Doreen (Bell) Zudell, class of 1983, a Creative Writing and Journalism major writes,"I had Mr. Reynolds for Shakespeare class in the early 1980s. I remember how he walked us through the scenes and helped us understand what the characters were saying. He was passionate about his teaching; kind and patient with his students.Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for nurturing students’ love for literature and theatre!"
Linda Werman Brawner, class of 1978, a Creative Writing major, shares how Mr. Reynolds's feedback on her writing encouraged her: "I took an essay course from him. I enjoyed his class because the criticism wasn't as sharp as in other writing classes. It was good and valid, but not acidic. On one of my papers he wrote something about 'your tone of gentle strength.' He pointed out something I didn't realize I had. That one small comment has shaped my entire life."
Dr. Deborah Fleming, Professor of English, shares her memories of Mr. Reynolds as a colleague: "I remember Jim Reynolds as someone always easy to work with, never had a bad word to say, mild-mannered, kept to himself, but friendly. He tried some very experimental things with his plays. My favorite one of his was "The Cherry Orchard." I went to all the plays directed by him (as well as the other directors) in those days."
The following reflection is from Dr. Russell Weaver, Professor of English:
Jim was my first real friend in the English Department. He was on the search committee when I was hired, and I remember that he barely said anything at the lunch where I was interviewed. However, once we settled into our routines, we started running into each other because our offices were one door from one another. Once we started chatting, I found that, even though we approached teaching differently, he seemed to understand intuitively what I was doing, and we spent a lot of time discussing what was happening in our classes and especially about our reaction to our students' writing. But what really sparked our friendship was when I discovered his involvement in the theatrical productions at then Ashland College.
My wife and I began attending the college productions which provided an endless source of fascinating discussions with Jim. It was always very instructive to talk over the plays I had seen, whether those at the college or elsewhere. He had, needless to say, a broad knowledge of theater, and he also had incredibly high standards and very specific things he wanted from a performance. His critiques of productions were hilarious as he was, despite the taciturnity he displayed on our first meeting, uninhibited in expressing his feelings about everything. Discussing the plays he was preparing for production was initially a daunting proposition due to the gloom that settled over him once he was in the midst of rehearsal. One thing you could always count on was that, whenever Jim was directing a play, it was clear that the end of world was imminent and all hope for meaning was irretrievably lost. And Jim wasn't kidding. Somehow, the apocalypse was usually averted, although, after the play was over, there was still no joy in Mudville.
He suffered over everything that was not perfect. Jim was at one with Alec Guiness who, when asked which role that he had played was was his favorite, said, "I wished to hell I'd never done any of them." I remember one play that we saw after he had retired in which it was difficult to understand what the actors were saying. He said that the first step he always took as director once the actors had learned their lines was to stand in the back of the hall and yell, "What? What? What?" For many years after his retirement, most of our conversations took place at Hawkins Grocery Store. We would tend to meet in the meat department and spend an hour or so catching up, discussing the plays he had seen at AU or elsewhere. No matter how long it had been since we had talked, it was as though no time had passed. We just picked up where we had left off. He was truly a great guy, and he will be sorely missed.
Dr. Deborah Fleming, Professor of English, shares her memories of Mr. Reynolds as a colleague: "I remember Jim Reynolds as someone always easy to work with, never had a bad word to say, mild-mannered, kept to himself, but friendly. He tried some very experimental things with his plays. My favorite one of his was "The Cherry Orchard." I went to all the plays directed by him (as well as the other directors) in those days."
The following reflection is from Dr. Russell Weaver, Professor of English:
Jim was my first real friend in the English Department. He was on the search committee when I was hired, and I remember that he barely said anything at the lunch where I was interviewed. However, once we settled into our routines, we started running into each other because our offices were one door from one another. Once we started chatting, I found that, even though we approached teaching differently, he seemed to understand intuitively what I was doing, and we spent a lot of time discussing what was happening in our classes and especially about our reaction to our students' writing. But what really sparked our friendship was when I discovered his involvement in the theatrical productions at then Ashland College.
My wife and I began attending the college productions which provided an endless source of fascinating discussions with Jim. It was always very instructive to talk over the plays I had seen, whether those at the college or elsewhere. He had, needless to say, a broad knowledge of theater, and he also had incredibly high standards and very specific things he wanted from a performance. His critiques of productions were hilarious as he was, despite the taciturnity he displayed on our first meeting, uninhibited in expressing his feelings about everything. Discussing the plays he was preparing for production was initially a daunting proposition due to the gloom that settled over him once he was in the midst of rehearsal. One thing you could always count on was that, whenever Jim was directing a play, it was clear that the end of world was imminent and all hope for meaning was irretrievably lost. And Jim wasn't kidding. Somehow, the apocalypse was usually averted, although, after the play was over, there was still no joy in Mudville.
He suffered over everything that was not perfect. Jim was at one with Alec Guiness who, when asked which role that he had played was was his favorite, said, "I wished to hell I'd never done any of them." I remember one play that we saw after he had retired in which it was difficult to understand what the actors were saying. He said that the first step he always took as director once the actors had learned their lines was to stand in the back of the hall and yell, "What? What? What?" For many years after his retirement, most of our conversations took place at Hawkins Grocery Store. We would tend to meet in the meat department and spend an hour or so catching up, discussing the plays he had seen at AU or elsewhere. No matter how long it had been since we had talked, it was as though no time had passed. We just picked up where we had left off. He was truly a great guy, and he will be sorely missed.
