Life & Work with Malick Ceesay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Malick Ceesay.

Hi Malick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey started very young. I went to an art school when I was eleven and started experimenting with the performing arts. I took choir, band, and theater classes to help get a sense of what I wanted to do. Turns out I liked way more than just one specific art. Instead, I kept experimenting all the way until high school. Unfortunately, my high school lacked good infrastructure for the arts, so my mother encouraged me to keep searching outside of school for more. This was the most important moment for me because it taught me how to see beyond and ponder on the world outside of the neighborhood blocks of my home. I kept this in mind throughout my life, as I knew music and theater was going to be a part of me for a long time.

After graduating from my alma mater, Augsburg University in Southside Minneapolis, my intentions became more clear: search for what is beyond. In the city, I worked with many theaters mostly as an actor and arts administrator. When I was not working with a theater company, I was doing self-producing projects, submitting scripts to opportunities, and rapping on stages and producing music for artists. I did not think at the time I was multidisciplinary – in fact, I was having trouble marrying these art forms together. I was still searching for a way to bridge this gap, so I continued to think beyond and consider graduate school. I got accepted into UCLA’s MFA Playwriting program and found myself leaving my hometown in the middle of the pandemic and driving 29 hours to California. Even though the world was, in some ways, on hold for most physical interactions, my intentions never left me. I knew I wanted to continue to see past my horizons.

Once I began my MFA program, it became clear that I could not leave these other disciplines behind. It is very easy to place playwriting as my focus when it is given a full-time academic schedule. But yet, it was still difficult for me to let go of music, let go of performance when I know I have given each of these disciplines an equal amount of love. Being so new to SoCal, I decided to doubled-down and experience all of these art forms whether in unison or separate; further embracing the title of multidisciplinary. Since my arrival, I have continued to do as such, being a part of many different projects across disciplines in LA County. As of right now, my focus has been centered around sound design and music.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
There was definitely a struggle on the way here. The reality of transitioning from a full-time artist and to a full-time student was not the best financial decision when keeping in mind a city like LA. I was lucky to be given a fellowship from my academic department and several other grants when I first moved here, but the question of financial stability was something that took time to reach. I had to find avenues of income while also trying to be consistent with school and projects at the same time. California is a place with many opportunities, but if an artist struggles to achieve those opportunities, or find the right people to talk to in a given industry, it can be tough finding a good balance right away. It took me about a year to get to a comfortable place.

I am lucky to be in a much better place now, but financial stability is not the only struggle. I think bouncing back from the pandemic taught us a lot about our individual selves and those surrounding one another. I was able to grow with my work while in isolation. The biggest challenge now is seeing how this translates into a public format. I have been excited to share more and dive deeper into the culture of LA, especially as a multidisciplinary artist. I am very confident in the work that I focused on throughout the pandemic and as of 2023, most of this work has and will slowly come into fruition.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a multidimensional artist of Gambian-American heritage, canonizing my work in acting, music, playwriting, and sound design. My plays include Waiting in Vain, Bruised Silhouette, Sacrosanct, SuperAmerica, Bloodsoil circa ’87, Dynamite and The Jazz Equation. In 2019, “Waiting in Vain” was workshopped and produced at Augsburg University with Ambiance Theatre Company, directed by Atlese Robinson. In 2021 my play, “The Jazz Equation,” was workshopped and produced as part of UCLA’s ONES Play Festival, directed by June Carryl. In February of 2023, my thesis production, “SuperAmerica” received an academic premiere in Macgowan Hall 1340 and was directed by Bruce Lemon Jr. “SuperAmerica” was the first of its kind, being the first time that UCLA has ever produced a play featuring an all-Black cast.

Back in my hometown, I was a 2019–21 cohort member of Red Eye Theater’s New Works 4 Weeks Festival (NW4W) for my film projects: “a mascu- poem.” and “MANSAYA.” Other literary works of mine have been featured in Black MN Voices, The Plugged App, MN Artists, and Sunspot Literary Journal. I have worked with other theatres as well, such as: Underdog Theatre, Capri Theatre (PCYC), Red Eye Theatre, Full Circle Theatre, The Playwrights’ Center, Lyric Arts, Hero Theatre (LA), and UCLA.

As a sound designer, I have been blessed with the opportunity to work on several productions, including: “Snow in Atlantis” by Evan Peterson, “Def Poetics” facilitated by Sha Cage & E.G. Bailey, “Still Harvey Still” by Brianna Barrett (mentored under Leon Rothenberg), and “Antigone” directed by Staci Mize. At the moment, I am currently sound designing a show with director David Parker for a production of “Tell Me I’m Gorgeous at the End of the World” by Aaron Coleman, which will be performed in Macgowan Hall in Spring of 2023.

I am in the process of finalizing my EP titled, “Jaded & Hourglass, Vol. 1” with my comrades Jahi Davis and Kaia DeSchane with Katopia Records. This will be my first body of work musically since 2019.

It makes sense that a lot of these seeds have recently been sprouting, as I will soon be closing a chapter in my academic journey; graduating with my MFA this June.

I am very proud of how far I have come as a multidisciplinary artist. It is very easy to be intimidated by the idea of doing multiple disciplines at once. Many people shy away from this in hopes to grow in one place. While it is not an easy task, it is something that has been a part of me for most of my life. My imagination remains in the idea that our lives are multidimensional and interconnected. We are multi in energy and nature. I have been tapping into this closely and it is usually here that people turn around and walk a different path. I believe that separates me from others because I choose to purposefully walk down a path that has difficult terrain. But it is in this difficult terrain that I find some of the most beautiful things in life, therefore giving me the inspiration to write a story out of it. At the end of the day, no matter how many disciplines I carry, they all circle back to one form: storytelling.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always open to work. Just hit my contact information and let’s connect.

Contact Info:

• Website: malickceesay.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvhlick
• Other: https://dailybruin.com/2023/02/25/all-black-play-superamerica-spotlights-effects-of-capitalism-on-black-experience

Image Credits
Photos by Mallory Ferguson, Rayna Howard, Makela Yepez, and Jenny Graham.