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BURT PEACHY |
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Burt Peachy began his career as a professor of theatre in the Los Angeles Community College District. Working at Los Angeles City College, Burt taught scene design and stagecraft. At Los Angeles Harbor College, Burt chaired the department for 6 years while teaching, directing and overseeing the building of a major theatre complex on the campus. In 1970 the LAHC Department of Theatre was awarded the prestigious American College Theatre Festival Award and took their production of Jones and Schmidt’s Celebration that Burt directed to Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. |
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In 1971 the department was awarded a Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Award for their production of the musical version of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which Burt also directed.
In 1972 Peachy was hired by California State University at Long Beach to head up the graduate theatre program in directing. During this tenure, Burt also directed in regional theatre including the Utah Shakespeare Festival (As You Like It and Richard II). During this period, Burt also began stage directing opera productions including Stravinsky’s The Rakes Progress and Puccini’s Il Trittico.
In 1976 he founded the Southern California Conservatory Theatre, a joint project with Cerritos College and the La Mirada Civic Theatre. During several seasons, major musical and contemporary plays were produced including West Side Story, Two Gentlemen From Verona, Equus, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of La Mancha and HotL Baltimore.
In 1980, Burt moved into arts administration full time, becoming Dean of Fine and Performing Arts in the Rancho Santiago Community College District (Santa Ana College) in Orange County, California. During this tenure he co-founded the Grove Shakespeare Festival and initiated a major community arts program with resident artists, musicians and performers. During this time, Burt was a member of the Orange County Arts Alliance and worked with major arts organizations such as South Coast Repertory Theatre and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
In 1990, Peachy took the position of the Associate Dean of a new, experimental South Bay High School for the Performing Arts on the campus of El Camino College in Los Angeles. Finally, in 1994, Burt left education to form his own consulting business in organizational development and quality improvement. In this capacity, he has worked with more than 100 colleges and universities across the U.S. over the ensuing years.
In 2006 Burt retired and began his return to the arts. Working with his close friend and associate, Philip Westin, Burt developed the book and wrote the lyrics to Heartland, an adaptation of Willa Cather’s novel, O Pioneers!
Burt holds a B.A. from the University of California, Riverside with an emphasis in theatre and humanities. He earned an M.A. from California State University, Long Beach in Theatre Arts. He has also engaged in post-graduate work in Communications at the University of Southern California.
Burt now resides in Palm Springs, California and pursues his writing career in between his travels.