JR Cassidy '26: From Directing “The Bacchae” to Writing for Film

JR Cassidy is a senior from Seattle, Washington, double majoring in English and Theater Studies. At Duke, his work has centered on music, literature and theater. Cassidy studied abroad in the Duke in London - Arts and Duke in Seoul programs. In 2025, Cassidy directed Euripides’ “The Bacchae” for Duke Players, which earned him a Duke Arts Award for excellence in directing. He also received the Reynolds Price Award for Screenwriting for a screenplay he wrote through the Duke Arts Studio program. He is a contributing editor for Archive magazine and his band, Solfish, is signed to Small Town Records. After graduation, he plans to pursue an MFA in Writing for Film and Television at Columbia University. In his free time, Cassidy enjoys playing the drums and listens to Bladee. 

As the academic year draws to a close, we asked Cassidy to reflect on his time at Duke, the experiences that shaped him and what he hopes to carry forward after graduation. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Is there a moment, experience, class, or person at Duke that changed you? 

The Duke in London - Arts program was a turning point for me. It was an intense, immersive experience filled with theater, art and art history, and it felt like a creative oasis. Torry Bend, who led the program, gave me a strong scholarly foundation for thinking about art and performance. That framework shaped many of the creative choices I made afterward. 

Is there a part of yourself that you discovered or reclaimed during your time at Duke? 

Duke helped me become a musician. I didn’t play the drums when I arrived, and by the end of college I was recording, writing and performing with some of the most incredible people I’ve met here. 

I also explored courses in the music department, and Dr. Taylor Black’s English class Philosophy of Modern Song completely changed the way I think about music. It made the creative process feel deeper, stranger and more expansive. 

What advice or message would you give to your first-year self, or to an incoming first-year at Duke? 

Try to embrace the difficult parts of the transition to college. Trust the people around you and explore as much as you can. Duke is full of interesting people hosting interesting events — and sometimes there’s free food. 

As you prepare to graduate, what are you most grateful for from your time at Duke? 

I’m most grateful for Duke’s campus culture. The work ethic, curiosity and strong sense of fun that define the community here are things I hope to carry with me for the rest of my life.