Reanna Cook

Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, my primary goals are to help students discover a place and a passion in theatre, to
expand their perspectives on the performing arts and the world around them, and to promote self-
reflection and metacognition. In my classroom I promote these learning goals by maximizing student
involvement in productions, introducing students to diverse works of theatre and theatre practitioners, and
by implementing regular written responses to both individual and group activities and assessments.
I encourage student participation in leadership roles involved in productions outside of acting. I
first promote interest in these roles, such as costume, scenic, and lighting design and stage management
by introducing the processes of each of the theatre practitioners in my Theatre Foundations courses. Then,
I allow students to contribute ideas and guide the implementation of these concepts for a production. The
more I can get the students involved and invested in the process of creating theatre, the more skills they
will develop. Variety in their involvement (meaning encouraging students to act, but also help technically
with a show) provides opportunities for students of all interests, learning styles, and abilities to be
successful theatre students and practitioners.
In order to promote an expanded understanding of the theatrical and global cultures of the world,
I use a selection of texts that originate in different time periods, countries, and are about diverse subject
matter. For example, in my Advanced Play Production class, students engage with Six Characters in
Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello (1921), and Two Donuts by José Cruz González (2004),
examining both for their societal and cultural implications. Two Donuts is an excellent example of theatre
for young audiences that examines the stories of immigrants and people of color through dramatic work.
Six Characters in Search of an Author allows students to make inferences about the practices of theatre in
the time that each play was written. Students are given the opportunity to respond to these works using
tenets of acting and design to present their impressions and the impact of the work.
Students in my courses also complete regular self-reflective writings in which they explore what
and how they learn, and what contributions they make to a positive learning environment. These
constructed responses ask students to honestly evaluate their own performance, and promote an
understanding of the process by which they will transfer what they are learning in my class to other
classes throughout their educational journey. Students also provide constructive feedback to their peers,
and to me as their instructor. I model acceptance and flexibility as I implement the constructive criticisms
of my students as they are expected to accept and adjust to mine. I challenge myself to grow with, from,
and because of the experiences I have each year, and expect my students to do the same. They engage
with their own growth and adjustment through regular interaction with feedback, such as responding to
comments, drafting, and revision of all kinds of work.
In conclusion, I emphasize teaching students how to find something that is meaningful or
interesting to them, making inferences about it, applying what they have learned, and then reflecting on
their learning in order to best understand their contribution. This process is accomplished through
carefully constructed selection of assignments, materials, and methods of receiving and responding to
feedback. As a result, students learn about their interested, the world of theatre, and how they are
learning, which can be applied regardless of the paths they take in their futures.