Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeleine Quinn.
Madeleine, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My parents joke that I was dancing before I could walk, and that’s not far from the truth. A flurry of energy from day one, I started dance classes at age two, baton twirling at three, and soccer by four. With a baton in hand, it was only a matter of time before a TV was broken and the baton was retired in favor of further dance training at Priscilla and Dana’s School of Dance, where I competed for seven years.
Along with an innate dedication to school, dance and soccer were much of my life growing up in Kansas City, Missouri. I would often go straight from dance competitions to soccer tournaments and back again, full hair and makeup done as I quickly changed from my costume to jersey and rushed into the game. I owe so much of who I am today to my years of competition dance and soccer, both teaching me the importance of hard work, perseverance, and ceaseless practice. My love for performance didn’t stop with dance, leading me to take acting classes as a child and eagerly await my chance to audition for my middle and high school productions. Attending St. Pius X High School, I was blessed with the opportunity to be involved in dance team, varsity soccer, and theatre all four years, as well as other organizations along the way. Though my passion for each activity flourished, my intentions to pursue acting beyond high school were quickly confirmed. I decided to pursue my degree in Theatre Arts at Loyola Marymount University and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I look back now at the actor I was nearly four years ago and am astounded at the growth I have experienced. While I have learned an enormous amount at LMU, what ultimately changed my life and my art was studying abroad in Bonn, Germany.
Along with 19 other LMU students, I studied theatre in a conservatory program at the Bonn Academy for International Education and the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, Croatia, as well as working with a teacher from the Moscow Art Theatre. We studied voice, movement, directing, stilt walking, mask theatre, and numerous acting techniques. Our program focused on the use of the body and movement on stage, pushing us to develop deeper awareness and honing our attention and control. This was all discovered as an ensemble, learning to move in union with nineteen other people in a way that I had not previously known was even possible. Through months of classes and rehearsals, we truly breathed as one. Since returning, I have felt the creative fervor that such an adventure creates, working on numerous projects with my friends from abroad. I am beyond grateful for the myriad experiences that have brought me to where I am today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I like to think that bumpy roads have more character. Each pothole and jutting rock may jolt the car, but they certainly make the ride memorable and the destination fulfilling. Injuries in particular have served their fair share of tribulation. Torn ligaments in a soccer game and a torn meniscus on a high ropes course in Switzerland clouded my skies and threatened my dreams of an active career in performance. As a person who lives through movement, whether dancing, acting, playing soccer, or even just running, the months of required rest felt eternal. Looking back, these setbacks now seem small in the ultimate journey of life and I can’t imagine who I would be without them.
Moving across the country for college was certainly another learning experience. I had lived in Kansas City my whole life and only visited the west coast for a couple of college visits. I went into my freshman year at LMU knowing absolutely no one and felt daunted by such unfamiliar horizons. Coming from a very small high school where I knew everyone, LMU and the state of California felt huge. I had (and still have) great relationships with my friends and family from home, so I struggled at first with the distance from everything I had always known. However, it wasn’t long before I began to adjust to my new life and discover its ceaseless joys. By the end of my freshman year of college, I was in love with my school. Though I still sometimes grapple with my life’s changes and the distance from home, I now more fully appreciate how thankful I am to have this opportunity to chase my dreams.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My passions and interests span a wide range, but first and foremost I am an actor. I am enchanted by the stories of others and captivated by the emotions that drive each human being. I believe that stories truly have the power to move us and I work to achieve this in my own work as an actor, endeavoring to share the trials that we as people endure and the triumphs that often follow. I strive to illuminate the human experience and work with others to communicate stories of truth and emotion, tales of the realities we experience and those beyond our modest perceptions.
Though I began my acting career onstage, I have since become enraptured by film. The intimacy of film acting has taught me to genuinely experience the life of a character, diving into the psyche of each role I play. It requires introspection and internalization in a manner both challenging and rewarding—a process I look forward to each time I act. Poignantly moved by the experiences of those around me my whole life, acting pushes me to empathize even further and I love every second. My friends often say that my energy knows no bounds and this unceasing vim and verve distinguish me as both a person and actor. I am extremely dedicated to my craft and push myself to improve each day. My positive mindset and what my mother calls my “bounce-back factor” enable me to persevere and work hard no matter the circumstances. Before the pandemic, I had just finished acting in an LMU production of The Wolves and was in the midst of choreographing Cabaret at the Del Rey Players. While I was disappointed that the show was canceled, I haven’t let the setback of COVID-19 stop my desire to act and create. My roommate, filmmaker Lily Kerns, and I have continued writing stories and creating content. We released our newest short film, Honey, I’m Lyin’, on December 17, 2020, and it is available on YouTube.
I am a conglomerate collection of interests and talents, a mess of contradictions, and a girl of countless hats. Yes, I am an actor and performer, but each of my other dimensions informs my art. I am a dancer and singer, a soccer player and hiker. I am a juggler, stilt walker, and archer, each new skill I learn bringing delight. My art extends beyond the stage and camera, finding fruition in the treats I bake and the canvases I paint. My expression of stories finds life in written word as well as the spoken, flowing from my pen into poems and short fables. I am a horseback rider and dog walker, filled with endless love for animals of all species and sizes. I am a Christian and a Catholic, seeking to always put others first and live a life of humility and compassion. Every facet of my identity informs my art. Acting is more than just the work I do while I act, it is the way I live my life—open for each new opportunity and eager to engage with the lives and tales of others.
How do you define success?
Success is often thought of as the outcome, the final achievement. People say things like “I can’t wait until I’m successful” or “Life is going to be so good once I’m successful.” But I don’t think success should be thought of as only an ultimate goal. Rather it must be a daily ambition, a renewed dedication each morning. Each day brings new challenges and new chances to flourish, small obstacles through which we must choose to prevail. Only when we begin to strive for success in these smaller instances can we make progress toward what we believe to be our endmost goal. Because of course, success can still be that eventual accomplishment, but it develops from the thousands of smaller triumphs that happen along the way.
So with the importance of everyday successes in mind, what is it that they are building towards? What is the ultimatum of success? There seem to be no defining limits, neither minimum or maximum; success for one may be failure for another. So how can we ever achieve success and how can we be sure of when we do? I think that success is the achievement of one’s own goals and fulfillment of their efforts, whatever those may be. But it’s important to remember that with each successful door opened, a new one stands closed and ready to be approached. Success must be a perpetual pursuit for if it could ever simply be achieved, we would grow stagnant in its grasps. I have no desire to ever stop growing in mind, craft, or soul. I aim to always be happy but never satisfied. I want to succeed in each endeavor I pursue, working toward an ultimate career of continuous discoveries and thriving aspirations.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://demoreel.com/madeleine-quinn
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeleine__quinn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madeleine.quinn.39
Image Credits
Felicia Ramirez, Bill Sioholm, Ivonne Franco, Lily Kerns, Kristin Jacobsen
