Behind the Scenes with Ms. Sarah Ream

With the mountains of school work, college pressures and social stresses Exeter can bring, students can always use a little bit of cheering up. Sarah Ream, chair of the theater and dance department, is always there to put a smile on their faces. Her energetic yet professional attitude makes her both a great motivator and an inspiring teacher who truly touches the lives of the people around her.Ream first arrived at Exeter to cover for a one year sabbatical replacement in 1997. During that year, she discovered her passion for teaching students in both the English and theater departments and found the campus a fitting place to live. When the opportunity arose to stay, she immediately embraced it, discovering what would be her new home for the next more than eighteen years.Before coming here as a faculty member, Ream began her Exeter life as a student, class of 1975. She came to the Academy during its second year of accepting female boarding students. During this time, she fell in love with the idea of learning around the Harkness table and as a teacher, she is still fond of the tradition.“I love teaching the students here,” Ream said. “I really believe in Harkness as a pedagogy, and I think its a great way to engage student curiosity. That is what has kept it really fun and lively. When I was a student here, I loved learning that way, so it's not surprising that I love teaching that way, too.”As a student turned teacher, she enjoys challenging her students to be curious during Harkness and improvisation sessions, encouraging them to confront questions openly. She pushes her students to strive for their best, while also keeping in mind the rigorous academic workload and several club commitments students have to cope with on a daily basis.“I try very hard to stay within the homework guidelines because I know what it is like to have to pull an all nighter,” she said. “I tell my students that I want them to get sleep and I want them to tell me if the homework ever exceeds the guidelines. I would also much rather have someone ask for an extension than either stay up all night or get themselves into some sort of tricky situation where they inadvertently plagiarize or get themselves into some other kind of mischief.”Ream’s specialisation as both a Theater and English instructor complement each other. Her past experience teaching at drama schools in England and working as a theater director allowed her to share a unique way of teaching with the English department. English Instructor Lark Hammond further explained a situation where Ream showed her special ability to connect drama and English.“The English department got together in the theater and she talked to us a little bit about Hamlet,” Hammond said. “Each of us had a character and a scene and she gave us her list of questions that she uses with students on how to get inside the head of a character and brainstorm what the character might be thinking of or feeling at that time. During the event she showed a strong sense of tolerance, humor and encouragement that she had learned from her past career in drama.”Ream’s knowledge and passion for drama also inspired her to become the advisor of DRAMAT where she is known to be a great leader and motivator. Eliran Oz, an active participant in DRAMAT, commented on her ability to inspire students and help them expand their skills.“In the main stage, she was always very open with what people wanted to do and how they developed their characters,” Oz said. “She is great at applying Harkness to the arts and creating conversations about how students can expand their talents.”Indeed, her positive personality can be seen in both the classroom and the theatre. English Instructor Ralph Sneeden, who has known Ream for many years, welcomes the reassurance she has always provided him.“I’ve appreciated her encouragement over the years, her enthusiastic support of my writing, her friendship,” Sneeden said.Ream also creates a friendly presence in dorm life. When she was a boarding student, she sometimes felt homesick from her home in San Francisco. Her past experiences encouraged her to create an open atmosphere for her apartment.“When I ran a dorm I tried to run it as a kind of extended big family so that people could come in and out of my apartment easily and comfortably all the time,” she said. “My thinking is that if I get to know people as people and they get to know me in a really relaxed and comfortable way, then when they are in trouble they will find it easier to come to me. That, in fact, has turned out to be the case.”This relaxed and familiar personality lures her advisees into a feeling of comfort and warmth. Senior Saisha Talwar, a close friend and advisee of hers, says that a major reason for her decision to attend PEA was because of Ream.“Ms. Ream has acted as my adviser for the past year, or rather quasi-mother,” Talwar said. “The way she spoke to me about theatre and just Exeter as a whole largely influenced my decision to attend PEA. She is so caring and involved as an adviser. She invites her advisees to her house for homemade dinners and never enters a Wednesday meeting without chocolate croissants. I will miss her so much next year.”As an active member of many committees, Ream has a lot of work on her plate. She juggles this workload with ease, delving fully into everything she does. Like many others, Hammond has been touched by Ream’s unique spirit and enthusiasm for all activities.“She has, to me, an amazingly positive spirit,” Hammond said. “She is always willing to see the best in everybody and is very forgiving of people's difficulties and idiosyncrasies and is just very generous when dealing with people. She will work extremely hard and is willing to do more than most people whether she gets credit for it or not.”​