Board & Staff

Artistic Director, Jeffrey Schmidt, is a great example of how T3 is integral to the arts ecology in DFW. He has worked in different capacities at T3 for 25 years. From carpenter to actor to designer and now Artistic Director, Jeffrey gained much of his experience from the opportunities T3 has provided. He served as Artistic Director for 2 other theaters including The Drama Club which he founded. Jeffrey was the first theater artist to win the prestigious Mastermind Award by the Dallas Observer. New work and specifically Dallas-based new work is his passion. He’s directed and produced over 20 new plays and musicals during his career. He is also an accomplished film, television and radio actor working with the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Huffman, Veronica Falcón, Judd Nelson, Danica McKellar and Peter Berg to name a few. He can build ANYTHING. He’s knows his way around a farm tractor, can navigate Class V rapids with ease and can dress, skin and quarter a whitetail in 40 minutes. He’s married to actor, TCU Theater Professor and international voice over star Lydia Mackay. Most importantly, Jeffrey is a product of the DFW arts community from college all the way to the present.

Associate Artistic Director, Christie Vela, joined the team in 2019. All of Christie’s ideas are theatrical gold and she never misses a chance to tell you. She Came to Dallas in 1993 from College Station, Tx and cut her theatre teeth at Teatro Dallas under the mentorship of Cora Cardona. Since then you've seen her work as a director, actor and designer at The Undermain Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, Cara Mia Theatre, Stage West, Water Tower Theatre, Echo Theatre, Amphibian Theatre, Dallas Children's Theatre, UNT as a guest director, The Dallas Theatre Center as a founding member of the Diane and Hal Brierly Resident Acting Company, Kitchen Dog theatre as an Artistic Company Member, Second Thought Theatre as an Artistic Associate. For the past 14 years Christie has led the Advanced Acting Learning lab as adjunct faculty at Booker T Washington High School. She gained all of her arts in education experience at Big Thought under the Mentorship of Lisa Schmidt and Gigi Antoni where she led the Coming Up Taller award-winning program CREATIVE SOLUTIONS for 5 years. She spent much of her time at Big Thought travelling around the United states training actors, musicians and dancers to be artist instructors. She is also a frequent guest-director at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence Rhode Island, one of the country's most respected LORT theatres. She has also served as a guest lecturer and Master Acting Instructor at Brown University. Christie has also acted in film, commercials. She's a commercial director and accomplished voice-actor. She most recently directed her first feature film The Finale (available on Amazon) and is one of the hosts of TERROR AND TACOS, a podcast about horror movies and local taquerias. She's the mother of two brilliant and terrifying theatre- makers in their own right and is married to John M Flores, the kindest and smartest man alive.

Merri Brewer is a proud native Texan and a seasoned leader in nonprofit management, bringing a wealth of experience and passion to her work. Having served as the Managing Director of Theatre Three from 2015 to 2020, she is excited to return to the organization and continue her mission of making a meaningful difference in the community.
With a results-driven approach, Merri has led numerous initiatives that foster innovation and create
lasting impacts. Her previous role as Producing Director of Creative Arts Theatre & School (CATS) in
Arlington, Texas, further solidified her commitment to the arts and education.
As a certified teacher with the National Michael Chekhov Association and a former faculty member at
KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts, Merri is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of artists. An accomplished actor, she has graced the stages of renowned venues such as the Dallas
Theater Center, Theatre Three, Stage West, and Echo Theatre.
Merri holds a BFA in Theatre and Television from Texas Christian University and is deeply grateful for
the opportunities that Theatre Three provides. She looks forward to continuing her journey in the arts
and inspiring others along the way.

Sarah Barnes is the woman behind the curtain, pay no attention to her. T3 has been her theatrical home since 2016. She was the Resident Stage Manager at Theatre Britain for six years. Additionally, she has Stage Managed at various locations in DFW as well as Chicago, Cleveland, and Sarastoa, FL. In her free time she plays roller derby. Some of her friends call her Duckie.

David Saldivar has been the Operations Manager since 2019. In addition to his daily administration work, he is T3’s resident fight choreographer and the current lead instructor for Fight Nights. He continues to work with local theaters & high schools as a fight choreographer including Shakespeare Dallas, Bishop Arts Theatre, Irving MainStage, and others. When he is not working on projects, he spends his time with his dog or finding hole in the wall taquerias with friends.

Originally from Orlando, Florida, Katie Ibrahim has been absolutely enamored with the art of theatre since she attended an arts magnet program in high school. She received her B.F.A. in Theatre Studies from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and has been based in Dallas for the last six years. She is a director and has had the opportunity to direct and assistant direct throughout the metroplex, at theatres such as Circle Theatre, Echo Theatre, Kitchen Dog, Shakespeare Dallas, and her daytime theatre home, Theatre Three. She has worked in nonprofit administration for four years and has a deep passion for nonprofit leadership as well as artistic leadership. Her love of theatre comes from her love of people, and she has the utmost respect for those who work in and those who support the arts community. She is also a teacher, working as a lead teaching artist at The Playground Acting Program and as the instructor of the Booker T. Washington PVA Advanced Acting Learning Lab. Katie is endlessly grateful for each part she gets to play in making live theatre for the DFW community. When not working in the theatre, she is reading books about history, watching films with her cinephile husband, or spending time with her cats.

James Chandler is the Box Office and Front of House Manager here at T3. If you are wondering where you have seen him before, he is also an award-winning actor/director who has worked for several theatres all over the DFW area, across the country, and off-Broadway. You may also have heard his voice talents on various tv shows, cartoons, and films. He is a member of Actor's Equity Association.

Shaina is a multidisciplinary artist who was greatly influenced by Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre. She was trained in musical theatre performance at The American Dramatic Academy as well as improvisational comedy at The People's Improv Theatre and UCB NY.

You can see her crafting and performing murder mystery theatre parties all over DFW with Mystery Theatre Dallas. You can also find her on stages across DFW with her musical improv troupe Totally Made-Up Musical.

Isa Flores started at Theatre Three as a Box Office Agent in 2017, where she considers her safe space. In that time, she had a stage reading for Monday Night Playwright, provided blood fx for T3 productions such as Lizzie: The Rock Musical (2023) Misery (2024) and DEER (2026) and has had her paintings featured in the gallery. She is a graduate of KD Conservatory of Film and Dramatic Arts where she studied film production. She plays Kylie Mason in the Dallas indie horror film The Finale. Isa has worked on a number of productions and indie films in DFW doing SFX and props. In her spare time, she likes to paint and write.

Jameson L. Black (They/He) is a non-binary and queer Dallas-based actor and playwright who has their B.F.A. in Acting from Southern Methodist University and an Associates Degree in Theatre from Tyler Junior College. They also spent time as an apprentice with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey where they specialized in performance. Jameson is a recipient of the Greer Garson award and was recently announced as the winner of The Del Shores Foundation’s National Playwriting Competition for his play ANIMALS ~or~ We Just Want Love… which will debut at Theatre Downtown in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2027. He often writes about the struggles of the “lower” class, love, and the feeling that one belongs elsewhere. You can find them on Instagram @_jamie_is_away_

Dominic Pecikonis They/She. Dominic recently self produced, directed, and starred in an all trans production of Little Women, raising $3,000 for a local trans nonprofit. Previous Credits: Nat'l Tour: Spamilton An American Parody, Spectra's Cabaret with Royal Caribbean Regional, Dear Evan Hansen(Zach Theater), Rocky Horror Show (Dallas Theater Center, Lyric Stage), Spring Awakening (Watering Hole Collective), Rent (Theatre Under The Stars and Umbrella Stage Company), Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairytale (Casa Manana). Instagram: @mythriftyaesthetic TikTok: @DomAndEliza. Protect Trans Kids. Protect the Dolls.

Zander Pryor (he/him) is a graduate student at the University of North Texas, currently pursuing his Masters in Library Science. He is also a writer and performer, a three time winner of The Blank Theater's National Young Playwrights Festival and his plays have been put on at Undermain and SheDFWArts as readings. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching horror movies, infodumping about his current hyperfixation, cuddling his cat Antigone and performing draglesque.

Dustin Parsons is an actor you may have seen (or heard!) on stage, in the VO booth, or directing in the Dallas area! He recently performed at Theatre Three as John in The Lion in Winter, as Ariel in The Tempest at Richmond Shakespeare Company, and as Philostrate in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shakespeare Everywhere. He lends his voice to the English dubs of An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess (Charles), The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows (The Master), Let’s Play (Jacob) , Kaiju No.8, Fire Force, SpyXFamily, Dr. Stone, as well as several other popular anime titles. Dustin also directs audio drama for BloodyFM, where he serves as the director and sound designer for the horror/romance series Something's Amiss at Junipers House, streaming anywhere you listen to podcasts! Dustin is a proud Alumni of the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music’s 2022 BFA Acting program.