Madison Joy LeFever

Photographer • Arts Administrator • Theatre Maker

“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness.” - August Wilson

Madison is a jack of all trades and deeply inspired by the art of storytelling. She takes pictures, writes plays, directs, composes music, and performs.

She studied directing and playwriting at Western Washington University, where she obtained her BA in Theatre Production and developed a new musical, Untethered, that premiered at her region’s former Kennedy Center, American College Theatre Festival in 2023, and was chosen as a semi-finalist at the 2023 O’Neill National Musical Theatre Conference.

Presently, she is curating a 2026 physical gallery, completing music for Untethered, and existing on the stage whenever she gets a chance.

Bellingham Story Hour, Odd Fellows Temple Room

Bellingham Story Hour, Odd Fellows Temple Room

Mia | Bellingham Bay

Mia | Bellingham Bay

Loving & Loathing, A gallery | Creative Direction: Chlo Ordello (Pictured: Kobe Greenwalt, Cassidy Turner, and Chlo Ordello)

Loving & Loathing, A gallery | Creative Direction: Chlo Ordello (Pictured: Kobe Greenwalt, Cassidy Turner, and Chlo Ordello)

Enemy of The People, Archival for Western Washington University

Enemy of The People, Archival for Western Washington University

Lizzy Mcalpine, Five Seconds Flat Tour, The Metro in Chicago, IL

Lizzy Mcalpine, Five Seconds Flat Tour, The Metro in Chicago, IL

Amber, Chuckanut

Amber, Chuckanut

Ashley's Family | Bellingham, WA

Ashley's Family | Bellingham, WA

Sabrina Carpenter, The Paramount in Seattle, WA

Sabrina Carpenter, The Paramount in Seattle, WA

Under a weeping willow | Bellingham, WA

Under a weeping willow | Bellingham, WA

Budman, The Wild Buffalo

Budman, The Wild Buffalo

Jersey St. | DIY BELLINGHAM

Jersey St. | DIY BELLINGHAM

Divine, A gallery | Pictured: Cassidy Turner

Divine, A gallery | Pictured: Cassidy Turner

Love is love | Bellingham, WA

Love is love | Bellingham, WA

Alyssa Whorley rehearsing for WWU's The Storyteller directed by Kamarie Chapman

Alyssa Whorley rehearsing for WWU's The Storyteller directed by Kamarie Chapman

Jackie & Zoe | Bellingham, WA

Jackie & Zoe | Bellingham, WA

Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers, The Wild Buffalo

Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers, The Wild Buffalo

Black and white photo of a woman singing into a microphone with a woman playing guitar in the background and another woman in the foreground with glasses and a hand raised.

Black and white photo of a woman singing into a microphone with a woman playing guitar in the background and another woman in the foreground with glasses and a hand raised.

Family Ties, an opera produced by Western Washington University

Family Ties, an opera produced by Western Washington University

Press for The Storyteller, Western Washington University

Press for The Storyteller, Western Washington University

Phobe Bridgers of boygenius, for The Gorge Ampitheatre

Phobe Bridgers of boygenius, for The Gorge Ampitheatre

Recent Creative Projects

Loving & Loathing, An Immersive Gallery

Director of Photography: Madison Joy LeFever

Creative Director: Chlo Ordello

A woman with tattoos on her arm and a nose piercing, resting her head on her arms, with another person embracing her from behind.

In July of 2025, Chlo Ordello and I physically curated a gallery in collaboration with Wink Wink Boutique’s monthly artist feature titled “Loving & Loathing”. This immersive gallery captured all facets of infidelity. It was a personal project inspired by Chlo’s individual experience with infidelity and their need to make this very individual experience a communal one. Infidelity, betrayal, and deception exist beyond the confines of intimate relationships.

DIVINE

Lead Photographer & Creative Director 1: Madison LeFever

Creative Director 2 & Props Coordinator: Chlo Ordello

A woman dressed in a light dress, sitting on a tree trunk with multiple arms extending from her back in a forest at night, holding a candle with other candles and objects on the ground nearby.

In 2022, I assistant-directed, led dramaturgical research, and composed music for what the Gods gave me by Eryn McVay— a piece interrogating themes like occultism, Lilith, and reclaiming divine feminine rage. The work, the research, and my own complicated feelings about autonomy during a creatively electric era of my life birthed DIVINE. This session felt full circle, a moment where I pulled from my education as a director and my evolving artistic voice.

The full gallery is set to be physically curated in 2026.

A few curated visuals can be located here…

“DIY BELLINGHAM”

A man singing into a microphone, lying on a bed with a metal headboard, illuminated with green and purple lighting.

At the start of my music photography career, I was shooting house shows in Bellingham, WA. Sweaty college houses occupied by musicians who played their hearts out in basements, porches, and living rooms.

I was drawn to the chaotic intimacy of these DIY spaces. The 2021 DIY scene brought people together and made creativity feel urgent and alive. At the height of my own creative drive, I wanted to capture that energy in images. My digital gallery, DIY BELLINGHAM (2021–2022), documents a post-pandemic scene where these spaces became essential. We were reclaiming our creative autonomy. Through this gallery, I aim to preserve the raw energy, independence, and joy that defined this moment in Bellingham’s music scene.

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