: My Conducting Debut with Pacific Symphony; Newport Beach Independent: Newport Beach Film Festival Announces Opening and Closing Night Films; ‘Wicked’ Flies in to Segerstrom Center Feb. 9 – March 6; ‘Reunited in Dance’ at Segerstrom Center on Nov. 12 Features Dancers Impacted by the War in Ukraine; Tony Award-Winning ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ Dazzles at Segerstrom Center Through November 27; ‘Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West’ at Newport Beach Film Festival Reveals the Beauty and Plight of Wild Horses; Culinary Film Series at Newport Beach Film Festival Serves Savory Cinema; Newport Beach Film Festival: Take 23; Newport Beach Film Festival Announces Cinematic Schedule and Honors Program; 23rd Annual Newport Beach Film Festival; Baroque Music Festival Returns to Corona del Mar; South Coast Repertory A Christmas Carol; Choreographer Molly Lynch Brings her National Dance Initiative Back to Irvine Barclay Theatre; Pacific Symphony Perseveres, Thrives During Pandemic; Newport Beach Film Festival Honors; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP; AP

Christopher Trela

Biography

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

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