Native to San Francisco and part-native Hawaiian, Molly grew up training in the performing arts with a love for nature, interest in human nature and a fascination for the city of Montreal. She later studied literature, theatre and majored in psychology at McGill University, in Montreal. Her thesis examined the “cultural chameleon” — a term she has always identified with and continues to do so, operating out of Montreal, New York and Hawaii.
After teaching English and Theatre in Kyoto, Molly managed a coffee and macadamia nut farm in Hawaii where she also taught academics and mainstream social skills-building with autistic students through acting games and music. She later directed a theatrical and musical experimentation workshop as part of an organic farming program with teenagers in Mongolia. With a developing interest in theatre as therapy, she joined drama therapy pioneer, Dr. Sue Jennings in Romania, where she wrote and directed a play fostering social tolerance. Via New York University’s Brecht Forum, she collaborated with “Theatre of the Oppressed” founder Augusto Boal and produced an Invisible Theatre vignette targeting the use of fear in mainstream media. Her short film, “The Call,” won Best Film” and “Most Creative” at the Montreal Fringe Film Festival and her play, “Subliminal Communications” won “Best Play” at the Aloha Performing Arts Original Play Festival. She has since written and directed two interactive children’s plays produced at Montreal’s Centaur Theatre. “Pharms,” written, directed and composed by Molly was chosen for production by members of San Francisco’s Scary Cow Film Co-op and is currently in post-production.
As an actor, Molly’s performances have varied from high-budget Hollywood productions to San Francisco’s underground immersive theatre and musical theatre shows in Kona coffee land’s historic Aloha Theatre. She trained at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, The Academy of Film and Television in Honolulu, and more recently at Michael Howard Studios in New York. She’s played Evita, from “Evita,” Maria, from “The Sound of Music,” Audrey, from “Little Shop of Horrors” and sang “Doesn’t Anybody Love Anymore” in the Off-Broadway Revival of “Let My People Come.” She also performed as an actor/ dancer/musician in the sister production of Maui’s “Ulalena,” “Wakiki Nei,” a multi-media production launched by a creative team from Cirque du Soleil in Honolulu. While in Hawaii, she later turned to film and played “Rosie” on ABC’s television series, “Lost.”
As a young violinist, Molly toured in Germany, Austria, the British Isles and Hawaii with San Francisco’s Villa Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra. She has since composed music and designed sound for theatre, audiobooks and film, including her most recent film, “Pharms.” Molly has recorded and performed live as a violinist and vocalist, with various artists, and award winning composers, Michel Cusson and Jake Smith of Lakes of Canada as well as Patrick Watson and emerging folk artist, Molly Sweeney. She is scheduled to launch her solo debut to the tune of “gloomy industrial pop” under the name, Molly Malta, this Summer, 2023.
View Molly’s current projects here.