Cole Cook – Artistic Statement
I come to the theatre as both outsider and architect — a queer kid from a rural, conservative town who found belonging in the strange, the subversive, the sacred mess of performance. I didn’t grow up seeing myself reflected in the mainstream, so I learned to make mirrors out of theatre — often distorted, often defiant, always truthful.
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I’m drawn to storytelling that unsettles expectations and redefines the rules. As a performance artist, I work with the absurd, the experimental, and the emotionally raw to crack open space for people who’ve never felt like they belonged. My work is grounded in the idea that theatre should be less about polish and perfection, and more about provocation, presence, and shared human messiness.
I don’t create work to answer questions — I create to ask better ones. I’m less interested in clean conclusions than in crafting brave spaces for connection, confusion, transformation, and truth. Whether I’m directing, devising, or performing, I see theatre not as a product to be consumed, but as a process to be co-experienced. It’s a conversation. It’s a pulse.
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As an educator, I carry this ethos into the classroom. I strive to build spaces where every student can take artistic risks, challenge norms, and find their own voice. My pedagogy is rooted in culturally responsive and inclusive practice, blending classical training methods with contemporary frameworks that reflect the identities and experiences of my students. I view performance not just as an art form, but as a tool for liberation, belonging, and social imagination.
If Hamlet’s mirror is meant to reflect nature, mine is still a fun house mirror — bending, refracting, reshaping the world into something more inclusive, more curious, more honest. I am a storyteller in constant evolution, and the stories I tell are for anyone still looking for their tribe.
A Mirror, A Stage, A Classroom:
Cole Cook is a multidisciplinary theatre artist and educator based in Los Angeles, blending professional performance with inclusive, student-centered teaching.​
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Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Cole made his regional debut in Portland at Artists Repertory Theatre in the Portland premiere of The History Boys as Timms. Soon after, he joined the cast of The History Boys again—this time as Rudge—for ArtsWest in Seattle. His stage credits also include performances with Book-It Repertory Theatre (A Confederacy of Dunces, Emma) and Idaho Repertory Theatre (The Mystery of Irma Vep, The Merry Wives of Windsor). He has also appeared as the Soothsayer in Julius Caesar with Shakespeare on the Bluff in Los Angeles and can be seen in Season 2 of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty on HBO Max.
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As an educator, Cole is a Designated Meisner Teacher through the Meisner Institute, a Certified Instructor in Seven Pillars Acting, and a teacher-in-training in the principles and technique of Stella Adler. He is also a Fitzmaurice Voicework® Candidate, having trained directly with Catherine Fitzmaurice in Los Angeles. His next certification will be in the Michael Chekhov Technique, as he continues to expand his training across a wide spectrum of performance pedagogies.
Cole holds an M.F.A. in Performance Pedagogy from Loyola Marymount University and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Secondary Teaching – Transformative Education, along with a California Single Subject Teaching Credential in Theatre. His research centers on expanding performance pedagogy to include diverse methodologies beyond the traditional canon, with a focus on culturally responsive teaching for today’s students.
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He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association, and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.
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Next up: Cole will be teaching The Meisner Technique at Chapman University in Fall 2025.