Truthfully,

I’ve always felt a fire deep inside me, but I tell stories because my life was nothing short of a whirlwind. My father passed away when I was 13, and my mom at 23. I watched them both deteriorate slowly.

They were addicts & also beautiful, radiant, creative, generous, and compassionate people who instilled a curiosity in me from a very young age. Through grief & storytelling, I have found a profound understanding of forgiveness, community, and self.

I began writing music very young, singing, and performing. I was placed in gymnastics, dance, and every sport you can think of. (& to this day Im a big basketball & volleyball fan.) But theatre has always been a constant for me.

There was something comforting about escaping reality and searching for something outside of myself. As I entered college, sure, I wanted to be an actor/singer, but I was much more interested in zooming out. It was another oppurtunity to reach for something I didn’t quite understand. In my first directing class, which had one assignment, I turned in 6 versions of a script analysis. All of which needed revising to pass the class. I was eager to get it right, and at the end of the quarter, I was asked to assistant direct my first musical. Then I composed one, Untethered, which was premiered as a reading at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. I ended my undergraduate career as Constance in Ride The Cyclone, which felt much more full circle than 18-year-old Madison could have ever imagined.