Laura Jones Macknin is a Chicago-based actor who begins her bio with the pedestrian observation that she fell in love with theatre at an early age.

But really, I did.

I grew up with mom’s stories of Canadian repertory theatre and making films in Old Montreal and William Shatner for God’s sake.  What’s not to love?  My first theatrical experience is a vivid memory (age five):  A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Goodman.  While there is a very real possibility this memory was driven more by feathered fairy costumes than iambic pentameter, still:  love at first view.

Years of actual performance in “semi-professional children’s theatre” (Ado Annie!  a very young Golde!!  Snoopy!!) and Chicago commercial work followed.  College (University of Chicago, BA and MA) was an academic retreat, but Some Wounds go Too Deep and theatre cast her deadly lure.

So.  For the past 20-ish years I have worked on Chicago stages (so much theatre, so many companies.  Current shout outs to SMC and Idle Muse.)  Roles have included many of Shakespeare’s bad girls, a couple of good ones and one HIGHWAYWOMAN.  I have also been privileged to help develop new works for the stage, including plays by Coby Goss, Mia McCullough, Penny Penniston and my very dear friend Ann Noble.

And – no Chicago Theatre experience is complete without it – I am the artistic director of one of those Chicago black box theatre companies (Shakespeare’s Motley Crew, SMC).  This is the stuff of legend and if I ever write an actual biography the stories will be blood-curdling (food poisoning, pregnancy and ghosts in King John, road flares / stage on fire in Duchess of Malfi, costumes on fire in Comedy of Errors, Lycra for King Lear…) – and likely to solicit a visit from some inspector general somewhere.

With the on-set of adulthood (the joining of the unions) my work has taken me farther afield – regional theatre, VO work, film projects and in fact, LA.

Mostly however, I can be found biking in and out of Ravenswood with my very beloved William Sidney Parker and as many cats as Sid will allow.

And we still make SMC (smcplays.org)

IMDB link:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2669689/

YouTube:  youtube smcplays