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Alex Burger[1] is an American playwright and screenwriter, based in Los Angeles. He is known as head writer for Seasons 3 and 4 of Umlilo (Zulu for “The Fire”), the SAFTA Award-winning[2] South African drama.
Early life and education
editBurger grew up in Wenham, Massachusetts. When he was a child, he and his family were a part of a 60-person magic troupe, performing in over 1,200 performances of Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company. Burger attended Deep Springs College in California and then Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude in Comparative Study of Religion.[citation needed] He earned an MBA at INSEAD in Singapore and France.[citation needed]
In his 20s, Burger worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, and then went on to do civil rights work in Alabama for seven years, where he wrote numerous publications.[3][4][5] He was awarded the “Spirit of Dr. King Award” for his work on racial justice.[citation needed]
Writing career
editBurger began work as a poet, winning the Alabama State Poetry Society Award in 1997. He then wrote for the theatre; his first play, Ain’t Nothin’ Changed, was performed in San Francisco as part of the Playground Theatre Festival[6] and then won the Harvardwood writing competition in 2010.[7] His play Whose Blood: A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Century Operating Theatre had a fully sold-out run at London’s Old Operating Theatre in 2012.[8] The play was then written up in Wellcome Trust Magazine[9] and was the subject of a chapter in the book Challenging History in the Museum.[10] Other plays include Mashoga (My Wife) (Glasgow Any Objections Festival 2013), The Inkanyamba (Market Theatre Lab, 2015), and Fees Must Fall (Wits University, 2016).
Burger's work in television includes head-writing Seasons 3 and 4 of the SAFTA Award-winning television show[11] Umlilo (e.tv 2015-2016). The show was the most-watched drama in South Africa at the time and has won awards for Best Drama and Best Writing. Other credits include writing for Doubt (Mzanzi Magic, 2016), Hard Copy Season 4 (SABC 3, 2016), 90 Plein Street Season 5 (SABC 2, 2016), and Isithembiso (2017). He has also successfully created projects for Stained Glass Productions, Quizzical Pictures, and The Bomb Production Company.
In addition to writing, Burger is also a writing instructor, having lectured in writing at the University of Witwatersrand (2015-2016), Market Theatre Laboratory (2014-2016), and the California Institute for Integral Studies (2017–present).[12] Burger’s nonfiction work includes the unpublished manuscript Someday It Will Rain: A Journey Through Big Oil and Development in Africa, for which he is represented by Lowenstein and Associates in New York City.
Since 2017, Burger is based in Los Angeles where he is working on a number of television projects including co-creating a new series with author Carolyn Cooke, co-writing a feminist TV show Here She Comes about two experimental sex therapists, and working on a web-series for Mundo Loco films.
In 2019 he served as the head writer for the South African Afrikaans Drama Die Testament[13] (Season 1 and Season 2) found online at Network 24 which launched September, 2019. Alex also executive produced a series of videos for The World Bank group[14] documented a five year program in Ghana, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire working with infrastructure companies, government, and local businesses.
Activist career
editBurger has 25 years’ experience running development and civil rights projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. He has a long-standing relationship with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector division of the World Bank,[15] where he won the IFC Corporate Award. He served as the Vice President of Community Affairs for AngloGold Ashanti, Africa’s largest mining company, from 2011 to 2013.[16] He has served on numerous boards, including the United Way of Central Alabama, the Southern Partners Fund, and Be Strong Families.[17]
Filmography
editTelevision series
editHead writer
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode title | Episode number | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Umlilo | 3 | Blame | 1 | March 21, 2016 | |
| Back to Business | 2 | March 28, 2016 | ||||
| The Bail Hearing | 3 | April 4, 2016 | ||||
| The Cleansing | 4 | April 11, 2016 | ||||
| The Dinner Date | 5 | April 18, 2016 | ||||
| Loose Ends | 6 | April 25, 2016 | ||||
| The Trial Begins | 7 | May 2, 2016 | ||||
| Miscarriage of Justice | 8 | May 9, 2016 | ||||
| Defence | 9 | May 18, 2016 | ||||
| A Change of Plea | 10 | May 23, 2016 | ||||
| Welcome Returns | 11 | May 30, 2016 | ||||
| Under Siege | 12 | June 6, 2016 | ||||
| Final Revenge | 13 | June 13, 2016 | ||||
| 2016 | 4 | New Beginnings | 1 | June 27, 2016 | ||
| The Agreement | 2 | July 4, 2016 | ||||
| The Tables Turn | 3 | July 11, 2016 | ||||
| The Homecoming | 4 | July 18, 2016 | ||||
| Friends and Enemies | 5 | July 25, 2016 | ||||
| Bulalela | 6 | August 1, 2016 | ||||
| Prisoner | 7 | August 8, 2016 | ||||
| Mother | 8 | August 15, 2016 | ||||
| Rapist | 9 | August 22, 2016 | ||||
| Family | 10 | August 29, 2016 | ||||
| Life and Death | 11 | September 5, 2016 | ||||
| The Heir | 12 | September 12, 2016 | ||||
| Umlilo | 13 | September 19, 2016 |
Storyline
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode title | Episode number | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Doubt | 1 | Wedded Bliss | 1 | April 11, 2016 | |
| Something Fishy | 2 | April 18, 2016 | ||||
| No One to Trust | 3 | April 25, 2016 | Written by Alex Burger | |||
| Proof in the Pudding | 4 | May 2, 2016 | ||||
| When All Is Lost | 5 | May 9, 2016 | ||||
| Perilous Pursuit | 6 | May 16, 2016 | Written by Alex Burger | |||
| Not-so Great Escape | 7 | May 23, 2016 | ||||
| Closet Killer | 8 | May 30, 2016 | ||||
| Getting Close, Telling all | 9 | June 6, 2016 | ||||
| I Want my Share | 10 | June 13, 2016 | ||||
| Dangerous Job | 11 | June 20, 2016 | ||||
| The Devil They Know | 12 | June 21, 2016 | Written by Alex Burger | |||
| Friend Gone Eerie | 13 | June 22, 2016 | Written by Alex Burger |
Story
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode number | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 - 2017 | 90 Plein Street | 5 | 1 | November 30, 2016 | |
| 2 | December 7, 2016 | ||||
| 3 | December 14, 2016 | ||||
| 4 | December 21, 2016 | ||||
| 5 | December 28, 2016 | ||||
| 6 | January 4, 2017 | ||||
| 7 | January 11, 2017 | ||||
| 8 | January 18, 2017 | ||||
| 9 | January 25, 2017 | ||||
| 10 | February 1, 2017 | ||||
| 11 | February 8, 2017 | ||||
| 12 | February 15, 2017 | ||||
| 13 | February 22, 2017 |
Storyline
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode number | Original airdate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Hard Copy | 4 | 1 | October 3, 2016 | |
| 2 | October 10, 2016 | ||||
| 3 | October 17, 2016 | ||||
| 4 | October 24, 2016 | ||||
| 5 | October 31, 2016 | ||||
| 6 | November 7, 2016 | ||||
| 7 | November 14, 2016 | ||||
| 8 | November 21, 2016 | ||||
| 9 | November 28, 2016 | ||||
| 10 | December 5, 2016 | ||||
| 11 | December 12, 2016 | ||||
| 12 | December 19, 2016 | ||||
| 13 | December 26, 2016 |
Story consultant
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode number | Original Air Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2019 | Isthembiso | 1 | 1 - 208 | 2018 - 2019 |
Head writer
edit| Year | Show | Season | Episode number | Original Air Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Die Testament | 1 | 1 - 64 | 2019 | |
| 2022 | Die Testament | 2 | 1 - 48 | 2022 |
Plays
editWriter
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Ain’t Nothin’ Changed | Writer | Was performed in San Francisco as part of the Playground Theatre |
| 2011 | Whose Blood: A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Century Operating Theatre | Writer | Played to a fully sold-out run at London’s Old Operating theatre (2012) |
| 2013 | Mashoga (My Wife) | Writer | Glasgow Any Objections Festival 2013 |
| 2015 | The Inkanyamba | Writer | Market Theater Lab |
| 2016 | Fees Must Fall | Writer | The University of the Witwatersrand |
| 2024 | The Cry of Winie Mandela | Writer (adapted from the novel) | The Market Theatre[18] |
Writing awards and recognition
edit- Member of the London Royal Court Theatre’s Invitation Writer’s Group, 2011[19]
- Harvardwood 1st Place Playwriting Competition, 2010[20]
- Harvard Alumni A.R.T. Grant to support the development of the play Whose Blood, 2010[21]
- 1st Prize Short Fiction Competition Award sponsored by the Times Literary Supplement (UK), 2009[22]
- 1st Prize Alabama State Poetry Society Competition, 1997
References
edit- ^ "Alex Burger - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
- ^ Languza,Bulela "Umlilo, Rhythm City and Matatiele win big at the SAFTAs", 23 March 2016
- ^ "Ours to Own: Tax Reform and Alabama's Future", April 2004
- ^ "Coming Undone: The State of Childcare in Alabama", November 2005
- ^ "Alex Burger Comes Home!","FOCALpoint Newsletter Vol. XIX No.1" Spring 2011
- ^ "Monday Night Playground", 18 November 2002
- ^ "Harvardwood Writers' Competition Winners!,"Harvardwood", 8 September 2010
- ^ Hazel "Theatre Review: Whose Blood @ The Old Operating Theatre","Londonist",26 February 2011
- ^ Bynum, Helen "Whose Blood: A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Theatre. Event Review", "Wellcome Trust Magazine; Issue 48 Winter 2011"
- ^ Bryan, Judith "Making Them Laugh, Making Them Cry: Theatre's Role in Challenging History", "Challenging History in the Museum"
- ^ "Awards and Accolades", Quizzical
- ^ "Architecture of Stories with Alex Burger", 4 February 2017
- ^ Thinus Ferreira "SA's first online Afrikaans soapie features an A-list cast", 30 July 2019
- ^ "Connected Communities"
- ^ Bowers, Christine 'New blogger: Alex Burger", 23 October 2006
- ^ "IFC Sustainability Summit"
- ^ "Advisory Board", Be Strong Families
- ^ "The Cry of Winnie Mandela – Market Theatre".
- ^ "Ball Play", 100 word plays, 10 March 2012
- ^ 'Harvardwood Writers' Competition Winners, Harvardwood,2010
- ^ Havardwood, "Competition Winners One Act Play Category" 2010
- ^ Blackman, Andrew, "A Writers' Life: And The Winner is...", 25 July 2009
External links
edit- Alex Burger on IMDB
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