Taylor Mac

Taylor Mac is a writer, director, actor, singer, and performance artist recognized for experimental contributions to American theater. Mac, who uses "judy" as a gender pronoun, merges diverse theatrical conventions, including classical Japanese theater and popular music concerts, and frequently engages audiences to prompt reconsideration of gender, identity, ethnicity, and performance. Mac's body of work is noted for its intellectual rigor and theatrical innovation.

Mac is the author of more than 17 full-length theater works. Among these is "A 24-Decade History of Popular Music," an immersive production exploring American identity through hundreds of popular songs, staged as two 12-hour performances. The work premiered at St. Ann's Warehouse and toured internationally, earning recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama. A documentary adaptation of the production is available on HBO. Mac's play "Hir" was included in The New York Times top ten list for Best Theater, and the Broadway play "Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus" premiered with Nathan Lane in the title role. "Gary" received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Play.

Mac is a MacArthur Fellow, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Tony Award nominee for Best Play, and recipient of the Kennedy Prize (with Matt Ray), Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Drama League Award, NY Drama Critics Circle Award, two Obie Awards, two Bessie Awards, and the International Ibsen Award. Mac has been recognized as a leading theater artist by The New York Times, American Theater Magazine, The Village Voice, Time Out NY, and The New Yorker.

In addition to original works, Mac has performed in productions by other playwrights, including the title role in Sarah Ruhl's "Orlando" at Signature Theatre, the title role in The Foundry Theatre's "Good Person of Szechwan" at La Mama and The Public Theatre, and Puck/Egeus in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Classic Stage Company. Mac also appeared in the two-person vaudeville "The Last Two People on Earth" with Mandy Patinkin, directed by Susan Stroman. Film credits include "Whitman in the Woods" on All Arts and "Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music," a concert documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, available on Max.

Mac's work has been performed at venues including Lincoln Center, The Public Theatre, Sydney Opera House, American Repertory Theatre, Södra Theatern in Stockholm, Spoleto Festival, Project Arts Centre in Dublin, and Soho Theatre in London, as well as numerous theaters, museums, music halls, cabarets, and festivals worldwide. An alumnus of New Dramatists, Mac is the resident playwright at HERE Arts Center. Through a career that challenges audiences to reconsider the boundaries of art, identity, and community, Mac is regarded as a significant voice in contemporary performance and theater.