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Welcome. I'm Jean Burgess - writer, playwright, editor, and workshop presenter.
From my earliest childhood memories growing up in Northeast Ohio, I see myself performing (in full costume, of course) for any willing victim…er, audience who happened to be gathering in the living room, or reading (mostly aloud to my mother while she prepared meals for our family of five siblings.)
Fast forward to a B.A in Theatre/Communications Arts, which led to many years of professional acting, directing, and teaching creative dramatics to kids of all ages; a stint in NYC as a starving artist because…well, it's required; an M.A. in Theatre and Ph.D. in Educational Theatre, which translated to college and secondary level teaching for 23 years.
Whew!
And now I write nonfiction, women's fiction, and short plays.
My purpose in writing is to be of use to my readers and to start conversations. These are my hopes.
Perhaps these goals are directly related to my 23 years of teaching college and secondary theater courses. You know what they say, "Once a teacher, always a teacher."
These days my writing goals lean less toward instruction and more toward facilitation. I prefer to share a moment, an experience, even a disagreement. I'm working on speaking authentically and listening actively.
My professional memberships include The Authors Guild, Eastern Shore Writers' Association, and Maryland Writers' Association, for which I serve as a Teen Writing Club advisor.
Thank you for visiting my website and supporting my work. I hope you will visit often.
Jean