Mal MacKenzie
Mal is an emerging performer, playwright, and recent graduate of Penn State’s BFA Acting program. As multidisciplinary artist, they seek to expand the theater as a space for community building while creating work that explores history, enviromental sustainability, and queerness.
Mal is additionally dedicated to using their passion for storytelling in crafting effective educational experiences for use in informal education.
Playwriting
Mal MacKenzie’s three original plays have been shared at Penn State University to high acclaim. Their writing shines with a distinct voice and Mal deftly intereweaves nuanced relationships and nonlinear storytelling to reveal touching snapshots of the human experience.
Bone Play– A full length, collaborative, vignette based play and 2022 Reuben and Gladys Golumbic award winner.
The Bloop– Commissioned one act for Penn State BFA actors. Written during a residency at the Colerain Center for Education, Preservation, and the Arts.
Roadkill Bambi– Small cast one act read and workshopped at Penn State School of Theater.
Performing
Mal is a performer with over a decade of professional experience bringing classical and contemporary works to life. They have served as fight captain and co-coreographer in numerous productions and trained extensively with The Society of American Fight Directors.
Webster; Jen Silverman’s “Bonnets…” 
Webster; Jen Silverman’s “Bonnets…” 
Webster; Jen Silverman’s “Bonnets…” 
Deviser/ Choreographer; “Damned Without Vision” 
Deviser/ Choreographer; “Damned Without Vision” 
Deviser/ Choreographer; “Damned Without Vision” 
Deviser/ Choreographer; “Damned Without Vision” 
Actor 6/ Midas; Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” 
Oberon; “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 
Oberon; “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 
Theseus; “A Misdummer Night’s Dream 
Theseus; “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 
Benvolio; “Romeo and Juliet” 
John of Lancaster; “Henry IV pt 2” 
John of Lancaster; “Henry IV pt 2”
Educational Design
Mal has a passion for engaged and experiential education. They have had the opportunitiy to work in various museum settings over the last year designing interactive floor demos and delivering educational content to patrons.
Having found incredible meaning in the pursuit of their own curiosity they strive to inspire young audiences to keep asking “Why?” about whatever excites them. Their work has spanned several subject areas from enviromental science to art history.
Their demos are still in use at The Kamin Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA and they were on a team to establish “the cART”, a roving demos program at the Palmer Museum of Art on the campus of Pennsylvania State University.
Mal MacKenzie 