{{distinguish|text=the Scottish Gaelic singer [[Maggie Macdonald]]}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}} {{BLP sources|date=August 2010}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Maggie MacDonald | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978}}<!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year unless the exact date is already WIDELY published, as per [[WP:DOB]] --> | birth_place = | origin = [[Cornwall, Ontario]], Canada | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date 1st) --> | death_place = | genre = [[Punk rock]] | occupation = Writer, playwright, musician | instrument = | years_active = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) --> | label = | associated_acts = | website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} --> }} '''Maggie MacDonald''' (born 1978) is a writer, playwright, and musician who lives in [[Toronto]], Ontario.
==Early life and education== MacDonald grew up in [[Cornwall, Ontario]], where she became active in the local independent [[punk rock|rock]] music scene. She put on shows and created a [[fanzine]] called ''Saucy'', which gained attention outside of Cornwall as well. Dubbed the "punk-rock [[valedictorian]]," she also grew into politics. She served as a student [[school trustee|trustee]] on her school board at the age of 17. She left Cornwall to attend the [[University of Toronto]].
==Career== Returning to Cornwall at age 20, MacDonald ran in the [[1999 Ontario general election|1999 provincial election]] as the [[Ontario New Democratic Party|New Democratic Party]] candidate in the [[electoral district (Canada)|electoral district]] of [[Stormont—Dundas—Charlottenburgh (provincial electoral district)|Stormont—Dundas—Charlottenburgh]]. Facing two [[redistricting|redistributed]] incumbents–([[Ontario Liberal Party|Liberal]] [[John Cleary (Canadian politician)|John Cleary]] and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Tory]] [[Noble Villeneuve]]), for a single seat in the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]], she was given next to no chance to win the election.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scallen |first1=Shawn |title=Maggie MacDonald, May 16, 1999 |url=https://www.scallen.com/051201.html |website=scallen.com |publisher=Shawn Scallen |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> Her innovative campaign strategy, including the use of a [[guerrilla theatre]] play called ''Revolution Mall Style'', drew praise and attention.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rumack |first1=Leah |title=Politics, punks and puppets, May 1999 |url=http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/38/News/feature1c.html |website= |publisher=Wayback Machine, NOW Toronto |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617001329/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/18/38/News/feature1c.html |archive-date=17 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
MacDonald's second play, ''A Clockwork Gorbachev'',<ref>{{cite web |title=A Clockwork Gorbachev |url=http://modernistcommons.ca/islandora/object/cwrc%3A42e0d24d-1787-4c5d-b208-c8e70db7dacd |website=modernistcommons.ca |publisher=Modernist Commons |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> won the [[Hart House (University of Toronto)|Hart House]] Playwrighting Award in 2000{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} and the [[Robertson Davies]] Award For Playwriting in 2001.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
She began to pursue her musical interests, and joined [[The Hidden Cameras]], with whom she has performed since 2001. She has also been a member of several other bands. The first was [[Barcelona Pavilion (band)|Barcelona Pavilion]], with whom she recorded a 7" single. She then formed the band The Dating Service.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=Pras |title=Another side of Dating Services, March 2005 |url=http://www.queensjournal.ca/articlephp/point-vol132/issue35/arts/lead1 |website= |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051216143642/http://www.queensjournal.ca/articlephp/point-vol132/issue35/arts/lead1 |archive-date=16 December 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> For a time, she was a guest vocalist with [[Kids on TV]], recording "Bitchsy" for the 2005 [[Lesbians on Ecstasy]] remixes LP ''Giggles in the Dark''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lesbians On Ecstasy – Giggles In The Dark Remixes |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/624959-Lesbians-On-Ecstasy-Giggles-In-The-Dark-Lesbians-On-Ecstasy-Remixes |website=discogs.com |date=September 19, 2005 |publisher=Discogs |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> She became lead vocalist with [[Republic of Safety]], whose first EP, ''Passport'', came out in March 2005. Their second EP, ''Vacation'', was released in the spring of 2006; their third, ''Succession'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title=Republic Of Safety |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1761070-Republic-Of-Safety |website=discogs.com |publisher=Discogs |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>
At the same time, she has had comics and writing published in Toronto publications such as ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', ''[[Lola (magazine)|Lola]]'', and ''[[Broken Pencil]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
In 2005, MacDonald published her first book, ''Kill the Robot''. A science fiction novel critiquing consumer society, it is also illustrated by MacDonald.
Her second play, ''The Rat King'', first previewed as a work in progress in early 2004, received a public reading in the spring of 2005 and finally premiered as a full production in January 2006. Later MacDonald approached [[Bob Wiseman]] to collaborate on writing music for the songs. ''The Rat King'' was then mounted a second time in August 2006 as part of [[Harbourfront Centre|Harbourfront]]'s "Indie Unlimited" series,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beath |first1=Carly |date=January 25, 2007 |title=I Am The Rat King, Jan 2007 |url=https://torontoist.com/2007/01/i_am_the_rat_ki/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118051600/https://torontoist.com/2007/01/i_am_the_rat_ki/ |archive-date=18 January 2017 |access-date=4 March 2022 |website=torontoist.com |publisher=Torontoist}}</ref> and then at the New York Fringe Festival.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zwarenstein |first1=Carlyn |title=Maggie MacDonald |url=https://magazine.utoronto.ca/people/alumni-donors/maggie-macdonald-artist-writer-hidden-cameras/ |website=magazine.utoronto.ca |date=June 20, 2007 |publisher=University of Toronto Magazine |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hernandez |first1=Ernio |title=Fringe in the City: 2007... |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/fringe-in-the-city-2007-new-york-international-fringe-festival-launches-aug-10-com-142891 |website=playbill.com |publisher=Playbill |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>
As of 2022, MacDonald was working in communications in the not-for-profit sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=Maggie MacDonald |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-macdonald-67916163/?originalSubdomain=ca |website=linkedin.com |publisher=LinkedIn |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>
==Publication== *''Kill the Robot'', MacGilligan Books, 2005, {{ISBN|1-894692-14-4}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Kill the Robot by Maggie MacDonald |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1120915.Kill_the_Robot |website=goodreads.com |publisher=Goodreads |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>
==Discography== *"[[Barcelona Pavilion (band)|Barcelona Pavilion]]" 7" single, [[Blocks Recording Club]], 2001 *''[[The Smell of Our Own]]'', [[The Hidden Cameras]], [[Rough Trade Records]], 2003 *''[[Mississauga Goddam]]'', The Hidden Cameras, Rough Trade, 2004 *"Bitchsy", [[Kids on TV]], ''Giggles in the Dark'', [[Lesbians on Ecstasy]] (remixes), [[Alien8 Recordings]], 2005 *''Passport (ep)|Passport'', [[Republic of Safety]], Independent, 2005 *''Vacation (ep)|Vacation'', [[Republic of Safety]], Ta-Da Records, 2006 *''[[Mixing Business With Pleasure]]'', [[Kids on TV]], 2007 *''Succession'', [[Republic of Safety]], Independent, 2008
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060323035025/http://www.zoilus.com/documents/via_toronto/2005/000398.php Interview with Maggie MacDonald] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060519033307/http://www.mcgilliganbooks.com/books/kill_the_robot.htm ''Kill The Robot'' page] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20051229093119/http://www.republicofsafety.ca/ The Republic Of Safety official site] (defunct) *[http://www.digitalmediatree.com/sallymckay/comment/25986/ Review of ''The Rat King'']
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Maggie}} [[Category:1978 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Cornwall, Ontario]] [[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]] [[Category:Canadian indie rock musicians]] [[Category:Canadian punk rock singers]] [[Category:Singers from Toronto]] [[Category:Canadian women punk rock singers]] [[Category:Canadian women dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Canadian science fiction writers]] [[Category:University of Toronto alumni]] [[Category:Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections]] [[Category:Writers from Toronto]] [[Category:Women in Ontario politics]] [[Category:Canadian women science fiction and fantasy writers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian women writers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian women writers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian women singers]] [[Category:The Hidden Cameras members]]