Teachers are used to wearing numerous hats in their career, and Reeva Forrester is no different. The married mother of two from Gwinnett has been a special education instructor, a learning coach, and a diagnostician. Now, she’s an on-set educator.
After teaching public school for nine years, her role as a diagnostician had her acting more like a school psychologist, and with a desire to teach again, she took a friend’s advice whose daughter was working four days a week on a film set.
“She told me she had a studio teacher, and that I might want to try that,” says Reeva. “I love teaching, and I love kids. I did some research, and the first job I applied for, they called.”
For two seasons she worked on “Resurrection” instructing a lead actor. After that show wrapped up, the Georgia native started getting more calls, especially as the film industry exploded across the state. She’s been a part of productions such as “Venom” and “Jumanji: The Next Level”, and TV series like “Greenleaf” and “Devious Maids.” She’s even been on location for the occasional music video.
But being outside of an actual classroom also brings different challenges.
“On set, you want to make sure the kids are safe. There are a lot of different people on set, and kids can wander on and off. I have to make sure they get quality time and they’re in an area where they can learn without a lot of distractions,” Reeva says.
Teachers are used to challenges and putting in long hours, and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into her curriculum. She only finds out about a week ahead of time who she’ll be teaching, then she contacts parents and teachers to gauge where each student is at and what materials she’ll need.
Reeva also gets to be a part of surreal moments. Once, she taught a student through her senior year, and like any other senior, she needed a graduation ceremony. Instead of a commencement speaker, she was joined by the cast and crew, which included several major celebrities.
“We had a big celebration for her. It was a special and unique experience … getting to see her graduate while fulfilling her dreams as an actress,” says Reeva.