WHAT IS A DIRT DOG?

This is the same approach we take in creating multi-faceted theatrical productions. We give everything we have to our shows, and we often get dirty in the process.

dirt dog/

dert dÔg/

noun

1. A tough, scrappy baseball player who plays hard, gets dirty, has an unrelenting work ethic, and throws their whole heart into the game.

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. creates multi-faceted theatrical productions that enrich and entertain audiences, inspire artists, and honor playwrights.

— OUR MISSION —

ABOUT US

Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. was established in 2015 by Houston Theatre veterans Trevor B. Cone, Malinda L. Beckham, and John Baker, who in the previous 5 years had worked together on more than a dozen Houston shows.

Touting 51 cumulative years of experience, the trio founded a company that collaborates with other Houston artists and playwrights to provide an opportunity for new works to be seen, and previously produced ones to breathe new life.

— OUR FOUNDERS —

Malinda L. Beckham

Malinda has been a prominent member of Houston’s theatre community since her 1993 stage debut in Charley’s Aunt (Amy Spettigue). Since then, she’s been in Appropriate (Toni), Misery (Annie Wilkes), Clybourne Park (Bev/Kathy), The Revolutionists (Olympe de Gouges), Boston Marriage (Anna), The Graduate (Mrs. Robinson), Five by TENN (various), Death and the Maiden (Paulina Salas), Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander (Lu Ann), A Few Good Men (LCDR JoAnne Galloway), Proof (Catherine), and The Bad Seed (Christine). Malinda directed Bug, Blackbird, Race, The Pillowman, Coyote on a Fence, A Steady Rain (2016 & 2022), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, The Exonerated, Glengarry Glen Ross, the world premiere of The Boundary, and co-directed A Lie of the Mind for DDTCo. She's a Houston Theater Award finalist for best artistic director (2023-25), best director (The Pillowman, Race and Bug), and best set design (Glengarry Glen Ross and The Philadelphia Story). She won best actress (Misery), best supporting actress (Clybourne Park) and also won best costume design for Clybourne Park and The Revolutionists.

Trevor B. Cone

Trevor holds a BA in Theatre from the University of New Hampshire. He arrived in Houston in 2001, and since then has been seen onstage in several productions including Misery (Paul Sheldon), Clybourne Park (Russ/Dan), Educating Rita (Frank), Fetch Clay, Make Man (William Fox), The Chosen (David Malter), A Steady Rain (Joey in 2016 & 2022), K2 (Harold), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Dale Harding), Speed the Plow (Bobby Gould), The Pillowman (Ariel), Laura (McPherson), and Inherit the Wind (Bertram Cates). Trevor has also directed and/or designed sound for productions such as The Birds, White Guy on the Bus, Life x 3, Five by TENN, The Break of Noon, Death and the Maiden, Superior Donuts, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Below the Belt. Trevor was a finalist for best sound design in the Houston Press Theater Awards for Anna Christie in 2014 and The Birds in 2024.  

John Baker

With more than 20 years of theatrical design and production experience, John infuses Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. with his unique problem-solving and flexible thinking. After earning his BFA in Lighting Design from Boston University in 2004, he was a staff member in the lighting department at South Coast Repertory Theatre (LORT B+) in Costa Mesa, CA. He then served as the Master Electrician at Houston’s renowned Alley Theatre. John has designed lighting and collaborated on a diverse range of productions over the years, bringing stories and concepts to life with his approach to the experience. His talent has earned him the Houston Press Award for best lighting design three times—for Bug in 2025 and for The Pillowman  in 2015 and 2025—and he was a finalist for the same award in 2023 (Misery), 2018 (The Exonerated), and 2017 (Glengarry Glen Ross). John brings the Dirt Dogs spirit and energy into everything we do.

— OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS —

John Baker, Board President

Kelly Raley, Board Secretary

Trevor B. Cone, Board Treasurer

Malinda L. Beckham

Cathy Herrington Hale

Adina Owen

— OUR STAFF —

Malinda L. Beckham

Trevor B. Cone

John Baker

Melissa J. Marek

Olivia Knight

Curtis Barber

Mark Lewis

Barbara Alicea-Aponte

Donna McKenzie, Doug Williams, & John Hawthorne Smith

Artistic Director

Executive Director

Design Director

Marketing Director

Marketing Associate

Artistic Associate

Production Manager

Production Stage Manager

Artists-in-Residence

#thisisadirtdog

Have you seen someone wearing a Dirt Dogs T-shirt and wondered how to get one? DDTCo. shirts are not sold, they are earned. Each cast and crew member who works on a Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. production receives a shirt emblazoned with the Dirt Dogs logo on the front. On the back is the phrase #thisisadirtdog—coined by our artistic director when she witnessed a Dirt Dog going above-and-beyond expectations. These shirts represent the hard work and dedication of the artists who make DDTCo. possible. If you see a DDTCo. shirt in public, you've found a member of our team who gets scrappy, plays hard and throws their whole heart into the game.

#thisisadirtdog