Christine McBurney
Acting
Biography
Christine was born in Brooklyn, New York, mainly raised in northeast Ohio, but spent many a holiday and summer back on the east coast where she fondly remembers entertaining neighbors on the stoop in Brooklyn, singing and dancing for an audience of women who leaned out of windows. In 2017, she discovered, unbeknownst to her, but suspected by many, her lower east side Italian heritage and the requisite loads of relatives that come with such a discovery. In 2021, she finally and happily landed back in NYC after two fruitful decades of theatre making and teaching and raising her son in Cleveland. The third time has been the charm. While in NYC as a younger woman, she studied comparative literature and writing at Columbia University's School of General Studies while working at ABC Radio Network News. After a whirlwind solo backpacking adventure across Europe, it was time time for graduate school, so she mustered the courage to pursue a dream she'd put on hold for too long: to study acting. She received her MFA from Kent State University. She is also published author and a U.S. Presidential Scholar Teacher who has won grants, including a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, to study Shakespeare at The Globe Theatre in London, The Juilliard School, and The National Institute on Teaching Shakespeare. Christine is also an award-winning theatre director and former artistic director. She is an alum of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, Directors Lab West, Directors Lab North, and Cleveland Play House Directors Gym. She has continued her acting training with Shakespeare & Company, Dream Lab Studio, James Ciccone. and Anthony Grasso. She has taught at The Film and Media Arts School at Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace University Department of Theatre & Dance. She's an acting coach in private practice. She has completed one screenplay and is writing a second. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA & SDC (the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers).
Known For
The Fugitive Task Force relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau's Most Wanted list. Seasoned agents oversee the highly skilled team that functions as a mobile undercover unit that is always out in the field, pursuing those who are most desperate to elude justice.
FBI: Most Wanted
Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden wakes in her hotel room hungover from the night before in Dubai with a dead body lying next to her. Afraid to call the police, she continues her morning as if nothing happened. In New York, she is met by FBI agents who question her about her recent layover in Bangkok. Still unable to piece the night together, she begins to wonder if she could be the killer.
The Flight Attendant
Recently separated forty-something Toby Fleishman dives into the brave new world of app-based dating with the kind of success he never had dating in his youth. But just at the start of his first summer of sexual freedom, his ex-wife disappears, leaving him with the kids and no hint of where she is or whether she plans to return.
Fleishman Is in Trouble
Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.
The Alto Knights
At a major university, the first woman of color to become chair tries to meet the dizzying demands and high expectations of a failing English department.
The Chair
When Lainy's plan to settle down and start a family falls apart, she puts on a fake baby bump, tells a lie — and accidentally falls for her dream guy.
Kinda Pregnant
Three restless teenagers run away to the woods for the summer, determined to escape their parents and live by their own rules. In a hidden clearing, they build a makeshift house and attempt to create an independent life, testing their friendship, freedom, and the challenges of living off the land.
The Kings of Summer
A woman on the verge of moving to New York has a meeting with the one person who might convince her to stay, her ex.
Goodbye, Ohio
When their high school drama department falls victim to budget cuts, two teachers from the Bronx find an unlikely solution to their money problems: yaniv, a little-known card game with a thriving underground gambling scene in the Hasidic Jewish community.
Yaniv
A modern take on The Wizard of Oz about a young woman trying to find her way home after tragedy. Mimi's life has flipped upside down. She's gone from happy wife to heartbroken widow and mixed-up mistress, while only in her early thirties. She's determined to find her way back to a happy life. Mimi's journey kicks off on Fire Island.
Fire Island
The story of Genaro Costelli, a young man growing up in a neighborhood that is controlled by the Mafia. Despite the teachings of his family and church, he is tempted by the extravagant and seemingly care-free lifestyle of his "friends". The lure of mystery, power and intrigue are to powerful for Genaro to resist and he soon finds himself caught up in a web of danger, contradiction and betrayal. After suffering personal and family sacrifice he must face the most difficult challenge of his life, that is, how to live free of the tenacious life-long grip of the mob. Add to this the love of a young woman he is trying to protect and how he must choose between his love for her and his obligations to the mob.