About
Megan MacKenzie Lawrence hails from the land where Amish barns are raised, cows roam the fields, and chocolate is king. She was a happy child in Central PA with her family, but she was bit by the incessant theatre bug at a young age and hasn’t been able to sit still since. So when the time came for her to leave home, the big world beyond her front porch opened its wide arms and carried her off to seek adventure.
Her first adventure was in the town of Pittsburgh, where she spent four years- morning, noon, and night- learning her craft at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University. Not sure when the world would call again for her to move on, she spent another year in “Steel Town” testing out her new skills by working in theatre and film, earning her theatre (AEA) and television/radio (AFTRA) union cards and some recognition in the process. She was happy here, and she had learned a great deal in Pittsburgh, but she grew restless and needed to move on, so when the world called for her again, she let it carry her off to New York City.
This was a place beyond anything she had ever experienced before. It was teeming with possibility and she was soon off and running. She spent her early years acting and singing in the city and across the country—sometimes entertaining children with reworked classics, sometimes singing in original cabarets, and sometimes singing the National Anthem for DC United soccer games. (Sometimes she did an indie film too.) New York was indeed a place of opportunity, but it wasn’t long before she grew restless again. She longed for foreign soil--another taste of European theatre that she had first experienced while performing in France during her time at Point Park. This time the world carried her off to London to study classical theatre at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). There she studied with all sorts of actors and directors from the world over and found new colors in her art that she had not noticed before. After a year in London, she returned to NYC full of new ideas ready to dig in again.
Since returning to the Big Apple, she has had many new adventures-- like working with exciting playwrights Kristen Lowman and P.Seth Bauer. And honing her craft with phenomenal teachers Harold Guskin, Bob McAndrew, Ruth Hennessy, and the legendary Wynn Handman. She’s also been entertaining kids across the country with the Pushcart Players (www.pushcartplayers.org). She even has been having a blast as a nerdy engineer in the comedic webseries Neerja (www.neerjatv.com).
Megan hopes with all of her heart that people in her country will become more aware of the importance and need for art in their lives, and that they will increase their support of art for art’s sake. She also hopes to see more female artists making their mark on her country’s cultural scene, and she will do everything she can to help achieve this.
When Megan grows weary of traveling and needs a rest, she can be found in New York City teaching kids the importance of using their imaginations, or dancing in her living room, or just snuggling with her cat on the couch.
But should the world come calling, she’s always ready for the next big adventure…...