Loren Cocking
Emeritus Faculty - Cinema and Phogography
In 1962 Loren Cocking began his employment at SIU as a filmmaker with SIU Film Production, an in-house motion picture production service. After that unit was closed, he was hired to teach in SIU's Department of Cinema and Photography. He taught filmmaking courses at all levels, but Film Production II, the first 16mm class, was his favorite. Other specialties were Animated Film Production, Motion Picture Sound Workshop, and Stereoscopic Cinema. He retired in 2002.
Loren was a founding member of the Jackson County Stage Company, and he remained active with that community theater group after his retirement from SIU, primarily as one of its scene designers. He also devoted much time to writing the book, music, and lyrics for a full-length musical adaptation of James Thurber's "The 13 Clocks". The show received its world premiere in 2008, when the Stage Company staged three performances at SIU's McLeod Theater, with Loren as its producer.
In mid 2012, he and his wife, Lisa Colby, moved to Hillsboro Oregon. There, both are involved with activities of their Unitarian-Universalist church, including volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Lisa enjoys gardening at their new location, and Loren keeps busy with set design work for Hillsboro's HART Theatre.