Jacob is a director & arts leader.

Jacob is dedicated to developing new work, deepening community engagement, and fostering theatre as a civic space for connection, reflection, and change. His work is driven by the belief that regional theatres thrive when they serve as both artistic incubators and vital community institutions.

In 2021, Jacob was appointed Artistic Director of Third Avenue PlayWorks (TAP) in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Under his leadership, TAP has achieved several record-breaking seasons, earning recognition for artistic excellence, fiscal growth, and expanded public access. Guided by a commitment to community-centered practice, Jacob launched a Community Arts Access Program in collaboration with the Door County Library System, removing financial and social barriers to participation in the arts. He also established TAP’s first New Play Development Program, creating a formal structure to support playwrights and the incubation of original work in rural Wisconsin.

In 2023, Jacob directed the world premiere of Jennifer Blackmer’s I Carry Your Heart With Me, which was honored by the American Theatre Critics Association as one of the three best new plays produced outside of New York City that year.

Before joining TAP, Jacob served as Artistic Producer at The COOP, a theatre and film production company founded with Andrus Nichols and Kate Hamill. During the pandemic, he spearheaded the company’s new works initiative, which has since supported the development of plays by over sixteen playwrights and expanded The COOP’s national profile as a home for innovative voices and equitable artistic practice.

As a director and producer, Jacob has collaborated with major regional and national theatres including The Shakespeare Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, Writers Theatre, The Old Globe, Baltimore Center Stage, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Primary Stages, Folger Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, and Mosaic Theater, among others. His work across these organizations reflects a passion for both classical reinterpretation and the cultivation of contemporary voices.

A native of Wisconsin, Jacob holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. He continues to champion the role of regional theatre as a force for cultural vitality—investing in new stories, new artists, and new audiences to ensure a more inclusive and resonant American stage.