Sonya Cooke is the creator of Seven Pillars Acting, with branches in Southern California, the Actor’s Studio of Orange County and Seven Pillars Acting Studio in Los Angeles. She started her teaching career by coaching actors in New York in 2008 and launched a blog on acting technique. In addition, she has worked with many institutions all over the country as a teacher, curriculum writer, and program developer; these include the Relativity School in Los Angeles, University of California at Irvine, the Guthrie Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and more. She coaches privately in Los Angeles and Orange County as well as internationally through Skype. Sonya designs the Seven Pillars Acting curriculum, trains and certifies instructors, and is the master teacher at both schools.

Sonya Cooke is a working actress and director in Los Angeles. Originally from Texas, she has acted in TV, film, New York and regional theatre, as well as commercials, print, and voice-over media. Career highlights include Louie by Louie C.K., creating devised theatre at the Guthrie, and playing the title role in feature film, Lily Grace. She earned degrees from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts. She is passionate about acting technique and loves helping her students discover their talents.