Interview: Sharna Burgess Dances Her Way to Pen Pals Off-Broadway

Though Sharna Burgess’s name is synonymous with dance, she couldn’t be more thrilled to make her off-Broadway acting debut in Michael Griffo’s play Pen Pals.

Having been a ballroom dance competitor in Australia from the age of eight, Burgess’s discipline eventually led to the touring and Broadway productions of the dance phenomenon Burn the Floor. But her star first rose when she competed on televised dance competitions So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars.

In Pen Pals, Burgess is joining Paige Davis (Trading Spaces) September 17-28 at the DR2 Theatre to tell the story of Bernie and Mags, two women whose bond, forged in adolescence, endures for decades without them ever meeting in person. Based on a true story, the play boasts a rotating cast of women whom Burgess says “give a completely different show and interpretation” with each pairing.

She spoke with TheaterMania about shifting to a new genre with Pen Pals, the potential for a return to Dancing with the Stars, and her dream role on Broadway opposite husband Brian Austin Green.

What made you decide to return to theatre at this stage in your career?
I have always wanted to since I was on Broadway in 2009. It was such a magical experience for me in seeing this whole other world. I found myself as a woman on that stage. After coming out of the competition world, Burn the Floor reignited my love for dance. It landed me on television! Dancing with the Stars was huge, and my career took off.

When we did [the new dance musical] Esther in 2019, I loved being back on stage performing and acting. When Pen Pals came to me and I had the opportunity to simply express and move as an actor without the dancing, and to be a part of the incredible story of the female experience, I said, “Absolutely. I have to do this.” It came at the perfect time. I was so ready to dive into this part of my creativity and storytelling.

How does being a dancer lend itself to performing in a play?
I think I was always known as the storyteller on Dancing with the Stars and even in Burn the Floor. My favorite part was creating routines and moments with the isms, intricacies, and the nuances of the storytelling. I would geek out over the human moments in the dance more so than I would the tricks or the lifts. I think acting has always been my favorite medium, but I just used it in my dancing as much as I could. I have great access to my emotions because of dance. It only strengthens my ability to tell a great story.

How does the play resonate with you personally?
It resonates with the experience of being a woman, and how we all experience similar things regardless of where we are, where we’re from, what we look like, and what we speak and sound like. To watch how these two women in different countries and cultures comfort each other, are there for each other, and are truly in a safe space with each other…that’s the beauty of having a female companion in life.

They can have empathy for where you’re coming from, and at the same time help you grow into being a better version of yourself just by their influence and presence. Because I grew up in a competitive industry, my relationship with women was very different from that of Mags and Bernie. When I read this script I thought, “Oh, I wish I had had that.” You see them growing through their 20s, 30s, and 40s. I realized that now I have that. It’s beautiful, and it mirrors my own life in

Your husband Brian is also a musician and performer. What are the chances of seeing you together on stage?
I think we would be super fun in Chicago [as] Billy and Roxie, or even Velma. I think we’d be so funny in that. Brian can sing, but he loves to rap. He studied music in school. That was his first love. I would have to convince Brian to do Chicago!

Is there any chance we’ll catch you back on Dancing with the Stars?
Who knows? It wasn’t aligned for me this year. They are my family. I very much want to stay part of the family and see how our relationship evolves. Would I love to do it? Absolutely. It just depends on the timing. That stage will always feel like home to me, and I will always have FOMO every season that I’m not dancing on it. But I really loving acting and performing, and I would love to be a part of a Broadway show.