Rate My Professor David Mackay

David Mackay is an Associate Professor of Acting and Directing and Associate Director for Theatre at Kansas State University, where he also serves as the program director for the Theatre program within the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Directing from Temple University and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of British Columbia in 1990. A professional actor, playwright, and director from Vancouver, Canada, Mackay has amassed an extensive portfolio of credits across theatre, film, and television prior to and alongside his academic career. His teaching responsibilities include Fundamentals of Acting, Advanced Stage Movement, Advanced Acting: Shakespeare, and Advanced Acting: Acting on Camera, fostering practical skills in performance and direction for students.

Mackay's directing achievements encompass productions at prestigious venues such as the Arts Club Theatre Company, where he helmed Jitters, Peter and the Starcatcher, One Man, Two Guvnors, Venus in Fur, Boeing Boeing, and The Importance of Being Earnest. With Mitch and Murray Productions, he directed Instantaneous Blue, Smart People, Becky Shaw, and Lungs. He spent fourteen seasons with the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, contributing as both director and actor. Mackay adapted and co-directed Kosmic Mambo, a stage adaptation of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, at Studio 58, Langara College. His screen credits include roles in The X-Files, Are We There Yet?, Watchmen, Project Blue Book, and The Layover, directed by William H. Macy. At Kansas State University, he has directed Let Me Down Easy, She Kills Monsters, Love and Information, and As You Like It, and adapted The Government Inspector and The Imaginary Invalid for performance, enriching the campus theatre scene with professional-caliber productions.