Staff

OUR STAFF

Brendan Burke – Artistic Director

Brendan Burke is in his 16th season as Artistic Director at SHADOWLAND STAGES, where he has directed and/or produced over 80 productions, including multiple world premieres, and shows featuring such actors as Sean Astin, Judd Hirsch, Alley Mills, Orson Bean, David Strathairn, Stephanie Zimbalist, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss and more. During his tenure, SHADOWLAND STAGES completed renovation and restoration of its MainStage building, built the Studio at SHADOWLAND STAGES, and constructed actor and staff housing. In 2019, Shadowland will relocate its scene shop and administrative offices to Center Street in the Village of Ellenville. The theatre has received multiple accolades and awards during his tenure, including Ulster County Cultural Business of the Year from the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce, Arts Organization of the Year from Arts Mid-Hudson, Citizen of the Year from the Ellenville Noonday Club, and recognition from the NAACP for contributions to our community. Mr. Burke’s other regional work includes productions at Seven Angels Theatre, NJ Rep, Chenango River Theatre, Half Moon Theatre, and FringeNYC. A member of SDC and AEA, he is also an instructor in the Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz.

Brittany Proia – Interim Managing Director

Brittany Proia (she/her) joins the staff of SHADOWLAND STAGES as the Interim Managing Director after serving as the organization’s Education Coordinator in 2022. In addition to her partnership with Brendan at SHADOWLAND, Brittany works with arts organizations across the Hudson Valley including – the Hudson Valley Performing Arts Laboratory – a women+ led devised theatre and arts education organization, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare – a new outdoor Shakespeare festival located in Hunter, NY, the State University of New York at New Paltz, and she serves as Dramatists Guild Ambassador for Eastern New York – providing support and education to the region’s playwrights. From 2017 to January 2020, Brittany served as the founding co-artistic director of DENIZEN Theatre in New Paltz, NY producing 9 full productions and 30+ readings and events. Brittany has assisted in the development of new work with MTF, The PiTCH at Rev Theatre Co, NYMF, BMI MT Workshop, Powerhouse Theatre, the Voices of Women Theatre Festival in Tampa, and the New Georges Supported Production program. Brittany is passionate about responsibly and sustainably creating theatrical work that fosters lasting social change. Brittany holds an MFA from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and a Bachelor of Music from NYU’s Steinhardt School. She is a proud member of AEA, the Dramatists Guild, a graduate of the Ulster Leadership Development Institute, and a proud ‘key’- of The Ring of Keys; a national network of queer women, trans, and gender non-conforming artists. www.brittanyproia.com

Peter Johnson – Technical Director

Peter is very pleased and honored to be the Technical Director at Shadowland Stages. His 39 year theatrical career began at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY. His talent brought him to Center Stage in Baltimore, MD. At which point he was hired as Production Manager at Baltimore Opera Company (BOC) overseeing an annual 5 million dollar production budget. After 12 years with BOC he returned to New York for work with the world famous Production Resource Group. Peter is happily married to his wife of 18 years and they reside in Ellenville.