Alumni Profile: Author and Playwright Liz Maccie - Newark Academy

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There is something very special about Liz Maccie, and it is
apparent from the moment you meet her. Whether it’s her
engaging smile, her energetic demeanor, or just her unabashed
sincerity, you can’t help feeling good when you’re with her.
After talking with Liz, you also discover that she is a woman
who knows herself well, and who understands how she
came to be the person she is today.
Liz entered Newark Academy as a freshman in 1989, with
a bit of a chip on her shoulder. Her parents had made that
decision and Liz was none too happy about leaving her
friends from middle school and
entering a world of new kids who
were surely not going to accept
her. Liz, however, was amazed to
be proven wrong. Right from the
start, she found caring friends who
accepted her and teachers who
cared enough about her to break
down her resistance and challenge
her to fulfill her promise.
Liz fondly recalls Ms. Galvin having
her rewrite papers because she
knew Liz could do better, and
pressing her to settle for nothing less than her best work.
“Looking back I see that Ms. Galvin’s belief in me changed
my perception of myself. I guess I was worth the effort.”
Whether it was reading To Kill a Mockingbird with Mrs. Parlin,
singing with Mrs. Jacoby or acting with Mr. Jacoby, Liz found
adults who thought she was capable, intelligent and deserving
of success. Academic achievement became fun and affirming,
and Liz realized that there was a lot she wanted to accomplish
in life.
After graduating from Bucknell University, Liz spent a few
years in New York City pursuing an acting career. She then
headed out to Los Angeles where she enjoys working in
program development for the Disney Channel and screenwriting.
Over the years, Liz has penned several screen plays
that have made their way into film. She just finished writing
a movie starring the young singer/songwriter Christine Evans
which is scheduled for an early 2009 release. This film, which
is being compared to Thirteen and Once, is certainly a career
highlight. Liz is also producing a documentary called Leaving
Vogue Moran which will premiere at The Sundance Film
OUTREACH fall 2008
Alumni Profile:
Author and Playwright
Liz Maccie ’93
Telling Her Story BY NANCY McGAUGHAN
Liz Maccie ’93 and Nancy McGaughan
Festival in 2009, and has just completed her first directing
project entitled Foxglove which will also premiere at Sundance.
Her most prized accomplishment, however, is the one closest
to her heart. Her first novel will be published this year and
Liz is hopeful that it will be an inspiration for young girls.
With the working title My Higher Education this young adult
book deals with the fears, self-consciousness and pain that
goes with adolescence, and it takes place all on a young girl’s
first day at a new high school. Although Liz tells people that
the work is not autobiographical, she will admit that it is
based on her own experiences at
Newark Academy when she arrived
nervous and angry in 1989.
Recognizing how important it is to
believe in yourself and to have others
believe in you has motivated Liz
to not only write her novel, but to
become involved with The Young
Storytellers Project in Los Angeles.
There, screen writers like Liz go
into troubled schools and help kids
turn their stories into short films
and plays which are performed by
Hollywood actors. The work is inspiring and meaningful –
and she sees the direct result in the lives of the children she
works with. Watching a boy, whom everyone had given up
on, turn his life around after being in the program reaffirms
her belief that when you express your faith in someone,
they will begin to have faith in themselves. She has seen it
impact her own life, and is thrilled to share it with the kids
in the program.
Now whether it’s taking on a challenging project, getting a
book published, running marathons or helping others, Liz
faces her life with confidence and self-worth. She is grateful
for her parents, who saw her promise and sacrificed so much
to make sure she had the best opportunities, and to the
teachers at NA, whose faith in her ability and potential was
unshakeable. “Newark Academy was the turning point in
my life… I would be a totally different person if I had gone
somewhere else. I will never forget that.”
Liz is currently working on her next young adult novel, Scoops,
which delves into the life of a young girl the summer before
she leaves for college. It will be finished by the end of 2008.