Meet Mackenzie Gardner, whose real-life superpower is her positive outlook and capacity to love, including cartoon characters she can draw from memory and toads she bravely tries to reason with.
I’m most passionate about… Performing, creating, making people feel, and art as a whole. I think the ability to tell stories and move people is so powerful and such a wonderful thing. I’ve always been very passionate about art, creating and collaboration, and I believe I always will be. I adore performing, whether I’m making people laugh, or making people cry, to connect with humans in such a strangely profound way is something I am incredibly grateful for. Art is so important for the well-being of everyone. Without it we’d have no paintings, no plays, no books, no musicals, no films and no music. When you big picture it, it really shows how important art truly is.
My real-life superpower is… I think my real-life superpower could be my positive outlook and my capacity to love. I think I’m very lucky to always be able to find the light in a dark situation, and make not-so-good circumstances feel not as awful as they could be. I feel that if you can’t change a situation, don’t waste your energy on it. Of course, grieving a situation and processing your feelings is important, but dwelling on it for too long isn’t productive. I’m also very grateful for my capacity to love so many people, animals and creatures so deeply. I love to love!
My most useless skill is… Being able to draw quite a few cartoon characters from memory. When I was younger, I really wanted to become an animator and cartoonist, so I would doodle the same drawings over and over again. I know I can at least draw a half-decent Garfield, Homer Simpson and Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe it’ll come in handy one day?
My most irrational fear is… Cane toads. I cannot stress this enough. Two years ago, I was performing in Hawaii while on tour with The Barden Party, and to exit the venue after a show we had to drive down a long path that was covered in cane toads. Me, being the animal lover I am, thought it would be a great idea to reason with them and try shuffle them out of the way. So, I waddled down the path while the tour van drove behind me, trying to shoo them to safety until ONE JUMPED AT ME AND UNDER MY SKIRT. I have never been so frightened in my life. Still to this day, seeing photos of them makes me feel ill.
I get myself out of a funk by… Spending time with friends or being around animals. I wouldn’t say I’m hugely extroverted, but I do find a lot of peace in quality time with a few friends. I also find a lot of comfort in animals. I think it’s because I grew up with always having quite a few pets around, so it feels a little like home. My most favourite de-funking activity is visiting Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch. The only thing that puts me back in a funk is knowing I can’t take the animals home with me.
A random fact I love… Hugh Grant’s middle name is Mungo. Always makes me giggle.
