Burchard's acting career began on the stage, taking roles in prominent production companies including Chicago's Second City and Victory Gardens theaters. She has played various roles in television, film, and theatre. Petrea has been a guest star on NBC's ER, Passions, and The West Wing, and CBS's How I Met Your Mother, Joan of Arcadia, The Guardian, and The Young and the Restless. She is also the opening woman in the 1992 black comedy Death Becomes Her.
Petrea studied Shakespeare at Chicago Shakespeare Repertory and with John Barton and members of the Royal Shakespeare Company at the British/American Drama Academy. Her credits in Shakespeare include Antony and Cleopatra (as Cleopatra), Titus Andronicus (as Empress Tamora), The Taming of the Shrew, Measure For Measure, and Julius Caesar. She originated roles in the James Sherman plays "Mr. 80%", "The God of Isaac", and "The Escape Artist".
She is best known as the original English dubbed voice of Ryoko the space pirate in the anime, Tenchi Muyo!.
Burchard is also a writer. She has published two books, the novel Camelot & Vine, and a book of essays, Act As If: Stumbling Through Hollywood with Headshot in Hand, based on her column on the LA actors' website, NowCasting.com, called "Act As If".
She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, filmmaker John Sandel.
