Eva Burgess

Eva Burgess is an educator/theatre artist and Applied Theatre practitioner.  For over 20 years she has harnessed the power of using theatre to give people a voice, build community, support critical thinking and experience multiple perspectives in order to create a more socially just and equitable world.  

She cut her teeth working for a theatre company in California that used theatre as a therapeutic and educational tool in shelters for survivors of domestic violence, centers for run-away teens, and in the foster care system.  She later worked in LA’s juvenile justice system, collaborating with incarcerated young people to make HIV prevention videos.  In California she also developed an arts-based curriculum for elementary aged students living in single-parent homes, which she implemented in 26 schools.  

Internationally, Eva worked in Bosnia-Hercegovina after the war and over the course of 3 years led theatre and writing workshops for Bosniak, Serbian and Croatian young women to generate dialogue and collaboration through the arts.  Later, as part of her graduate work in Applied Theatre she went to Rwanda to co-lead Theatre of the Oppressed workshops for University students.

Since moving to New York she has worked in many schools teaching theatre and devising original plays with young people. As an university adjunct professor she taught Devising (for acting majors) and Playmaking with Children (for education majors) courses.  Additionally, she has collaborated with classroom teachers to develop interactive plays and process dramas to support their curricula.  

Eva has a long history with Community Roots, a Roots ConnectED learning site. She is currently the theatre teacher at the middle school and member of the Anti-Bias Education Collective. She has led professional development workshops for teachers, using theatre techniques to practice responding in the moment as well as using theatre games as metaphor to talk about issues.  Eva believes that the important work of Roots ConnectED supports authentic dialogue, taking action and reflecting in pursuit of equity and social justice in our schools and communities.  

Eva holds a MA degree in Applied Theatre (focus: Theatre of the Oppressed, Devising and Process Drama).