Mark Burgess has enjoyed a tremendously varied sixteen year career as an actor, director, coach and mentor. He trained at Ryerson University's highly respected Theatre School and was immediately offered a position in the Acting Ensemble of Canada's Shaw Festival. These two seminal experiences instilled a love for language and respect for the text that fuel his approach to his craft today.

Eager to explore different cultures and performing styles Mark traveled to Germany where he worked with Cologne's Confederacy of Fools Theatre company – an experimental group dedicated to exploring the boundaries between the spoken word and visual spectacle. A couple of appearances at the World Stage Festival in Toronto with the U.K.'s Original Shakespeare Company led to his invitation to perform at the workshop season of the newly re-built Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London England where his performance as Prince Edward in Henry VI, III garnered him a place as a leading man with the New Vic. Theatre Company.

It was here that Mark began putting his wide range of influences to work as a coach and director. His directorial debut in the U.K. was at the Salmon Theatre School in Dullace Hill in London where the Monkeys in The Wizard of Oz became skateboarding hooligans and at the Dove Theatre the story of Jack the Ripper came alive in a decidedly German expressionistic production. Other ventures into comedies and dramas at his new base in Vancouver eventually led to his teaming up with Stanley Katz and The FEVER where his love of language and theatrically visually challenging images have culminated in this deeply effecting and provocative production.