Two-time Samford University alumnus Wayne Cook ’90, MDiv ’97, was named the Troupe Director of the Year by the Alabama Thespians, one of three awards given each year by the organization made up of theater teachers across the state.
“It’s great to be recognized by people who do what you do,” said Cook, who leads the theater department at Cullman High School. “We try to provide not just good theater, but to build a culture and program where we invest in the kids and teach them life lessons as well.”
At Samford, Cook was involved in the A Capella Choir while earning his bachelor’s degree in religious education. He went on to receive his Master of Divinity from Samford’s Beeson Divinity School.
“I love Samford and Beeson,” Cook said. “I felt called to ministry and my parents made sure I got the opportunity to go to Samford.”
Cook is proud of his degree from Beeson, as it was a well-earned reward after several years of intense study. "You have to work to receive it,” he said. “It has served me well. I never shy away from telling people that.”
Before joining the faculty at Cullman High, Cook served for more than 20 years in student ministry at Northbrook Baptist Church in Cullman, Alabama, before planting and pastoring a church in Dodge City, Alabama, where he served eight years. Cook has also owned several businesses throughout his career.
While he was in student ministry, Cook led theater within his student groups, a reflection of his lifelong passion for theater. In 2014, aware of his advocacy for the arts and experience in theater and in working with teenagers, Cullman High School’s principal approached Cook and asked him to join the faculty.
“A lightbulb went off in my head,” Cook said.
The job was a no-brainer, as Cook’s skillset has always been with teenagers. It allowed him to go where students were and meet those he would likely never have met in a church setting.
“We work with kids who would never have darkened the doors of a youth group,” Cook said.
Knowing the city needed not just high school drama productions but community-wide productions, Cook launched the Cullman Community Theater in 2015, allowing him and other leaders to create a successful arts community in the city.
Theater allows those in it to tell important stories and, in a church setting, provides a different way in which to share the Gospel, Cook said.
“It’s always been in my blood,” Cook said. “Theater builds a family and unity. It’s a place you can be accepted if you aren’t accepted elsewhere.”
Teaching theater gives Cook the privilege of providing guidance and teaching life lessons to students. While he isn’t preaching to them, they know who he is and what he stands for.
Being at the high school also allows Cook to work alongside his wife, Robin, who teaches English.
Under Cook’s leadership, Cullman’s theater department has won four state titles, earning “Best In Show” at the State Trumbauer Festival. The department has represented the state of Alabama at both the Southeastern Theater Conference twice and the International Thespian Festival once with student one acts.