Mackenzie Wrap is an aspiring singer-songwriter-actress originally from San Diego and now living in Orange County California.
Mackenzie has had a passion for singing ever since she can remember. When she was 8, her parents were awakened at midnight one evening by loud singing. Her dad rushed into her room only to find her standing on her bed, makeshift MIC in hand singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the top of her lungs. Looking back, this was the moment that her parents realized that she was serious about singing. About this time, her mom got her involved in the local youth theater in order to give her a stage to develop her vocal abilities and to get a feel for acting in musicals. Mackenzie immediately fell in love with musical theatre and has performed in numerous productions in both San Diego and more recently in Orange County. However, she also began learning at an early age about the disappointment and rejection that comes with theatre when you don't get cast.
By the time she was 9, her mom began taking her to local open mics around San Diego to give her a place to sing when she wasn't cast in a theatre production. Her mom would regularly take her to places such as LeStats, Rebecca's, Aztec Brewery and Tim Moore's cabaret open mic at Hennessey's Tavern in La Jolla. With the amazingly friendly audiences in these venues and her immediate family there for support, she continued to improve her singing abilities and work on her stage presence. She also began a journey of exploring and appreciating different music genres as she grew from a musical theatre kid into a crossover vocalist.
After singing at Hennessey's a number of times, Tim Moore invited Mackenzie and her family to join him on a trek up to the Gardenia club in Hollywood to sing at their famed Tuesday night cabaret open mic where Mackenzie met the show's host, Keri Kelsey. Keri, who is well known in LA's cabaret scene, has been regularly hosting this longest running open mic in Los Angeles. Through Keri, Mackenzie became acquainted with American Idol associate musical director, Michael Orland (who is also an accompanist for Kristen Chenoweth) and acclaimed songwriter Ken Hirsch who co-wrote the hit song "Two Less Lonely People in the World" made famous by Air Supply. Then in 2017 at age 13, Mackenzie made her cabaret debut in her own show at the Gardenia after Keri suggested that she do the show. She worked with Michael on the musical arrangements for the show and in rehearsals, while Keri taught her the art of cabaret performing. In the meantime, Ken Hirsch and his songwriting partner Rosie Casey wrote a song for Mackenzie called "The Scene of the Crime" that she later released as a single with Ken and Rosie producing the studio recording. During her show at the Gardenia, she debuted the song with Ken accompanying her on the piano. In reviewing her show for Cabaret Scenes magazine, Les Traub said of her singing ability, "Her vocal range and the control she has with her voice was on display as she scatted to the stratosphere...Be it pop, jazz, opera, country, traditional Great American Songbook, blues or Broadway, she handled it with ease."
Given Mackenzie's true passion for Musical Theatre, she auditioned for the Musical Theatre Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) when she was in 6th grade. Knowing how competitive it is to be accepted into OCSA, she was quite surprised when she was selected to join the school as a 7th grader. With little time to decide, she and her family made the decision to sell their home in San Diego and move to Orange County so that she could attend the school. Mackenzie has never looked back on this decision and OCSA has become her second home. One of her most memorable opportunities during her time at OCSA was being cast to play the role of Judy Bernly in OCSA's production of "9-to-5: The Musical."
In addition to all that OCSA has to offer, Mackenzie continues to seek out opportunities to perform. She was delighted when Ken Hirsch invited her to perform in his "Hits From Another Century Tour" at the Catalina Jazz Club. Mackenzie was also selected to perform in the Amy Winehouse tribute show at the Rockwell Table and Stage. For two consecutive years she was a guest performer at Alonso Moreno's Big Band show at the Tijuana Cultural Center. Mackenzie has also performed a number of times in Bruce Kimmel's Kritzerland shows.
Today she continues to explore everything she can related to music, theater, TV and Film. Be sure to follow her on social media to see what she is up to next!