Kelly M. Burdick

Director of Development

Favorite Shakespeare Play:

Romeo and Juliet (those crazy kids, gets me every time)

Shakespeare character that best describes me:

Gonzalo

Favorite Shakespeare Quote:

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

Favorite play that isn’t by Shakespeare:

Mnemonic, a devised piece by the Complicite company

All-time favorite ASC moment:

The recent Romeo & Juliet tomb scene. The brilliant fight choreography used the sound of footfall and swords scraping the ground to create a darkness effect. I found myself squinting through the dark, cold tomb while sitting in full light.

Kelly M. Burdick joined the American Shakespeare Center as director of development in April 2017. A new Virginian, by way of NYC, she most recently served in the same role at The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH). During her tenure at CTH, she was a proud member of the extraordinary team that brought the company out of debt and cemented Uptown Shakespeare in the Park’s long-term residency in Marcus Garvey Park. Prior to that, she worked at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone creating and implementing large-scale capacity building grants for arts organizations in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. She is a lifelong theatre kid. She holds a BA in theatre arts from Marymount Manhattan College and a MA in arts administration from Columbia University. While she sometimes misses New York, she’s fallen in love with the Staunton sidewalks.