Rogelio Douglas III “RD3” is an actor, director, movement artist, and spoken-word poet whose work begins in the body where story lives before language. He earned his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater, Film and Television, where he teaches Audition Technique, Script Analysis, Movement for Actors, Voice, and Acting, challenging students to move beyond performance and into presence.
Douglas is the Co-Director of the Acting and Performance Summer Institute at UCLA, where he also serves as a lecturer. He was a founding faculty member of the inaugural Intermediate Acting Summer Institute, where he curated and led the Audition Technique curriculum for college students. His course was designed as a rigorous, industry-facing experience equipping actors with practical tools in self-taping, technical execution, and professional presence. Students left the program prepared not only to navigate auditions, but to compete and book with confidence.
RD3’s practice blends physical theater, rhythm, and poetry to investigate identity, vulnerability, and the tension between control and release. His training is deeply informed by the Suzuki Method and Viewpoints, having worked extensively with J. Ed Araiza and other original members of the SITI Company, grounding his work in rigorous physical discipline and ensemble awareness.
As a director and deviser, Douglas builds work collaboratively from the inside out, centering the lived experiences of performers and the stories carried in the body. He most recently directed La Cybor Perra at the Frida Kahlo Theater’s festival, continuing his commitment to bold, ensemble-driven, and culturally rooted storytelling.
As an actor, his stage work spans Los Angeles’ leading theaters, including Geffen Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Latino Theater Company, Robey Theatre Company, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, and Shakespeare by the Sea. He most recently led the world premiere of Mascogos at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, a production noted for his physical intensity anchored by a performance that sustained and carried the work’s emotional core. His screen and voice work includes collaborations with Blumhouse Productions, C5 (Cohort 5) Productions, Amazon Prime Video, NBC, CBS, and Netflix. He is currently a series regular voice in an upcoming international Netflix production.
As an educator, Douglas is committed to cultivating spaces where discipline and vulnerability coexist. In addition to his work at UCLA, he serves as a guest teaching artist with the Pasadena Unified School District, currently teaching playwriting and script analysis at John Muir High School. He also continues to serve as Program Coordinator for TFT’s Theater Summer Institute, supporting emerging artists in the development of both craft and artistic voice.
In 2019, Douglas was selected to study and train at the Festival d’Avignon under the mentorship of the late Michael Hackett, an experience that continues to inform RD3’s global and physically-driven approach to performance-making.
As both an artist and educator, he is driven by a commitment to rigor and risk; and empowering actors to trust their instincts, sharpen their physical awareness, and claim ownership over their voice.