Life & Work with Mariah Burks of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariah Burks.

Hi Mariah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
At just 8 years young I knew, almost, exactly what I wanted to be and do in life. It was either the worlds most famous violinist -ballerina-lawyer or a storyteller. Not the “liar-liar pants on fire” kind, but the kind of storyteller that would make you laugh till you peed or wept for pure joy. My mother and father both come from families who supported their children’s artistic expressions. From family bands to talent show competitions and more, they had so much exposure to the world of creativity. Through a family friend in the west side Cleveland community, I got my start on stage at Near West Theatre and never stopped. All throughout my adolescent years and earlier adulthood, you could find me onstage and or directing!

Once I got to college my artistic journey started sprinting. I studied communications and specialized in musical theatre at Bowling Green State University. Throughout my undergrad years had the opportunity to participate in a few major collegiate theatre competitions which ultimately led me to performing at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at just 22 years young and held the title of the Top Collegiate Actress in the country in 2015. At that point my artistic journey started to fly! I was accepted into one the countries top 12 MFA Acting programs on a full ride at Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program.

After graduating in 2018, I continued to work throughout Greater Cleveland in theatre as a full time actor, director, and teacher artist. In 2023, I had the opportunity to experience my first National tour with the production of CLUE: Live Onstage which made its world premiere back in 2020 at Cleveland Play House. I was in that original cast which was an honor itself. I toured for a year and half! I learned and unlearned so much about myself and my craft. I act, direct, write, produce, teach and I couldn’t me more proud of the passionate drive that I have for what I get to do.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were and are many moments in my life that have felt like road blocks or curve balls. Some of them were centered around relationships going through their mountains and valleys, others were financial struggles. I am a freelance artist who has committed themselves to doing nothing but art related work and doing that in this economy can be a struggle at times and it doesn’t always feel good in the moment when those struggles happen but I always remind myself that these struggles are temporary and I have agency to change those circumstance to the best of my ability.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multi-hyphenate artist! I specialize in bringing people and communities together through various art mediums. My first love is theatre. I’m a union actor, who also directs, writes and produces. I would say that I’m most know for my smile and I’m know mostly through my work onstage. I am most proud of almost everything I’ve done in my artistic life because I did it the way I envisioned it. What sets me a part is that I am me. There is only one Mariah Burks with my dna structure and my heart. Plus I’m a hope-filled optimist.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Performing onstage for the first time. I was eight years young and it was in front of about two hundred audience members. It altered my chemistry in the best way possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mariahburks.com
• Instagram: IG: @magical_mariahb
• Facebook: Mariah Burks