B.J. Burton

B.J. Burton is a playwright and teacher, who worked as a professional actor for over 20 years. Her plays include Lobelia Lodge, Hunting Season, Room For Love, Pizza Again, For the Record, A Sky Full of Stars, and The Dangers of Lightning. Her work has been produced and/or developed at theatres across the country, including InterAct Theatre Company, Hedgerow Theatre, EstroGenius Festival at Manhattan Theatre Source, Six Women Playwriting Festival, Pittsburgh New Works Festival at City Theatre, The Brick Playhouse in Philadelphia, Widener University, Rosemont College, Players Club of Swarthmore, and others. Her stories tend to be about families—families of friends, families of co-workers, families of relatives, and about people who are thrown together unexpectedly for a time and become like families.

Honors include two fellowships from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, winner of the Pennsylvania Playwriting Award, finalist for the Heideman Award, semifinalist for the Nicholl Fellowships, finalist in the New York Screenplay Contest, and a finalist twice in the Set in Philadelphia Screenplay Competition.

Her plays are published by Samuel French and YouthPlays. Short works appear in several anthologies published by Applause Books, including One on One: Playing with a Purpose – Monologues for Kids Ages 7-15, The Best Scenes for Kids Ages 7-15, and The Best 5-Minute Plays for Teens. She is the author of The Philadelphia Connection: Conversations with Playwrights (Intellect Books).

She received her B.A. in Theatre from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and continued studies at American Conservatory Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, AFI, and Villanova University’s Graduate Theatre Department. She received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing – Playwriting at Rosemont College, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate students. Courses include playwriting, screenwriting, script analysis, directing, and acting. Memberships include AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and The Dramatists Guild.

She believes in the power of good storytelling and enjoys sharing her love of playwriting with others.

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