←Recommendations of ACCOMMODATION

What begins as a standoff between an inflexible teacher and a helicopter parent becomes a complex and poignant portrait of internalized ableism, generational neurodiversity, and an education system that increasingly devalues its teachers. Burdick’s writing becomes increasingly layered as the play goes on, anchored by a fascinating and complicated protagonist. This play left me both intellectually stimulated and emotionally moved.

From our first read of Greg's play, we felt his decades as an educator on every page. His story examines many of the themes we’ve heard echoed by the teachers in our lives over the years. The personal victories, frustrations, and uphill battles that come with devoting oneself to an oftentimes thankless, but no less noble, profession. This play poses questions without suggesting that there are easy answers. My brother and I got to direct the premiere, and we couldn't recommend it more highly.

Greg Burdick has crafted a dynamic, multi-layered exploration of the American public-school system and its approach to supporting those with disabilities. ACCOMMODATION invites us into a world where the objectives of a mother, a guidance counselor, a teacher and a principal collide. Burdick’s roller-coaster drama expertly shifts our alliances between its players as we question who is at fault for the failing of a student. In the end, we are left with a complex portrait of an education system where everyone and no one is to blame.

A powerful call to attention for where we fall short to address the educational needs and support for children often left behind. How can we best help? Well done.

I was fortunate to able to see a staged reading of this remarkable play at Fantasy Theatre Factory in Miami, Florida. Mr. Burdick deftly and creatively catapults us into a universe where our alliances shift constantly. The writing is top-notch and inherently theatrical. Using both fourth-wall scenes and direct address, the play's structure assists us in being privy to heart-to-hearts and drawing our own conclusions - or at the very least, more questions. A very timely and compelling look at how our school systems in place are failing students, teachers, parents and administrators. Read it, produce it!

Greg Burdick's play, ACCOMMODATION, is a wonderfully written drama that gives equal and compelling weight to the many sides of the complicated world of public school education. What is the best way to serve and educate students in their most formative years and in our ever-changing society? The characters of the play, as administrators, educators, parents and students show themselves all to be correct in their data, but guilty of not being able to see the complete picture. It's a play we need now; one that will surely provoke thoughtful discourse on topics all too often relegated to sound-byte media.

Brutally realistic scenes interspersed with stylized segments make ACCOMMODATION a fascinating look at a situation with no easy answers. A teacher with past success struggles with both the new accommodations forced on her by a system she doesn't understand, along with her own personal demons. The themes in this play resonate with every line.

Greg Burdick's ACCOMMODATION is a fascinating look at our present "No Child Left Behind" education system. I can't help but feel saddened at the burden we place on not only our children to learn, but most tellingly on the unfair pressure we exert on our educators. Making the science teacher of the piece a victim of a condition she has to deal with while still maintaining her position of the play's conflict was brilliant. It's not an "Us vs. Them" relationship when one of "Us" IS one of "Them". Smartly written and worth your time.

It's no easy trick to present all sides of an argument fairly, and/or engender sympathy for characters who exhibit the heinous behavior nearly everyone in this play does at one point or another. Yet... Burdick pulls it off beautifully in "Accommodation," his infuriating, compassionate, angry, heartbreaking, and revealing exposé of the current, tangled state of education in this country. Burdick asks the hard questions, and wisely does not attempt to answer them completely. Smart work.

As a career teacher, I love this piece. I can see where each adult character is coming from and how much they believe they're thinking in the interest of the child in question, when they so woefully miss the mark. When Michael speaks with his youthful honesty, naivete, and cynicism it's hard to see him as either the delinquent Celeste has made him out to be or the victim his mother has decided that he is. Love the combo of realism and heightened theatricality as well! Hope to see this produced soon.