Founder & Artistic Director
Stephen Burdman founded New York Classical Theatre in 2000 and is the vision behind the creation of Panoramic Theatre. Originally from Los Angeles, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and planned to become a doctor. During college, Stephen auditioned for a production of Hamlet, and discovered his passion for Shakespeare. That experience completely changed the course of his life. Stephen founded NY Classical to give all people the chance to discover classical masterpieces as he did.
Stephen has directed nearly half of Shakespeare canon. To date, he has directed 37 productions for the company. Some of his favorite productions are Richard III (performed by 7 female & gender-fluid actors), Cymbeline (7 actors), The Importance of Being Earnest (Two-Ways), Romeo & Juliet (six actors), The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale, Measure for Measure, The Seagull, A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Playing Moliere, Henry V (in The Battery and, via ferry boat, Governors Island), Hamlet, King Lear, Misalliance, Mary Stuart, Scapin, and The Triumph of Love.
Stephen attended the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and later received an MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of California, Irvine. In 1989, Stephen was selected to participate in the first young theatre artist exchange with the (former) Soviet Union and has been a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994.
Nominated by New York State Assembly member Danny O’Donnell, Stephen received an award from the West Side Spirit for consistent commitment to excellence in theatre. He lives in Harlem with his wife, Adena, and son, Ezekiel. An avid supporter of Shakespeare on all levels, Stephen is the former Chair of the Artistic Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. He has also been a panelist with the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.
Literary Director
Matthieu Chapman earned his MLitt in Dramaturgy and MFA in Acting from Mary Baldwin College’s Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance Program and his Ph.D. in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from the UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance. He has acted on the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriar’s stage and served as a dramaturg for San Diego Repertory Theatre and worked for the La Jolla Playhouse, as well as dramaturged and directed numerous university productions. His research focuses on ontological structures of blackness in the Early Modern World. His monograph, Antiblack Racism in Early Modern English Drama: The Other Other is available from Routledge Press. He has also published articles in Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England, Theatre Topics, TheatreForum, and Early Theatre. He has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the Renaissance Society of America, the American Society of Theatre Research, the American Comparative Literature Association, the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and others. Other research interests include: Contemporary Black Theatre, Cross-Cultural and Trans-National Adaptations of Shakespeare, and the Dramaturgy of Black Bodies.
Staff
Jim Byk (The Press Room) - Publicist
The Mardiney Group - Graphic Design Agency
ArtsPool (Steven Northrup, Jahna Balk, Haiba Hamilton)- Finance/Compliance/Human Resources
Board of Directors
Steven Perlstein, Chair
Partner, Kobre & Kim LLP
Jeremy E. Schiffres, Secretary
Sr. Associate Counsel, Commercial Litigation Unit, Metropolitan Transportation Authority
David S. Frankel, Interim Treasurer
Retired Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Stephen Burdman, Artistic Director
Founder, New York Classical Theatre
Andrew Carlon
Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Nicole Chambers
Vice President, Private Equity Health Solutions, Aon
Melissa Kuklin
Director of Development, China Institute
Sid Ray
Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies, Pace University
Nick Salamone
Artistic Associate, New York Classical Theatre
& Partner, The Christmas Decorator
Björn H. Weller
Clinical Research Consultant
Jon Lukomnik, Chair Emeritus
Don Mayo, In Memoriam