Life & Work with Madeleine Woolner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeleine Woolner.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? 
Growing up, I was first a baby, a kid, and then a teenager. I attendance Western Washington University and then transferred to University of San Francisco, where I completed my BA in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience, dreams, and meditation. Moved home after graduation, got back into theater, did a year at Stella Adler, was accepted into the A Noise Within classical theater, auditioned for grad schools, and promptly moved to New Orleans in an effort to pull a fast one on the universe by creating a new life that would make uprooting for grad school a total nuisance. It worked. Months after that move, I was accepted into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), where I received my Masters in Classical Acting for Professional Theater. After graduating, I moved back to my hometown of LA and made my first film, which opened up the world of production for me. I had never produced anything before, I really knew nothing about the actual mechanics of film making and producing drew back the curtain for me, I quickly realized I had huge swaths of knowledge to learn if I really wanted to work in film which I have always wanted, will always want. This led me to embark on what I think of second grad school. 

After producing for a few years, I began to round out the other departments. I spent a year in Art Department began banging on the camera door until someone kindly offered me the chance to 2nd AC; this quickly developed into camera operating for many projects (something I still love doing if you want to hire me). I began a deep love affair with light and used every joke I’ve got in the arsenal to chat my way into G&E gigs. 

Throughout this, I was making my own projects, which forced me to learn how to edit. A valuable and difficult skill. 

I am grateful to have worked in so many departments & recommend this to anyone who wants to be a filmmaker. It is a wonderful way to learn. Sometimes, you don’t realize what’s fun, interesting, or difficult about a job until you’ve tried it yourself. 

I’ve found it exceedingly enriching and it has allowed me to create my own projects completely independently, doing every part from production to coloring on my own. 

This year, theater & performance have again erupted into my life. But this is getting so long, maybe there will be another question later in which I can elaborate. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No! No, it has not been a smooth road! I am someone who really finds definition in my work, so the times when I have been learning the skills rather than having tangible output are really hard! Makes me feel like a total louse. 

There are innumerable difficulties I have faced and struggled with. The obvious ones, like how many men in G&E wouldn’t give me a chance due to their preconceived notions of women and utter disbelief that I’d have the strength for the job. Which by the way, I do, I’m crazy strong for no reason but luck of the draw. 

Then, finally, you meet one person who lets you in, say a gaffer who hires you as key grip for a feature and you think “I’ve done it, I’m in, I have proven myself, and now this is going to be a continued vein of experience and income.” and then on the last day of the shoot at 2 am you’re wrapping out and feeling proud and they say “I’m a happily married man, but I’ve got a mad crush on you, let’s have an affair, don’t text or email me about it.” and BAM you’re back to zero in the department but lower even because you realize you were never being seen as the equal you had finally believed you’d become. I’ve got endless stories like that. They suck. It sucks. There are good men who have hired me as well, but the bad ones sure weigh heavy. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love making films and have been fortunate to have the opportunity to make several music videos this year. Most of which I do almost completely on my own (produce, direct, DP, edit, color), I take a lot of pride in that. I make my funky art films in this way as well. As I mentioned before, theater has recently made a monumental return to my life which has been exciting. I don’t think it’s just for me either; there is a growing live performance zeitgeist in LA. Put your finger here; you can feel it. 

I have been working with Emma Gardner, a brilliant playwright, on a new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, entitled Bimbo Tennis. It is bombastic and absurdist; we’ll be putting it up May 24th – 26th at the Reed Park tennis courts in Santa Monica. It’s going to be performed on a tennis court! I’m the director. 

I direct & co-produce a performance series entitled Soliloquiqui with Peter Tomka, a very talented artis & photographer as well as founder of No Moon LA. They are all so fun, I hope you come to the next one. 

Soliloquiqui brings together a pool of actors to perform soliloquies accompanied by a live score on nationally unrecognized holidays. They’re all site-specific. I love site-specific theater. 

The last one was Ides of March, with a series of Shakespeare soliloquies with a live score by Darren Weiss at the Historic Granada Building. It went better than in my wildest dreams, I don’t want to say lives were changed, but people told me their lives were changed. 

Darren Weiss, our improvisational composer, is a wildly talented musician and songwriter. You can check out his music on Spotify under the name PAPA. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, you’re so lucky cause you just found your new favorite band. 

The next will be June 21st for summer solstice with a series of Tennessee Williams monologues. We’re currently scouting for a church to host us. Contact me if you’ve got any leads. 

Right now, I’m devising a Sholo (my sister Claire Woolner coined that term; solo show = sholo). She’s also a collaborator, and I’d like to drop in here. Claire is an amazing performer whose own Sholo RETROSPECTION has been taking America & The UK by storm. If anyone ever reads this, I pray for you that it is while she’s still touring it cause you have GOT to see her show. No one can believe how good it is. She’s also co-owner and founder of Public Displays of Alta Dena, PDA, if you like weird shit check that place out. 

My sholo is called Jury Duty. 

If you like it, you’ll definitely like it, and if you don’t, you definitely won’t. 

To answer your question, “What am I most proud of?” I think it’s just finishing things. It’s so hard to do anything that when you’re able to force yourself to not just begin but FINISH a project, it’s a huge achievement. 

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
So many people. Soooo many people. Even you here now allowing me the opportunity to be featured on this platform. That is so supportive. 

So many friends. 

So many women. I love women. There is no substitute for female friendship; it is a defining aspect of my life. So many women who have hired me and given me opportunity and experience in different departments, and cheered me along on my weird road to Rome. 

My family. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.madeleinewoolner.com/

Image Credits
Peter Tomka