Eileen MacDonald

Eileen’s first acting role was that of an elderly wizard in 4th grade and she has brought the whimsy, worldly knowledge, and back issues from that defining role with her into her adult acting career. From Seattle, Washington, she is a sucker for a cup of tea on a rainy day or a picnic with a mountain view. Eileen recently graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in Theatre Performance, and in the fall of 2023 will be pursuing an MFA in classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramtic Arts (LAMDA). Eileen harbors a deep love of Shakespeare and classical theatre that began with the Macbeth picture book she used to check out from the elementary school library. She enjoys exploring the vast and transcendent human experiences brought out in Shakespeare’s text and brings those discoveries with her to all her classical and contemporary work on stage and on screen. 

 Eileen strives to provoke empathy and inspire new perspectives with her work as an actor, director and educator. She firmly believes in the power of art to establish curiosity, communication, and collaboration. Eileen’s journey with performing began with an incredible youth theatre program in her hometown, and she has since gone on to direct and mentor youth actors in summer Shakespeare camps through the very same company, Penguin Productions. She is particularly passionate about creating safe spaces for young artists to explore gender, sexuality, and identity through character development and storytelling. 

In her off-time, Eileen can often be found baking, doing the morning crossword puzzle, singing Elton John loudly in her car, or eating cheese and crackers at odd hours of the night.