In This Story
Meet our Director!
Dr. Karalee Dawn MacKay is the Director of the Arts Management program, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses, and is the Academic Director of the AMGT study abroad program. With a wealth of experience in performing arts management and production spanning across the United States, Scotland, and Cuba, Dr. Mackay has held many leadership roles in Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, national and international tours, not-for-profit, and commercial productions.
As a director of an academic unit, Karalee is able to combine her expert management skills, passion for teaching, and love of cultural festivals. She helped to develop a new course, Folklore & Festival Management in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival with George Mason's Folklore Program Director Dr. Lisa Gilman and colleague Dr. Carole Rosenstein. Along with her teaching and leadership roles, Dr. MacKay researches the creation, maintenance, and preservation of traditional arts and cultural festivals in Ireland, Scotland and rural America. Her research has been presented at regional, national, and international conferences.
How do you support non-traditional and/or first-generation students in the Arts Management program?
Dr. Karalee MacKay: I provide guidance and support for our non-traditional adult learner student cohort and ensure that their unique needs are met. As a first generation, non-traditional student myself, I understand the challenges of returning to academics after many years away and finding yourself in a class where you may be the oldest student and need to balance your coursework with family and work requirements.
I encourage discussion in areas of concern and work with students to understand the demands of a graduate academic career, provide advice and assist with the development of skills that will allow them to flourish in our program. I encourage them to share their work experiences with us as this adds vital and nuanced information to AMGT class discussions and project work in our courses.
How long have you been at George Mason University and what has kept you in their Arts Management program?
Dr. Karalee MacKay: My first job at GMU was in the summer of 2008 when I served as the production manager of an amazing production of the play, Two-Bit Taj Mahal by Paul D’Andrea with the Theatre of the First Amendment. That experience led me to being asked to teach in the AMGT MA program as an adjunct professor in the spring of 2009.
I quickly realized that this was a unique program that focused on the practical elements of working in the arts as well as the foundational theory needed to build sustainable organizations and careers. It was this balance, amazing students, and innovative coursework and programming that keeps inspiring me to do more in AMGT. There is nothing that makes me happier than hearing from our alumni when they obtain their perfect job and hear about how they are impacting their local communities through the arts. I am constantly impressed and inspired by our student and alumni cohorts.
Which cultural and/or arts festival in Scotland or Ireland has left the biggest impact on your research and why?
Dr. Karalee MacKay: While I have enjoyed many festivals and Highland Games & Gatherings in Scotland and Ireland, the one that has impacted me the most was in the summer of 2024 when I attended several events that were part of the Earagail Arts Festival and their Arts Programme and Rural Regeneration Initiatives showcases and witnessed the impact this festival has on County Donegal, Ireland.
This festival features music, dance, poetry, storytelling, circus, nature/arts walks and art installation events that are held throughout County Donegal. They feature local artists and communities and collaborates with international artists to bring then to the region to share their work. I attended an amazing and inspiring event, Cosán Árainn Mhór – Siúlóid Filíochta agus Cheoil on the island that included Irish and Scottish Gaelic poetry and song as we walked along the cliffs and beaches and was able to see first-hand how the landscape inspires the creatives in Ireland.
The Executive Director was kind enough to meet with me and share the mission and goals of the festival and how his small staff produces two weeks of events in multiple locations across the region. I hope to volunteer at this festival and to build collaborative opportunities with the Earagail Arts Festival and AMGT through internship and volunteer opportunities in the future.