Next performances:
The Black Cat - Edgar Allan Poe's dark masterpiece at Castlemaine Fringe Festival
The Phee Broadway Theatre
7.30pm. Friday 31st March
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/CFFON
and
Goldfields Gothic Festival of Dark Ideas Aug 4-6, 2023.
(Details to be confirmed)

Mark Penzak - writer, director, actor.


Theatre is at heart, an ancient, simple (but oh so difficult) method of exploring life.  The actor and audience share the same space. We literally and figuratively see each other and through that, recognise ourselves.

There is unique quality and vibrancy in 'live' theatre.  It is superbly human-sized endeavour where the bedrock technology is the human body. It is an artform that relies on touching our commonalities and heightening the  pleasure we find in each other's company. 
​
​I work as writer, director and performer and enjoy creating in a wide variety of genres from dramatic plays to cabarets and musicals. I also co-director Such As They Are, a company which uses puppets and visuals in symbolic forms.                                                                           

​My own performances include work for children and adults. Each has special requirements but fundamentally, they're not too different. A good story is a good story and good acting is good acting.

My performances often feature innovative sets, puppets, storytelling, physical characterisation, comedy and recently, musical theatre.  The mix is designed to take audiences on a voyage, lift them from the ordinary into an imaginative world or new perspective.

​My principal education is a BA (Theatre/Media) from Charles Sturt University, followed by further studies with John Bolton, John Wright, Philippe Gaulier and at the Desmond Jones School of Mime in London. ​ I also completed a Master of Design (Film/TV) from Edinburgh College of Art.   ​