Alex Burger
Alex Burger[1] (born 12 June 1972) is a playwright and screenwriter. He is known for head-writing Seasons 3 and 4 of Umlilo (Zulu for “the fire”), the SAFTA Award-winning[2] South African drama. He is now based in Los Angeles, working on a number of feature and television projects.
Early life and education
Alex grew up in Wenham, Massachusetts, on the north shore of Boston. When he was a child, Alex 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.
Alex attended Deep Springs College in California and then Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude in The Comparative Study of Religion. He earned an MBA at INSEAD in Singapore & France.
In his 20s Alex 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.
Writing career
Alex 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 (2012).[8][9][10] The play was then written up in Wellcome Trust Magazine[11] and was the subject of a chapter in the book Challenging History in the Museum.[12] Other plays include Mashoga (My Wife) (Glasgow Any Objections Festival 2013), The Inkanyamba (Market Theatre Lab, 2015), and Fees Must Fall (Wits University, 2016).
Alex's work in television includes head-writing Seasons 3 and 4 of the SAFTA Award-winning Television Show[13] Umlilo (Zulu for the fire) (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, Alex is also a seasoned 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).[14] Alex’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, Alex has been based in Los Angeles where he is working on a number of Television projects including co-creating a new series with celebrated author Carolyn Cook, co-writing a feminist TV show Here She Comes about two experimental sex therapists, and working on a short for Mundo Loco films.
He recently served as the head writer for the first of its kind South Africa Afrikaans Drama/Thriller Die Testament to be watched exclusively online at Network 24 which launched September, 2019.
Activist career
Alex has 25 years’ experience running development and civil rights projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. He has a long-standing relationship working 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 from 2011 to 2013, Africa’s largest mining company.[16] He has served on numerous boards, including the United Way of Central Alabama, the Southern Partners Fund, and Be Strong Families.[17]
Filmography
Television Series
Head Writer
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| Year | Show | Season | Episode Number | Original Air Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 - 2019 | Isthembiso | 1 | 1 - 208 | 2018 - 2019 |
Plays
Writer
| 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 |
Writing Awards and Recognition
- Member of the London Royal Court Theatre’s Invitation Writer’s Group, 2011[18]
- Harvardwood 1st Place Playwriting Competition, 2010[19]
- Harvard Alumni A.R.T. Grant to support the development of the play Whose Blood, 2010[20]
- 1st Prize Short Fiction Competition Award sponsored by the Times Literary Supplement (UK), 2009[21]
- 1st Prize Alabama State Poetry Society Competition, 1997
References
- "Alex Burger Biography"
- 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
- Nicholas, Sarah "Whose Blood, A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Century Operating Theatre","Afridiziak Theatre News",7 March 2011
- "Whose Blood", TimeOut, 28 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
- Bowers, Christine 'New blogger: Alex Burger", 23 October 2006
- "IFC Sustainability Summit"
- "Advisory Board", Be Strong Families
- "Ball Play", 100 word plays, 10 March 2012
- 'Harvardwood Writers' Competition Winners!, Harvardwood, 8 September 2010
- Havardwood, "A.R.T. Institute Alumni Association Lab 2nd Annual Artist Grant Program Awards Announced!", 5 July 2010
- Blackman, Andrew, "A Writers' Life: And The Winner is...", 25 July 2009
External links
- Alex Burger on IMDB https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8261011/)
- Alex Burger Website http://www.alexburgerart.com/