Abbey Joan Burgess

Abbey Joan Burgess is a director and playwright from Chicago, IL. Abbey concentrates in new work development, graduated from Yale College in 2019 with a B.A. in Theater Studies and English, where she also served as the President of the Yale Drama Coalition. She is the 2020-2021 Wingspace Theatrical Design Directing Mentee, is a proud directing alumni of the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, and was the 2019-2020 Directing/Producing Apprentice for McCarter Theatre Center, where her assistant credits included Gloria: A Life (dir. Emily Mann), Goodnight Nobody* (dir. Tyne Rafaeli) and Sleuth (dir. Adam Immerwahr).

Building community, accessibility, and creating room for diverse voices are central tenets of her theatrical passion, and belief that theater is an act of service.


Abbey's writing focuses on disability, queerness, and the intricacies of intimacy. She is a featured writer on Longwharf Theatre's blog.