Phillip Gregory Burke (He/Him) is a New York City artivist, actor and playwright from Auburn, NY where he will be inducted into the Auburn Alumni Hall of Distinction in May 2023. As an actor, he works across all mediums most recently in commercials such as NFL/CBS Sports’ Thursday Night Football’s “A Girl Named Raven,” directed by 36-time Emmy winner Pete Radovich, multiple ads with Crest & Oral B Pro (also print ads), Citi Bike, Tyson Foods, Nike/Air Jordan, multiple ads and voice over with Now This/Visible. For the past 4 years, his print ad with Veteran’s Home Commitment Campaign, has been displayed in Walmarts across America. As a playwright, his writing chronicles the sociology of the African Diaspora and illuminates the intricate intersections of Blackness and queerness throughout history. A proud descendant of that Diaspora with Creole, Gullah, Haitian and West African heritages, he is curating cycles of plays all connected to a singular universe centering their narratives. He’s The First, his ten-minute play, was filmed for All Arts & PBS, where it will be available to stream this summer. The one act version is a 2023 Semi-finalist for The Obsidian Theater Festival. The saga, The Suncatchers of Sahel: An Ancestral Tale Told to Today’s Griot, Part I: The Crumble Under the Crescent, a 2022 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow Finalist and 2022 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting Fellowship Semi-finalist, is the genesis of an epic ten cycle play chronicling spiritual and sociological warfare. The Simaraboo Two, the second play, had a Fresh Draft Series Reading with The Latinx Playwrights Circle. The third play, The Suncatchers of Sahel: An Ancestral Tale Told To Today’s Griot, Part II: The Two Twilights, was initially developed during his residency with The Civilians R&D Group and is a 2023 Semi-finalist for The Bay Area Playwrights Festival. A Holy Her, the fourth play, was recorded with The Parsnip Ship and was a Semi-finalist for the Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship Award. A developmental proposal of the 5th play, Paradise Estate, was a 2022 Finalist for The Fire This Time New Works Lab Cycle 5. He is currently working on developing Suncatchers and He’s The First into television series. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, The New York SAG-AFTRA Film Society and The Latinx Playwrights Circle. Residencies include: Exquisite Corpse Company’s Writer’s Lab, The Civilians R&D Group, No Gate Theatre Lab, Space Jam Roundabout Theatre Company, The Playwrights Realm Script Share. He holds a BFA in Drama from The College of Visual and Performing Arts, Department of Drama & BS in Sociology from The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs both at Syracuse University, where he was recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Community Service & Civic Engagement for rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and a MA in Classical and Contemporary Text: Acting from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, holding the distinction of being the first Black person ever awarded this degree. Additional training includes Shakespeare’s Globe Education and The Alexander Gibson School of Opera. His entire body of work is dedicated to the memory of the legendary Miss Dame Sally Ann Walker Jones, a brilliant magnetic orator from Georgia who made his entire existence possible.