Today we’d like to introduce you to Mackenzie Ogden.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Chicago, but raised on a small island off South Carolina.
I started taking ballet lessons when I was three; this began my love for performing. At age 14, I became a member of the ballet company. Ballet was my introduction to comedy. I was always cast in the comedic ballet roles (i.e. Evil Step-Sister in Cinderella and Swanilda/Coppélia in Coppélia).. Performing became an escape from this world. I started getting bullied in 8th grade, which was the exact same time I joined the ballet company. From 8th grade until high school graduation, school just became something that passed the time until I went to the ballet. The bullying didn’t stop, I just got better about ignoring it and using ballet and performing as my escape from those things. To me, performing was as important as breathing air. It was my air.
After high school, I moved to back Chicago, where I attended Columbia. I found it tough to create tight bonds with people in college because for so long I had been bullied and this gave me deep trust issues. Since I wasn’t spending most of my time with people, I had a lot of free time on my hands when I wasn’t in class or rehearsal. I used this time to write. My writing started out as journaling. Although I had been journaling my whole life, this was different. My journaling in my college years started out as journaling about my day/feelings and slowly turned into fiction, creative writing. I would be shocked when I put the pen down and realized how much time had passed and how much writing I had done. Writing became my therapy, my meditation, and my medication. I used writing to help me when anxiety or depression took over, when I felt alone or when I felt inspired. I wasn’t booking anything in Chicago as an actress and acting was still my first love. I then decided to write my own content and share my own stories… share my own heart. I began writing sketches, short films, television shows, and films. Before I knew it, I had a whole collection of my own stories that I wanted to tell.
The day after I graduated, I moved to Los Angeles. My first three years in Los Angeles were filled with loathsome roommate situations, failed survival jobs, and my inability to have an agent sign me. But I continued to write and continued to make my own content. This past year has been the most teachable year of my life. I wrote and performed in my first sketch for FunnyorDie, I finished writing a television show and am now on the path to pitch it (oh dear!), and I am in the midst of writing the first full comedic screenplay that I have been sitting on for five years now. This past month, I directed, produced and starred in The Vagina Monologues; where we raised just under $4,000 for our charity, Peace Over Violence. I have learned so much this past year. Don’t get me wrong, this year has also put me through the wringer…but none of those things broke me; if anything, they woke me up. This life can be short or it can be long, we’ll never know. I’m ready to do what I can with the time I have on this planet and create anything and everything I desire, no matter what anyone else tells me. I believe being bullied prepared me for all of the no’s that LA can provide you with. I have lived a life and that has given me a specific view on this world and I have stories to tell because of that and I can’t wait to have the opportunity to share them.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, that’s for sure. I haven’t had a hard life by any means, but I have struggled and I have felt pain. We all have. People are always ready to play the comparison game with their pain and challenges. Everyone always wants to be the one that struggled the most or felt the most pain, but then got back up. What I’ve learned is that you can’t change other people, you can only change how you let them affect you. I don’t have the time or energy for that negativity. My life at one point felt like one long personal joke, so whenever something negative or unfortunate happened, my friends would say “More content!” I had become extremely self-deprecating because of this, which can become dangerous and unhealthy. It was this past year that I had heard “more content” in a different way. Everything that happens to you in your life is “more content” that continues to mold you and your story. All of this “content” was giving me a more unique perspective of life and was helping me find my narrative and voice in this world as a creative. So, my advice for others is that everything is happening for you, not to you. Remember that when something we view as negative happens, we refer to it as something happening to us. “Why is this happening to me?” Just remember that everything is happening for you. Change the narrative. Change the way you speak to yourself and speak about yourself and speak for yourself. Your subconscious is always listening. Believe me, when I say this, you have all the power. It won’t be easy, but it’s worth it. You’ve got this. You always have.
Please tell us about your work.
I am an actor, a writer, and an activist. I guess you can call me a producer and director now as well. My most recent work was for The Vagina Monologues that I co-produced, co-directed and also performed in. This was the most I have ever been involved in a project. It was the most stressful experience of my life and I loved every moment of it; even the moments I believed I was in over my head. I surprised myself during this project and proved to myself that I am capable of so much more than I had been allowing myself. For this project, we partnered with Peace Over Violence and raised just under $4,000 for them.
By doing that show, I learned so much about collaboration. I used to be so reclusive and not share my ideas or ask for help. I now want to travel down that sidewalk holding hands of those that want to help and go on this journey together. This journey is more fun with other kind and resilient people. It took me a while to learn that. I used to think I had to do it all alone, but you don’t have to. When it comes to acting, eventually, you’ll want a scene partner or someone to witness it; when it comes to writing, eventually you’ll want someone to perform it or to read it. Acting isn’t about escapism for me anymore, it’s about realism. It’s about constantly getting to know myself and others more and understanding my own human experience and share that with others.
Who have you been inspired by?
I remember watching Halloweentown on repeat as a kid. I wanted nothing more than Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) to be my grandma. Don’t get me wrong I love both of my grandmas, but Grandma Aggie was a witch! How cool, right? She said one of my favorite film quotes of all-time in Halloweentown, “Being normal is vastly overrated.” This quote has stuck with me my whole life. I never felt normal, whatever that means. Later in my adult life, I could appreciate Debbie Reynolds for the actress she was. She’s also the reason after years of no dancing since being in the ballet company, I started dancing again in LA at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio. This came at a very pivotal point in my life as well. I named my last car after Debbie Reynolds… ah good ol’ Debbie the Elentra… I miss that car.
I vividly recall sleeping over at my grandparent’s house when my grandma put the VHS of Overboard in. I was definitely too young to watch that movie, but that never stopped her. I was blown away by Goldie Hawn. At that age, I thought she was this beautiful, hilarious woman. I wanted her to be my babysitter. As a kid, every time a cool, beautiful woman crossed my path, I would say “I want her to be my babysitter.” It has become a running joke in my family now. We’ve got a long list of potential babysitters. Every time I went back to my grandparents, I would request Overboard. Later in my early teen years, I would watch the film on my own and dissect her performance. I would try to act like her in real life. I then binged all of her films. Her vulnerability and fun she brought to every role became a goal of mine as an actor and as a human.
Debbie Reynolds and Goldie Hawn were performers that introduced me to acting. As an adult, Brit Marling is what I’m all about. She is my current obsession. This woman has an economics degree from Georgetown, was her class’s valedictorian and interned at Goldman Sachs. This woman turned down a job at Goldman Sachs because she says she was unfulfilled. She left that stable, steady, well-paying job to go film a documentary. She had a dream and she followed it. No matter what. She ripped that safety net away and didn’t worry about falling on her face. She made her acting, directing, writing, producing career happen. She made it happen. Brit wasn’t afraid to ask for help; she wasn’t afraid to collaborate. I admire her resilient grace. She is paving the way for creatives like me. If I were in my early teen years, I’m sure I would say “I want her to be my babysitter.” She deserves to be added to that list.
Contact Info:
- Website: IMDb.me/MackenzieOgden
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mack.ogden/
- Other: www.MackenzieOgden.com
Image Credit:
Alexis Dickey Photography, Daniel Galuppo Productions
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