Mission Statement:

The The Burn Ward Theater Company is dedicated to producing original work by forward-thinking, dynamic writers in the Philadelphia area.  We strive to create theatrical works that appeal to a wider cultural base, and comment on the social issues of the day through non-traditional and absurdist modes of expression.

Founding Members:

Brian Browne is crazy, but he’s not insane.  Mostly he is an actor and a carpenter, though if he could, he would walk the streets in full armor, holding doors and slaying dragons.  Yes, he knows that this isn’t a viable career option, but a man has to dream.  He graduated in 2008 from Drexel University with a B.S. in Screenwriting and Playwriting.  While there, he wrote a screenplay about a man pretending to haunt a castle in order to prevent it from being turned into a cheesy amusement park.  He mainly spent his time at Drexel in the theater, whether on stage as John Barrymore in I Hate Hamlet, The Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, or King Ferdinand in Love’s Labour’s Lost, or in the shop honing his considerable set building skills.  His hobbies include yelling and constructing outlandish Halloween costumes, most notably X-Man Colossus, which involved covering himself in duct tape.

Rachel Gluck Rachel Gluck is a Philadelphia based performer and the marketing director for The Burn Ward. She is currently finishing her undergraduate degree at Drexel University, where she studies Film and Theater. Most recently, she was seen in the 2008 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, playing the role of "Mittens" in The Burn Ward's innagural production Mittens Descending and Other Tales. Other credits include "Laura Greenbaum" in PROM (New Paradise Laboratories), and "The Princess" in Love's Labours Lost (Commonwealth Classic Theater Company). Rachel originally hails from Westchester, New York and spent her angsty teen years in Barrington, Rhode Island. Her hobbies include playing the guitar (badly), and boring her friends with political tirades.

Danielle Kindt: is a stage manager, administrator, and all-around upstanding citizen. She graduated from Drexel University's Psychology program in 2008. While at Drexel she stage managed many productions in theater and dance. She is currently the company stage manager for Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company and has worked with New Paradise Laboratories and Allens Lane Theater. Danielle also has a considerable passion for education and has worked in the Assessment Office of the School District of Philadelphia and as a Learning Strategy Coach at the Drexel Learning Center. Currently Danielle works at the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and as the Administrative Intern for Azuka Theatre.

Eamon R. McIvor is a writer and performer who hails from Northeast Philadelphia.  He graduated in 2007 from Drexel University with a B.S. in Screenwriting & Playwriting.  His screenplay, Judy is a Punk, recently won the Parisi Award as part of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office’s “Set in Philly” contest.  His love of theater began at age 11, when he played a Von Trapp child in The Sound of Music.   Since then, he has performed in over thirty plays, including Dr. Scott in The Rocky Horror Show and Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, as well as having a few of his own staged during college.  His hobbies include vandalizing Wikipedia, explaining why the screenplay for Juno is horrible, and compensating for the emotional voids in his life by buying comic books and vinyl records.  Let him know if you ever find a copy of the Replacements’ “Let it Be” for a decent price.

Rachel Semigran is a current undergraduate at Drexel University studying English and Theatre.  Professional credits include : PROM (New Paradise Laboratories), Love's Labor's Lost (Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company),  and Shakesploitation! (Iron Age Theatre Company). Drexel University credits include : The Son of Arlechinno, The Laramie Project, Lend Me a Tenor,  and The Vagina Monologues. Technical credits include : The Rocky Horror Show (costumes)  and Batboy:The Musical (assistant stage manager). Last year, Rachel spent her co-op with the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe in the programming department. Rachel is also a performing member with The Drexel Football Team Improv Comedy. When not in the theater she spends most of her time writing and geeking-out at bookstores. She loves being outside, going to baseball games, and trips down the shore. She hates tomatoes but enjoys tomato-based products. Go figure.

Mary Stewart has been called a jack of all trades, master of some. On any given day you can find her doing anything from working a government IT job, planning some of the best events you've ever attended, designing graphics and web content for a variety of employs, playing trombone with Liberation a tribute to Chicago, or just hanging around waiting to save the world. Mary graduated from Drexel with a degree in Computer Science, which is odd since it was the only subject in college she was not good at. Mary enjoys a good challenge, a fine piece of cheese, and any excuse to get 6 people in her house to gossip and hobnob. She has worked on a variety of shows in many different capacities: from properties manager, marketing consultant, trombone player, to graphic designer: show include Rocky Horror, Something's Afoot, Cabaret!, Laramie Project, Mittens Descending and others. Mary's primary role in the Burn Ward is administrator, 'tie-er of all loose ends', as well as 'getter of impossible things done' respectively. Never afraid to jump into the unknown she's never been happier than starting this adventure of a company with her good friends.

People we’re proud to be working with:

Andrew J. Merkel is a Philadelphia-based director focusing on developing new work. In Philadelphia, Merkel has directed plays for Azuka Theatre Collective, The Cardboard Box Collaborative, Tribe of Fools, and for a host of other small and emerging companies throughout the Philadelphia region. Regionally, Merkel’s work has been seen in Austin, Baltimore, Washington DC, Boston, and New York. Andrew is a member of Lincoln Center Theatre's Director's Lab, Philadelphia Dramatist's Center and has been an Artistic Associate at Lantern Theater Company. Andrew holds a BA in Theatre and German from Lycoming College, and an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University. Andrew has directed plays at Drexel University and works as the Production Assistant at Swarthmore College's Lang Performing Arts Center.

Greg Romero is a Philadelphia-based playwright whose works include The Most Beautiful Lullaby You’ve Ever Heard, The Milky Way Cabaret, and Sharpen My Dick and have been produced off-off Broadway by City Attic Theatre and Working Man’s Clothes Productions, and across the country by Salvage Vanguard Theater, Rude Mechanicals Theatre Collective, Specific Gravity Ensemble, The Cardboard Box Collaborative, and in the bathrooms of Actors Theatre of Louisville. He has been a finalist for the Heideman Award, a semi-finalist for the Princess Grace Award and his works have been published by Heinemann Press and Playscripts, Inc. Romero received an MFA in Playwriting from The University of Texas-Austin where he held the James A. Michener Fellowship. He has taught at The University of Texas, The University of the Arts, and The Wilma Theater.  Romero is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America and Philadelphia Dramatists Center.