Charles A. Burks

Assistant Professor, Theater Program (THE) Co-Coordinator
Speech, Communications and Theatre Arts

Office: S-628M

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00PM - 3:00PM and Thursdays 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Phone: +1 (212) 346-8550

Charles Anthony Burks was born in Chicago Ill. and raised in Bridgeport, Ct. He is the Co-Coordinator of the Theatre Program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

He is also a writer: Sketch Writer for THE CHAPPELLE SHOW “Blackzilla” (Comedy Central) Other writing credits include HATER HIGH (Commissioned for TheatreWorks USA and recipient of Rockefeller Grant), To Catch A Fox a Hip Hop Musical Adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (Produced at The Tribeca Performing Arts Center and invited scenes accepted at Kennedy Center for American College Theatre Festival), The Golden Tales of Hip Hop (Produced at The North Carolina Black Repertory Theatre), OMG, A Cyberbullying Play (Produced at The North Carolina Black Repertory Theatre) and his long awaited Television Dramedy Pilot S.H.U.G.A. (So Help Us God Amen).

His acting credits include:
Film: Get Rich Or Die Trying (Jim Sheridan, Dir. Paramount Pictures), For Love Of The Game (Sam Raimi, Dir.)

TV: Sopranos (HBO), Limitless (CBS), Hack (feat: David Morse and Andre Braugher, CBS),The Unusuals (Topanga Productions. ABC), Chris Rock Show (HBO), Conan O’Brien Show (NBC), FLing (Paramount), Celebrity Death Match (Voices: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Donny Ray & James Brown, MTV), TV Land Promo (feat. Pat Morita).

Theatre: Bomb-itty of Errors (45 Bleeker, NYC, Royal George Theatre, Chicago, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Scotland, New Ambassadors Theater, West End of London, England) The Legend of Buster Neal (Billie Holiday Theatre, National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, North Carolina)

Training: B.A. in Drama University of Virginia, M.F.A. in Acting Columbia University.

He thanks God, his family, Wife Ava and Children.
cab78@columbia.edu

Expertise

Collaboration Methods, Hip Hop Theatre, Conflict Resolution, Youth Development, Mentorship Programs, Black Male Experience in a Single Female Parent Home, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, Solo Performance, Stand Up Comedy, Playwriting, Sketch Writing, Directing and Grant Review Collaborator.

Degrees

M.F.A. in Acting Columbia University (Playwriting Concentration)
B.A. in Theatre University of Virginia

Courses Taught

3 CRS.3 HRS. THE 100 THE 100 (Introduction to Theatre): The collaborative nature of the theatrical event will be explored in readings, presentations, play attendance, papers and creative projects. Contributions of the playwright, actor, director, designer, architect, critic, producer and audience will be investigated through selected periods, genres, theatre spaces and styles of production. The student's potential roles and responsibilities in creating theatre will be emphasized.
3 CRS.3 HRS. THE 110 THE 110 (Acting I): Basic acting skills, a method of approaching a role, a working vocabulary, and the responsibilities of the actor will be studied through improvisations, theatre games, and performance of scenes or monologues from plays and other dramatic material studied in class.
1 CRS.1 HRS. THE 115 THE 115 (Voice and Movement for the Actor): An introduction to voice and body work. Students will participate in warm-ups and exercises that promote concentration, relaxation, trust, vocal resonance, physical flexibility, and strength.
3 CRS.3 HRS. THE 210 THE 210 (Acting II): This course continues the study of methods and exercises introduced in Acting I to develop the actor's skills, and moves on to an in-depth study of scene analysis and characterization. Creating an ensemble and exposure to different historical periods will be emphasized. Prerequisite: THE 110
3 CRS.3 HRS. THE 315 THE 315 (Playwriting (Same as ENG 315)): The objective of THE 315: Playwriting is to sharpen students' creative writing skills and to teach them the elements of playwriting and character development. Through the reading of one-act plays and practice writing exercises each week, students will learn the craft of playwriting. They will write scenes and create their own one-act plays.
Prerequisite: ENG 101 and ENG 201, or ENG 121
3 CRS.3 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. THE 328 THE 328 (Acting: Solo Performance): The aim of this course is to develop studentsa?? understanding of the history and practice of North American solo performance in the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will booth encounter various artistsa?? performance work via readings and archival video, and make their own performances throughout the course of the semester. The course will expand studentsa?? knowledge of historical solo performances and both character driven and autobiographical performance. The course will also introduce students to the history of performance. The course will also introduce students to the history of performance art and ask them to contemplate its role in the history of solo performance.
Prerequisite: THE 210 or Audition
3 CRS.3 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. SPE 100 SPE 100 (Fundamentals of Public Speaking): The aim of this course is to develop effective skills in speech communication. The student examines how to generate topics and organized ideas, masters elements of audience psychology and practices techniques of speech presentation in a public forum. All elements of speech production and presentation are considered.

Research and Projects

Commissioned Book and Lyrics Writer for Stars In The Sky, the musical. An adaptation of Casey Grant’s novel about the first African American flight attendants at Delta Airlines.

Director of Humpty’s Hatching Day a musical written by Kenny Harmon and Steve Wallace. Produced by Theatre Now Live Version Coming Spring of 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifOMV8sT7_g