He graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts then earned an MFA in directing from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in 1988. Mack was awarded a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, which enabled him to work in community arts administration at Durham Arts Council, Inc. He then accepted a position at Arena Stage in Washington DC as Project Manager where, in addition to general administrative duties, he worked on a three-year new play project with Anna Deavere Smith that resulted in the fall 1997 premiere of House Arrest, First Edition.