MEET OUR 2025
ASSOCIATE DIRECTING COHORT
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Jori is a mutli-disciplinary theatre artist and Shreveport, Louisiana native. Her stage experience is rooted in devised storytelling and performance art that highly focuses on the upliftment and amplification of Black, BIPOC, Womxn, Youth, LGBTQIA centric works.
She holds a B.S. in Musical Theatre and Performance Directing from Northwestern State University of LA. Her most recent directing work includes 4th Annual Banned Books Festival:
The Stamped Project (Bishop Arts Theatre), The Thought Process: A Playwriting Cohort ( Second Thought Theatre) and New Play Concert Reading (UTA Black Theatre Society). Some of her acting credits include: YANGA, The Last Stop On Market Street, PETE, Once On This Island, Memphis, AIDA and A Raisin In The Sun.
She is a recipient of the DFW Black Arts- Irma P. Hall Awards Medal of Community Service for her work as Community Partnerships Program Manager at Broadway Dallas and is currently pursuing a Sensitivity Specialty Certification with The Intimacy Coordinators of Color. Jori is beyond excited to be part of the STT Associate Director Cohort and all of the meaningful storytelling thats to come this season.
Zak Reynolds has been working as an Actor's Equity Association member in Dallas-Fort Worth since 2013. Starting at 8 years old, he began performing Musical Theatre with Kids Who Care, Inc. and toured nationally with their Resident Company, performing numerous times throughout the school years until the end of high school in 2010. After studying Musical Theatre at Circle in the Square Theatre School in NYC, he returned to Dallas and has been working regionally at theaters such as Casa Manana, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Geva Theatre Center, Sierra Repertory Theatre, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Amphibian Stage Productions, Dallas Children's Theater, WaterTower Theater, Circle Theatre, Stage West, Theatre 3, Lyric Stage, and Shakespeare Dallas. His work as an Assistant Director was seen with The Importance of Being Earnest in the 2024 season at Stage West, he has written/directed a short film, "Review", with his colleagues in The Actor's Collaborative, and was an Assistant to the Director on The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Dallas Theater Center in 2014. Outside of the arts, he works as a craft cocktail bartender and has been mentioned in Forbes magazine, along with being recognized as "Mixologist of the Year 2022" in Fort Worth Weekly. All thanks to Parker and Carson for this opportunity. www.zakisbald.com @zakkyreyrey
Rodrigo Caraveo, a Texas native from Brownsville, discovered his passion for theater early, immersing himself in storytelling and stagecraft. This passion has led him to roles such as interning for The Old Globe’s production of Hair in San Diego and stage-managing several Dallas productions, where he collaborated to bring impactful stories to life. As a board member of Teatro Dallas, Rodrigo champions underrepresented voices and socially conscious art. He is excited to bring his experience to the Associate Director program and further hone his skills to create transformative work.
ADDITIONALLY - Seeking Actors interested in Scene Study Classes for our Associate Director Program:
Second Thought Theatre is also seeking actors interested in a scene study class as part of our Associate Director Program.
Second Thought Theatre’s Associate Director Program is a year-long cohort aimed at providing professional development through education, exposure, and opportunity.
Three early-career professionals will have the opportunity to assist on one production of our 2025 season, gain training and receive feedback from professional directors, spend the year working on scene study with Artistic Director Carson McCain, and then end their year with each director taking the lead on 1-3 readings for our 2025 Thought Process new play readings.
Beyond observing professional directors and their process, this Associate Director program would give the members of the cohort a chance to work scenes in a low-stakes environment, receiving feedback on their style and process from STT’s Artistic Director, Carson McCain.
• This would be in the form of a scene study, where directors would work a scene with actors in real time, practicing how they give notes to those they are working with for the first time.
• Meetings will take place (usually) every other month, 6 times per year, with each director guaranteed the opportunity to share their work at least twice throughout the year.
Scene Study Dates:
Usually the third Sunday of every OTHER month from 6PM to 10PM
(Subject to change based on director availability)
• February 16th, 2025
• April 19th, 2025
• May 18th, 2025
• July 20th, 2025
• September 21st, 2025
• November 16th, 2025
-Actors interested in being a part of this completely free scene study class with a chance to work with three early-career professional directors, and Second Thought Theatre’s Artistic Director, Carson McCain, can fill out this google form with their interest and availability for the dates above.
-Actors will be contacted throughout the year as needed based on the character specifications and needs of each scene chosen for each director. Upon confirmation, actors may be contacted by the directors to potentially schedule any outside-of-class rehearsals/read-throughs, though this is not guaranteed or required.
-This Google form will be accessible year-round so if your availability/interest changes, you can inform us!