Suffolk University senior Mary Mahoney has been an artist for as long as she can remember. From singing in the living room when little to acting in her first professional play this semester, theater is “her thing.”

Now, months away from graduating with a degree in theater, Mahoney feels ready to be part of this new world full of possibilities after her final bow at Suffolk.

“I feel like I’ve got myself established in the world I want to work in already. I’m feeling very confident about the future,” Mahoney said.
Born and raised in Fitchburg, Mahoney’s college plans suddenly changed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of going to college in Florida, she saw herself in Suffolk’s downtown Boston theater program.

“It was blind faith. I didn’t know what I was going for, but I ended up making a good choice. It was a hectic decision but I don’t regret it,” she said.
Mahoney’s eyes shined when she was asked the reason she decided to pursue a career in theater.

“I can’t describe it. It just makes me feel so alive — I love doing it,” she said. “I could talk forever about all the beautiful things that being an actress has brought throughout my life already. I’m just a very lucky person.”

Mahoney is a professional singer and hopes to get accepted to a graduate school of theater education or musical theater. Her plans are to stay in Boston or move to shiny New York City to pursue her dreams. But it was at Suffolk that she discovered she could reinvent herself.

Suffolk’s theater department is always pushing its students to think and get outside of the box, Mahoney said. She had the experience to direct and write a one-woman play titled “Broadway Baby,” coming this spring, and work with stage management and much more throughout her years in college. She later found out that writing and directing aren’t some things she would like to do, but she would have never known if she hadn’t tried.

“I was actively pushed to do things that I’m not comfortable with so it’s been really helpful to become a full person and artist,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney has an extensive curriculum at Suffolk. She was part of “Metamorphosis,” “Pilgrims of the Night,” “Cymbeline” and others. She will be performing in “Mid Summer; Kinda?” in October and “Romeo & Juliet” in December.
Her latest production was Actors Shakespeare Project’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” the first professional work she got through Suffolk. Mahoney played “the ensemble” of this Shakespeare classic and quickly bonded with her castmates.
“It’s been so fun! I’ve never worked with professional actors, but the professional actors I’m working with are the most kind and generous people. We’ve much become like a little community,” Mahoney said.
When asked to give advice to incoming students, Mahoney said “Be nice and support people around you, it really does get you so far. That’s probably one of the best things I learned.”

Through her experiences at Suffolk, Mahoney has learned one thing for sure: Never limit yourself.

“Don’t put yourself into a box. You can do anything. You can teach, you can act, you can write. You can do all of these things at the same time. You don’t need to be one thing. Which is something that I definitely learned in college,” Mahoney said.

The curtain call is almost here for Mahoney since she is graduating in spring 2024. She doesn’t know what her future holds but the rising star is more than ready to find out. To the Suffolk community, Mahoney left a heartwarming message.

“Thank you! It’s been great. It’s been a journey. And I’m excited to have my last year here. I’m very grateful to have ended up where I ended up, at just the right time,” she said.