Mara McCann
Actor. Creator. EP
“A leader with an unyeilding edge, and spirit of a tenacious fighter.”
“Mara portrays the heartless villain so well that I’m still having nightmares……"
Doug Plomitallo, (Director Halloween Candy 2/ WME)
“As an actress, Mara inspires those around her to greatness” Josh Sobel, Tony-winning producer (Guttenberg + Appropriate)
"Working with Mara I know I can rely on her consistent timing to find the truth in each moment” Gary Hershberger (Actor/ Director, Twin Peaks, Batboy)
About Mara
Mara’s zone of genius on the screen is playing the thwarted commander whose power is undermined, and her ethics walk the line driven by her ruthless spirit to win.
A classically trained actress, Mara is drawn to characters of unrelenting grit, and ruthless spirit, who push to the edge of justice, in comedic satire or real-life tragedy. Whether taking on a villain haunted by ambition or a woman fighting for what’s right, she thrives in roles where moral lines blur. On set, her positivity and tireless work ethic uplift every project.
Recent Highlights:
Previews LA 2026 for lead role in the feature film, Inventory, Directed by Liz Irons.
Booked lead role in equity off-Broadway new play debuting fall 2026, with writer/ director Dennis Leroy Kangalee.
Starred as the lead villain — a ruthless politician unleashing chaos — in Halloween Candy 2. (Feature film, 2025)
Set to premiere a new solo show in 2026, directed by Tony-winning producer Josh Sobel (Guttenberg, Appropriate).
As an executive producer, Mara is a connector. She brings a network of partnerships across marketing, brand buiilding, distribution, production, post, and sales. She hosts capital salons in LA and NYC, connecting aligned investors with her teams IP.
As a speaker and mentor, Mara has coached over 7,000 creative entrepreneurs on business strategy and storytelling. She’s presented at SeriesFest, the Microsoft Garage, the Creativity Conference, and the NYU Alumni Network. She has been an advisor at SXSW’s Tech Pitch Fest as well as the Long Beach Teach Accelerator.
At the core of her company, Zhive Media, she champions undiscovered voices through mentorship and business education.
Originally from Iowa by way of New Jersey, Mara followed her path of creating characters to New York City after earning her degree in Theatre and Women’s Studies at the University of Iowa. She trained extensively in classical theatre and the Meisner technique with the late Robert Patterson in New York, and internationally with Eugenio Barba’s Odin Teatret in Denmark and Dah Teatre in Serbia.
She now splits her time between NYC, and a cottage set in the forest in the Berkshires of Massachusetts —
a sanctuary where she writes and creates characters :)