BROOKE ECHNAT IS A FREELANCE DIRECTOR AND THEATER EDUCATOR BASED IN PITTSBURGH, PA.

As a director, she specializes in curating immersive experiences, developing new work, and creating community-centered theater. Her work aims to create opportunities for audiences to explore innovative and captivating worlds, reconnecting them with their childhood sense of curiosity, imagination, and play. 

Her driving force in pursuing this art form is her belief that theater serves as a gateway for empathy and connection; when we center audiences in our work and invite them into the story, we create more opportunities for them to feel and connect. Brooke aspires to discover new ways to activate and engage audience members, bringing them as close as possible to the world, characters, and message of the story. 

Currently, Brooke is a Resident Director and Producer for Vigilance Theater Group. She is also a Teaching Artist for City Theatre and the Pittsburgh CLO, specializing in Acting, Playwriting, and Devising.

Brooke is a recent alum of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute in their Directing Semester program. She is also a 2026 alum of the Miami Immersive Intensive.

As an Arts Merit Scholar, she graduated Cum Laude from Bucknell University with degrees in Theatre & Political Science. This Winter, she was invited back to campus to guest-direct Walden by Amy Berryman as part of Bucknell University’s Department of Theatre & Dance Mainstage Season. Additionally, she has trained at the London Dramatic Academy, True Acting Institute, Michael Chekhov Association, Ensemble Actors Studio, and Theatrical Intimacy Education. Brooke was a part of two Opening Teams for the Walt Disney Company: Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser & The Disney Wish.

As an artist and human being, Brooke strives to create positive, equitable, energizing, and uplifting spaces that are welcome and made for all. 

In her free time, Brooke can be found cooking, listening to Stevie Wonder, hanging out with her dog, Palmer, and planning her next adventure.

Upcoming Projects:

• The Lever -Tethered Immersive, Directing Team

• Ada & the Engine - Iron Horse Theatre, Director

• Closing Time at the Moonside Café - Vigilance Theater Group, Assistant Director