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. 

 

The purpose of this cohort is to fill a gap we currently see in the DFW arts community. We want to offer early-career directors a safe place to develop their craft and seek feedback from their peers and other professionals. We want this to be a group that allows directors to grow without the pressures of impressing a professional theater in order to be hired again. STT will serve as facilitators and educators, giving feedback, training, and a place to ask questions. 

 

• Each cohort member will be assigned one of our three plays to assistant direct. They will partner with the director of that piece to observe and collaborate on the entire production. 

  • Additionally, the two cohort members not assigned to a particular show will be invited to observe and learn from the tech process of the other two shows in the season. 

 

• Beyond observing professional directors and their process, we would also like to 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.

 

• Finally, each Associate would finish off the year by directing at least one of the final presentations of our Thought Process Playwrighting Cohort. Playwrights in this cohort end the year with the option to produce a staged reading of their work. Our directors would partner with our playwrights to stage these readings for either public or invited audiences. In this way, they would have the opportunity to practice directing professional actors and have their work be seen by the theater community in DFW.

 

Directors will also be given two comps to each show in our 2025 Season! 

 

Application Information

 

• 3 directors will be chosen each year.

• Applicants must be local to the DFW Metroplex, or the surrounding suburbs, and must be able to attend rehearsals of their chosen play as well as all scene study meetings.

• Conflicts are accepted, but we will have to work together to reschedule scene study meetings - consistent attendance and investment is paramount in order to create the proper environment.

• Directors wishing to apply must submit:

  • This Google Form questionnaire, answering questions about their work, process, and goals for a program like this one. 

  • Their artistic resume, including all relevant experience.

  • Directors may be asked to interview with members of the STT staff to speak more about their artistic aesthetic for a specific play. This will be communicated with each applicant if needed. 

    • Directors will be selected based on a combination of these three criteria.

    • The deadline to apply for the Associate Director Program is EOD January 3rd, 2025

 

Season Dates

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Healed by Blake Hackler, Directed by Carson McCaiN

• Rehearsals: March 24 - April 22 (Monday - Friday 6:30-10:30 PM)

• Tech: April 19 (Saturday: 8 out of 10)

• Dress: April 21 and 22nd

• Previews: April 23rd and 24th

• Opening: April 25th

• Run: April 25th - May 10th

​

Your Wife’s Dead Body  by Jenny Ledel, Directed by Alex Organ

• Rehearsals: June 9th - July 8th (Monday - Friday 6:30-10:30 PM)

• Tech: July 5th (Saturday: 8 out of 10)

• Dress: July 7th and 8th

• Previews: July 9th and 10th

• Opening: July 11th

• Run: July 11th - July 26th

​

INCARNATE  by Parker Davis Gray, Directed by Jenna Burnett

• Rehearsals: September 8th - October 14th (Monday - Friday 6:30-10:30 PM)

• Tech: October 6th - 10th (Monday - Friday)

• Dress: October 13th and 14th

• Previews: October 15th and 16th

• Opening: October 17th

• Run: October 15th - November 1st

 

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

 

Thought Process Reading Schedule TBD in December 2025 based on director and playwright availability.