Mackenzie Firgens

Infobox actor
name = Mackenzie Firgens

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birthdate = birth date and age|1975|3|6}
location = United States
deathdate =
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yearsactive = 1999-present
spouse =
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notable role = April RENT
academyawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =

Mackenzie Firgens (born March 6, 1975 Burbank,California, USA) is an American actress

Biography

Early life

Born just a few miles from Hollywood, Mackenzie Firgens was raised as a quintessential starlet by her musician/actor father and singer/artist mother. From a young age she knew she wanted to be an actor. She began following these aspirations quite early by putting on plays for her parents and friends, often playing several roles, as no one else could keep up with her voracious appetite for performance.

While theatre and on camera work ruled her heart, she devoted her body to movement, enrolling in jazz dance and ballet at the age of 7. By the age of 8 she was busy auditioning for commercials. Her funny and startlingly good imitation of Mae West landed her first television role on Disney's Contraption.

By junior high she had joined a touring theatre group and begun to take on serious dramatic roles that explored peer pressure and domestic violence.When she arrived at high school which didn't have a drama club, she started one, and then went on to star in it's first production.

Continuing her pursuit of acting she moved to Chicago to study theatre at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University. She submerged herself in acting, voice, movement and speech, further honing those early dreams into marketable skills. Eventually she found her way back to the West Coast and performed with the Tony Award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. Soon after finishing her studies at San Francisco State University's Theatre Department.

Career

Firgens made her feature debut starring as Harmony in the underground hit "Groove", which was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and released by Sony Classics Pictures. Firgens originated the role of April in the film version of the Broadway sensation "Rent", directed by Chris Columbus. As April, Firgens had the opportunity to create a new character for the classic musical, and shares the screen with Adam Pascal.

Firgens also starred in "Quality of Life" with Lane Garrison, which won a Special Mention Award at the Berlin International Film Festival as well as the Best Youth Film at the Stockholm International Film Festival. Additional film credits include "Broken Arrows" with Lori Petty and "The Hamiltons" with Brittany Daniel.

Currently Firgens is working on a couple of new movies. "Break" the noir action film with Michael Madsen and Chad Everett by the award winning director Marc Clebanoff. * [http://www.strickenthemovie.com Stricken] by breakout filmmaker * [http://imdb.com/name/nm2348076/ Matthew Sconce] and "Phoenix Lights" starring Ossie Beck.

Firgens recently guest starred on the TV show "The Unit"

Filmography/television

External links

* [http://www.mackenziefirgens.com/ Mackenzie Firgens] - Official site.
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278673/ IMDb: Mackenzie Firgens] - Filmography, and photos from the Internet Movie Database.
* [http://nocleanbreak.com/break/index.html/ Break] - The Official Movie Web Site.
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt1105311/ Stricken] - Information and Photos from the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.revolutionsummerfilm.com/ Revolution Summer] - The Official Movie Web Site.
* [http://www.sffilms.tv/thehamiltons/ The Hamiltons] - The Official Movie Web Site
* [http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/rent/ RENT] - The Official Movie Web Site.
* [http://www.qualityoflife-themovie.com/ Quality of Life] - The Official Movie Web Site.