Phillip Gregory Burke
“I was part of the inaugural class of the Classical and Contemporary Text program. When you’re the first, you’re the experiment, in many ways, so, my classmates and I used this as an opportunity to advocate what we needed, as students. This advocation has served me well post-graduation when I entered professional environments, in the UK and back home, and applied that advocacy for myself and others.”
Tell us about your background
I’m a Black American of Haitian, Creole, and Gullah-Geechee descent. My immediate ancestors have lived in Georgia, South Carolina (via Haiti) and Florida, dating back to the time when it was called Spanish Florida. I was born in Syracuse, NY and raised, in Auburn, NY where the first branch of my family has lived since December 24, 1858.
I attended Syracuse University, receiving my BFA in Drama and a BS in Sociology. I worked at Binghamton University’s Upward Bound Program before matriculating into RCS. I was on the waitlist, and someone dropped out. I had six weeks before school started to change my life. I’m glad they decided to drop on out! It allowed me to drop on in!
What sparked your love of acting?
I was in 4th grade, and we had to come up with a short play to tell the kindergartners. I had a scene partner and remember taking the lead and saying we should make a play about treasure trolls. We wrote it and played trolls via puppets we made, and I just remember it being so much fun! I was hooked!
What was it like studying in Glasgow?
Growing up in Central New York, one would think that the cold weather of Glasgow, further up the northern hemisphere from me, would prepare me for how cold it would be – but nope! I remember having my heating on – IN JUNE! Outside of that, I just loved immersing myself in Scottish culture and theatre.
How did your time at RCS prepare you for the world of work?
I was part of the inaugural class of the Classical and Contemporary Text program. When you’re the first, you’re the experiment, in many ways, (speaking for every oldest child, right about now-ha), so, my classmates and I used this as an opportunity to advocate what we needed, as students. This advocation has served me well post-graduation when I entered professional environments, in the UK and back home, and applied that advocacy for myself and others. I have spoken people’s names in rooms they have not entered yet to people they have not encountered yet because they too deserve their voices heard.
There were also moments when we had loads of independence. With that, I took voice lessons, with a master’s opera student, I first developed my writing, worked on my thesis and wrote a one man show that explored the relationship between writers and actors, had writer’s groups with my classmates, travelled, and just immersed myself in the different aspects of attending a conservatoire, having never attended one before.
I saw every opera production, every chamber and symphony orchestra concert. I remember walking the beach and carrying multiple scripts in my hands because I was working on four shows at the same time! That independence is a motivator because the industry ebbs and flows, with the blink of an eye, and even if you do have representation, you will still need to spearhead things on your behalf and self-advocate. It is your career after all.
What have you been working on since you graduated?
I’ve been working as an actor, mainly in commercials, as of late. I want to play some of my classical dream roles and create dream roles for myself to play.
As a playwright, my platform chronicles the sociology of the African Diaspora and illuminates the intricate intersections of Blackness and queerness. From my stand alone plays, to my various cycles of plays, everything I write connects to a singular universe from antiquity to the present, to Afro-futurism. I want performers to be able to read a Phillip Gregory Burke work and know that they will have in-depth material to challenge them written with cultural care.
What has been your most memorable moment from your career so far?
My first national commercial was the NFL/CBS Sports/Thursday Night Football ad called A Girl Named Raven. I played a University of Miami student who was a huge Miami Dolphins fan, dating a Baltimore Ravens fan. (The game that night was between those two teams.) I was originally cast as an extra and debated on whether I should do it but said yes because I was in a bad place financially, at the time. But I am oh so glad that I swallowed my pride and said yes because the director gave me a whole monologue to say and a whole character to play just based of my reaction shots-this experience just NEVER happens in the industry at all! Nobody goes from being hired as an extra, to being hired as a speaking role. It truly was the stuff of legends.
My print ad with Walmart/Veterans Home Commitment has been in Walmart stores throughout America for the past five years.
My play A Mercy At Midnight Castle, a play with music and dance, won the 49th Annual Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival in August 2024, placing number one out of 850 worldwide submissions and will be published by Concord Theatricals, in 2025, marking my debut as a published playwright.
What’s next for you?
I am a 2024-2025 Bandung Resident, in partnership with The Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts and Asian American Arts Alliance. I am writing an epic classical play about Africa and Asia’s relationship since antiquity.
As an Arthouse Inkubator 2024-2025 Cohort, I am writing the third in my ten play cycle Paradise Estate, very, very loosely inspired by my family’s well documented history of the Underground Railroad.
And some great things in the pipeline that I cannot say officially yet!
What advice would you give?
I would say consistency is key. Rest is necessary and in periods where there’s professional quietness – just roll with it. It’s not a form of inactivity. Don’t be afraid to live your life outside of your artistry. Living your life, in fact, will eventually inform your artistry. If you don’t live your life, life will always find a way for it to live you.