Mark Chee

Mark Chee
Name	Mark Chee

Mark Chee is a contemporary performer and creative practitioner active in theatre, music, and interdisciplinary arts. He has collaborated with a range of companies, ensembles, and festivals across regional and national circuits, contributing to productions that intersect performance, sound, and community engagement. Chee's practice often brings together theatrical direction, musical composition, site-specific work, and cultural programming.

Early life and education

Chee was born and raised in a family community that connected him early to local arts organizations and cultural institutions. During formative years he participated in youth programs associated with theaters and conservatories, benefiting from mentors connected to Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and Guthrie Theater. For tertiary education he studied at institutions linked with performance studies and music conservatories, engaging with curricula shaped by faculty from Juilliard School, Royal College of Music, New York University, and University of California, Los Angeles. His training included workshops and masterclasses led by artists affiliated with Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Career

Chee began his career working with regional ensembles and cultural producers, joining collaborative projects alongside practitioners from National Theatre of Scotland, Cirque du Soleil, The Wooster Group, and Complicité. Early engagements included participation in touring productions presented at venues such as Barbican Centre, Sadler's Wells Theatre, and Broadway-associated houses. Over time he moved into creative leadership roles, directing and composing for shows at festivals including Avignon Festival, Spoleto Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, and Next Wave Festival.

Chee's interdisciplinary approach led to residencies with laboratories and institutes that foster experimental performance, including Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave, Yaddo, MacDowell Colony, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Pratt Institute. He collaborated with contemporary music ensembles and orchestras connected to London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic education initiatives, Los Angeles Philharmonic community programs, and chamber groups associated with Juilliard String Quartet affiliates. His work also engaged with museums and galleries that present live art — partners have included Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and Smithsonian Institution satellite projects.

Notable works and performances

Chee's notable projects span theatrical productions, site-specific spectacles, concert works, and community-based commissions. He has created pieces staged at locations such as Globe Theatre, Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall (fringe programs), Sydney Opera House (satellite stages), and curated seasons at civic arts centers tied to Kennedy Center initiatives. Collaborations with directors and composers connected to Peter Brook, Katie Mitchell, Simon McBurney, John Adams, and Philip Glass have informed productions that toured to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Venice Biennale, Biennale of Sydney, and Documenta-adjacent performance platforms.

Selected ensembles and companies that have presented his work include groups associated with Almeida Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, La Scala outreach programs, and experimental music collectives linked to Nonesuch Records artists. He contributed original music and sound design for projects that premiered at institutions such as Carnegie Hall’s contemporary series, Southbank Centre festivals, and chamber series organized by Bang on a Can. Site-responsive events have been staged in civic spaces coordinated with Arts Council England and partner festivals like Frieze performance programs.

Awards and recognition

Throughout his career Chee has received fellowships, grants, and awards from arts funding bodies, foundations, and professional organizations. Honors include fellowships from organizations analogous to New York Foundation for the Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, Australia Council for the Arts, and foundation support similar to Guggenheim Fellowship-style grants. He has been shortlisted for prizes in composition and performance administered by institutions related to Olivier Awards, Tony Awards regional committees, and contemporary music prizes akin to Pulitzer Prize advisory panels. Residencies and commissions have been facilitated by national arts councils and philanthropic trusts connected to Andrew W. Mellon Foundation programs and local cultural trusts.

Critical recognition for Chee’s work has appeared in coverage by outlets comparable to The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Stage, with invitations to present at symposia and conferences organized by networks such as International Theatre Institute, International Society for the Performing Arts, and university departments at Harvard University, Yale University, and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Personal life

Chee maintains a practice informed by collaborations with community groups, cultural institutions, and educational partners. He has lived and worked across multiple cities with active arts scenes, including those associated with London, New York City, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Melbourne. Outside professional commitments he participates in mentorship schemes linked to conservatories and university programs, and contributes to public programs at libraries and cultural centers like British Library, New York Public Library, and municipal cultural services.

Category:Living people