Broadway World Rising Star Award

Star on the Rise:
Zach Macias - UCSB Department of Theater and Dance

If you've seen anything at UCSB in the last several years, you'll certainly recognize Zach Macias from any of his memorable performances in Venus, The Importance of being Earnest, Bloody Poetry, and his recent, hilarious turn as Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing. Macias began performing young, and continued to tread the boards through high school. When he entered UCSB as a political science major, his hobby turned to a passion, and he committed to theater as a second major. Macias will be graduating this June, and hopes to continue acting on regional stages throughout the country with the eventual goal of making it to New York. He also intends to create original work for the theatre community. "I firmly believe that if I am not seeing the content in the world that I want to see, then it's up to me to generate it," says Macias.

Of his career on the UCSB stage, Macias names Launch Pad's recent production of Lynn Rosen's Bernhard as one of his most significant, challenging roles. "I played a sort of fairytale witch, who was torn between the need to eat and the need for human connection. It was the first time this play had ever been performed, and I really loved being able to work with Lynn and our director, Anne Torsiglieri, to figure out who my character was and bring it to life in my own way."

Though availability of entertainment has proliferated with evolving technology--from the stage to the big screen to the small screen to the even smaller screen with on-demand web content--Macias believes that theater is still a vital aspect of our culture. He asserts that the communal experience of theatre, in which an individual can share a collective, artistic experience with strangers, can never be replaced. "There is a reason that people applaud at the end of a play, but never (or very rarely) at the end of movies," he says, referring to the audiences' ability to connect with the performers working in front of their eyes. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating creative drive in college students. "This generation, who grew up with infinitely more modes of entertainment and stimulation, is the one that will decide whether theater is relevant enough to survive for the future," he says. "They have to want it, or else theater can be swallowed up by other, more accessible mediums." Yet Macias stands firm in his belief that people don't just want theater, they need it-and the specific creative, communal experience it provides."

- Maggie Yates, Broadway World