Welcome to MaryAnzalone.com

Actor • Writer • Producer




About

Actress.

Writer.

Creator and Executive Producer of Lonesome Films.

In 2014 Mary launched Lonesome Films to showcase her writing and acting
talent.  She also serves as the production designer on her films and costume
coordinator.  

"Smoke and Mirrors"

Mary is best known for her 4 min. stage monologue turned short film "Smoke
and Mirrors."  The work is a quiet performance piece she wrote in 2002.  The
work was filmed on December 30th, 2014 in Austin, Texas.  Without changing a
word Mary enlisted the help of director and editor Jeff Stolhand to film her
vision.  With some additional B roll they were able to create a beautiful
art film with amazing music by Stephen Bennett.  The 5 hour effort yielded
something very moving out of what Mary feels is one of her most cherished
pieces of writing and acting.

Prior to Lonesome Films. . .

Mary has had an extensive background in independent film and theater in
Texas.  She's worked on a variety of projects with some of the major
University players, helping both students and professors make their shorts
and feature length stories shine.  Mary's also helped out on two major
period Feature Films in Texas getting a hands on view of the production
operations on Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" and The Coen Brother¹s
"True Grit."   In local theater Mary is best known for her strong southern
performances at Temple Civic Theater.  Most notable are her portrayals of
Jessie Mae Watts in Horton Foote's "The Trip to Bountiful" and Lenny McGrath
in Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart."  Mary originally received her formal
drama training at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New
York, NY after taking several acting classes at Baylor University in the
late 90's.   

A writing and storytelling backbone. . .

Mary has been a featured writer with Texas Dramatists since returning from
New York.  Her work "The Farm" received rave reviews by the group and she is
currently developing a longer version of the story entitled "Mourning
Doves."  While in New York she also took workshops with The Ensemble Studio
Theater and attended their 2002 Lexington Summer in The Catskills week for
playwrights run exclusively by the late Curt Dempster.  Each writer and
actor was hand picked by Curt to attend the retreat.  Since that time Mary's
plays and short works have been in readings across the state of Texas and
she began filming her work as well.  Mary was also recently commissioned by
Dare 2 Bloom Productions and director Nicole Acworth in Brisbane, Australia
to write a short film for her company.  The story, entitled "Out of Your
Element," lensed in 2015 on location in Brisbane and is making its way to
festivals.  

Before acting... before theater...

In her early 20's Mary and her brother co-wrote 5 spec scripts and were
called in to pitch to the writers and executive producers of Star Trek:  The
Next Generation and Deep Space Nine at Paramount Studios.  She and her
brother flew to LA and were quickly put on a six month contract with The
Sherry Robb Agency.  They attended meetings with agents and executive
producers and seasoned writers on the Paramount lot (shaking hands with the
late Michael Pillar, meeting with Ira Steven Behr) who had them pitch
several more times, giving them classified information about DS9. Sadly,
only one script came close to a possible sale... an underwater sci-fi story
with a murder mystery twist for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Disheartened
with the Hollywood machine her brother stopped writing, choosing a career in the
tech world. Mary returned to college and began commuting two days a week and
finally received a Bachelors of Science in Speech Communication, cum laude,
from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. Considering a Masters in
Communication she continued on to Baylor, but was encouraged to consider a
career in acting after she began to shine in classes at Baylor as a
non-degree seeking student.   Classes in camera, dance, and finally acting
with Deborah Mogford eventually led to New York and drama school. 

SAG and her professional future... a wide open field...

In 2015, Mary became SAG eligible with her charming southern voice work in
the Los Angeles based animated feature film "The Grid: Zombie Outlet Maul"
written and directed by Linda Andersson. This milestone has made Mary
aware of the complex nature of possibilities which now lay before her. She
is keeping an open mind regarding where her talents could take her.  
Without a doubt, she is living in interesting times... having films in
festivals, writing plays, acting in projects, and even seeing some of her
hobby artwork make it to the big screen. When not busy with these
pursuits, Mary spends evenings gardening or walking her dogs. She also
enjoys travel, photography, swimming, and horseback riding.