Mary Bacon is an actress living in New York City.  She won the Drama Desk Award for playing Patti Stover in Jessica Blank and  Erik Jensen’s Coal Country, with original music and performed by Steve Earle, first at the Public Theatre and then reprised by Audible and the Public; she also won for Susan in Nothing Gold Can Stay. She has worked with numerous directors, playwrights, and actors throughout her career, on Broadway and off-Broadway, and in select theaters around the country, and in TV and film. Esteemed directors include Theresa Rebeck, Tamilla Woodard, Jessica Blank, Jade King Carroll, Michael Greif, Pam MacKinnon, Sarna Lapine, Shelley Butler, Jenn Thompson, Trevor Nunn, Vivienne Benesch, Dina Janis, Lisa Rothe, Giovanna Sardelli, Carl Andress, Stephen Wadsworth, Lisa Petersen, John Tillinger, Davis McCallum, Mortiz Von Stupenfagle and many more. She's appeared in countless world premieres, and originated many roles, notably by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, Molly Smith Metzler, Chad Beckim, Heidi Armbruster, Kate Hammill, James Still, Theresa Rebeck, Pete Gurney, Charles Busch, Michelle Lowe, John Michael LaChiusa, Sybil Pearson, Horton Foote, Daisy Foote, A.R. (Pete) Gurney, Tom Stoppard, and with Stephen Wadsworth on his translations/adaptations of Moliere and Marivaux. She and her co-chair Heidi Armbruster founded and continue Women Artists Writing, initially under Dina Janis at the Dorset Theatre Festival.

Within the past year, she premiered Mathilde Dratwa's play Dirty Laundry at the WP Theater under Lisa McNulty, and Kate Hammill's new adaptation of The Scarlet Letter at Two River Theatre in NJ, and Theresa Rebeck's DIG,  a NY Times critic's pick, at Primary Stages.

Mary's late husband Andrew Leynse ran Primary Stages for 21 years; he unexpectedly passed in January of 2023.  Andrew was her lifelong partner, cocreator, inspiration and biggest fan; his sudden passing has been the greatest challenge in her life, as she is now raising their son Abadi as a single mom, devoted to bringing Andrew's positive vision and kindness through creative community forward.  They did countless new plays together, and she accompanied him on much of the new play development with Primary Stages, and at the Colorado New Play Festival, which he ran for fifteen years, as well as the many overlaps with theatres and theatre artists their separate careers took them. He taught her community is everything;  all her needed strength, resilience, and bravery come from community, and from Andrew's wise words: "Throw something at the wall and see what sticks!" And most importantly: "Have a little faith..."

She aims above all, wherever work and life take her, to have just enough of a little faith to be a community builder.