Cole Cook

Cole Cook

Lecturer
Theatre, College of Performing Arts

Biography

Cole Cook is a professional actor, educator, and multidisciplinary theatre artist whose work blends performance with teaching rooted in collaboration and respect for diverse voices. He earned his MFA in Performance Pedagogy from Loyola Marymount University and is currently pursuing a master’s in Transformative Education with a California Single Subject Teaching Credential in Theatre. His research focuses on expanding actor training beyond the traditional canon by integrating culturally responsive and community-based methodologies.

Cook is a Designated Meisner Teacher through the Meisner Institute, a Certified Instructor in Seven Pillars Acting, and a Fitzmaurice Voicework® Candidate. He is also a teacher-in-training in the Stella Adler Technique and preparing for certification in the Michael Chekhov Technique. He regularly leads acting and industry-focused workshops at theatre festivals nationwide and is active in theatre education conferences such as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

As a performer, Cook has appeared regionally in The History Boys (Artists Repertory Theatre, ArtsWest), A Confederacy of Dunces and Emma (Book-It Repertory Theatre), The Mystery of Irma Vep and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Idaho Repertory Theatre), and Julius Caesar (Shakespeare on the Bluff). On screen, he can be seen in Season 2 of HBO Max’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Originally from Washington’s Tri-Cities, Cook is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association, and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. He currently teaches at Chapman University and The Actors’ Studio of Orange County.

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