Meet: Madison Mitchell
MADISON MITCHELL is a musical theatre performer living in New York City. (www.madisonmitchell.net)
Catholic Artist Connection (CAC): What brought you to NYC, and where did you come from? How long have you been here, and why did you decide to move here?
Madison Mitchell (MM): I moved here from sunny Southern California 3.5 years ago to continue pursuing my dream of performing– the ultimate goal being to perform on Broadway some day… God willing!
CAC: How do you understand your vocation as a Catholic artist?
MM: I consider myself a Catholic artist and while I have always known that is my vocation in my heart, I did not call myself a Catholic artist or understand the title and how it applied to me until about 1.5 years ago. For the majority of my life, I have known that I am a Catholic and that I am a performer, and that never was a conflict for me. This is in most part due to my parents, raising myself and my two sisters who are also in the performing arts, with the knowledge and understanding that our identity is in Christ alone, and that our performative gifts are our way to glorify the Lord in our lives!
CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
MM: Growing up in Church, I found support through participating in my Church’s music ministry. But, most recently in moving to NYC, I have found the most support in the Church for my vocation as an artist than I ever had before. The support comes mostly through community– meeting other young men and women who are performers through Catholic artist events. Now, I oftentimes run into young Catholic women at auditions and it is such a blessing and comfort to know that a fellow practicing Sister in Christ is pursuing their love for performing right alongside me!
CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
MM: To be honest, it is rare to meet a fellow Catholic performer through show contracts. I have met plenty of Christian performers, but very few practicing Catholics. However, I have experienced immense grace, love, and warmth from my fellow performers. Performers and actors tend to be a very open, loving group of people, and while my faith is rare in casts I am a part of, I always feel respect and often intrigue from my fellow castmates about my faith. They ask me how Church was, what spiritual reading I have backstage, and/or what I think of the Pope!
CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
MM: Well, this might depend on specific artistic discipline, but in my experience, sometimes Christianity (not specifically Catholicism) can be slightly judgmental of the performing arts and performing artists. In American history, there seems to be a history of scandal and audaciousness in the life of a performer (this seems to be the case for American writers as well). Female dancers might be thought of as desiring to be a sexual object onstage or actors might be thought of as desiring fame and living a life of self-centeredness. These traits can apply to anyone, but I think sometimes when Catholics/ Christians find out my profession is performing, they are a little leery… did I pursue it out of a desire to get in the spotlight? Do I degrade myself and God when I perform? I think this mindset is changing and there is more of an awareness that being a dancer or an actor is an artistic discipline just like the painters who decorated the parish we sit in every Sunday, or the cantor who sings our Mass every weekend.
I, as the Catholic artist, must always use my best judgment and listen to my convictions if there is a show that impedes on my beliefs, but to assume that the mere pursuit of the art form is not Christian is a problem. I think the Catholic Church, in highlighting Saints like St. Genesius and St. Vitus, helps bring an awareness to the faithful that pursuing a career in the performing arts can be a worthy vocation and a beautiful way to respond to God’s presence and love in your life.
CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
MM: While I would never expect this to occur nor do I need it to, it can be difficult to make it to Church with most performing schedules. I have always found a way, but outside of NYC where there are less parishes and less parish times, it can be difficult to make it in time for your half-hour call after going to Mass. Performances will always occur on Saturdays and Sundays, but if there was a way for a performance schedule to work better with my religious practice of going to Church on Sat/ Sun, that would be awesome! Again, we live in a country where I would never expect that to be mandated nor would I want it to be, for the freedoms of all people to remain in place. But, that is one way, in which my artistic world could help out the faithful who are desiring to go to Sunday Mass before/ after work.
CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?
MM: While performing on a Broadway show contract, I would go to St. Malachy’s, the Actors Chapel, due to location, Mass times, and their focus on prayers for performers and stagehands in the Broadway community. They were conveniently located about 3 blocks away from my theatre and I could go in pincurls in between shows.
Now, I regularly attend Good Shepherd church because it is in my neighborhood and I love the community. It feels like a true, sweet, encouraging family of believers, and the neighborhood is so calm, it almost feels like I’m not in Manhattan (which I like at times!). I have been able to sing in the Choir and lead their contemporary Mass for the past couple of months, and what a joy that has been. The music ministry has welcomed me with open arms and has been so lovely.
CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find artistic fulfillment? Where do you go to get inspired?
MM: Since the finances are a bit of struggle at the moment, I find artistic fulfillment mostly through auditioning, whether that’s singing at an open call, reading for a role, or going to an invited dance call. I find such joy in being in the room, surrounded by other passionate artists all hustling and working hard to get the next job. I also find fulfillment in dance classes, acting classes, one-on-one training, and any rehearsals that friends of mine have me come to for their passion projects. And lastly, I find fulfillment in listening to podcasts about the arts (shoutout to my friend Curt Mega at Story Matters podcast), watching interviews with actors, or watching films. I could spend probably too much time reading quotes from actors on what the craft is for them. I find such inspiration in reading about how every actor’s story is unique… and find consolation in how most actors have waited tables and have been in a rut and that is okay and normal! Sometimes, I need that validation along this journey in pursuing the performing arts, in addition to my spiritual foundation!
CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?
MM: My daily spiritual practice begins with reading my Morning Offering email from the Catholic Company (subscribe to them ASAP if you haven’t already). Each day you receive two spiritual meditative quotes from various Saints, authors, etc, a Scripture for the day, a description of the feast day/ Saint of the Day, and you conclude with the Morning Offering prayer and Our Holy Father’s intentions for that month. I also used to bless myself in the morning as soon as I woke up as a way to declare praise to God for this new day and as a way to consecrate myself to Him each morning… full transparency, I am not sure I do that as often any more. I want to implement it again if not!
I pray throughout the day (on the subway, on the street, etc). I also pray Novenas through the company Pray More Novenas, in which they send out emails for different novenas throughout the year. If I have my Magnificat, I carry that on me and hopefully open that up a couple times throughout the day to read the readings or the morning/ night prayer. If I don’t have my Magnificat, I have begun prayerfully reading a small section of Scripture before going to bed each night to lead me into my nightly prayer. I am in the Gospel of Matthew currently, as well as the Book of Psalms and Proverbs. I have a Rosary App, but quite frankly, do not pray it enough. I want to be better at praying the Rosary, especially on my commutes to work or when I have time at home.
CAC: How do you make a living in NYC?
MM: This is the REAL question, isn’t it?! I was fortunate and incredibly blessed to be on Broadway for the 2016-2017 season. Once my show closed, I had to begin the NYC Actor cliche hustle of finding jobs anywhere I could, while also finding time to audition. I currently have two major part-time jobs, one working as a caretaker for an elderly woman in the city (look up ComForCare if interested in working for this amazing company) and the other as a server and sometimes Cater Waiter. I have also picked up dog-sitting on the side. As we all know, living in this city is tough, and while I don’t have a performing job or even a side-gig right now, I know I am doing what I have to do make my payments each month, and that is my consolation. I have gotten to be a part of some friend’s new musicals/ choreography pieces/ cabarets and that has scratched my performing itch for the time being.
CAC: What practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in NYC?
MM: RE Health care, if you are an AEA member, contact The Actors Fund for FREE medical resources, such as breast exams, support groups, and psychological help. Also, for any physical therapy for performers, if you are an AEA member or have CIGNA health insurance, you can get 60 $15/hr appts at NeuroSport a year. Also, check out Silver Springs Wellness for acupuncture, physical therapy, or Pilates through Cigna.
For studio spaces at cheaper prices, Ripley-Grier studios day-of rentals are half-off! Also, while Broadway show tickets can be expensive, there is plenty of theatre and many theatre festivals that take place in NYC, which have cheaper ticket prices. Feel free to look up ways that you can still see shows and get plugged into the theatre scene, without emptying too much out of your wallet.
CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists moving to NYC?
MM: 1) Know that your worth is not defined by your success or failure in your art. Your worth is defined by Christ– Christ has come into your life, Christ has died and has risen for you, and Christ desires the best for you. Your identity is in Him before your career or anything else. While it is tempting, keep yourself grounded (either through family, friends, Church community, prayer, the Sacraments, etc) in the reality that Christ is a constant amidst the oftentimes unstable, chaos of your artistic pursuits.
2) Accept that it will not always be easy. NYC is a tough city, no matter where you are moving from. It can be exhausting to live here, as well as expensive. But do not let those things defeat you if you feel God has called you to remain here. I have had moments of desiring to go back home, but I know God is still calling me to be here. I will go where He leads me, and I know that He is with me amidst my frustrations with the city at times. However, know that you are not a “failure” if you feel you are being called to move somewhere else. NYC is kind of like a giant turnstile– people come in at certain times and people leave at other times. When people move here with an artistic goal, I think it is a temptation to feel that if you leave without achieving that goal, you are running away from the difficulty or you failed– neither of these things are true. We all have seasons and sometimes, God calls us somewhere for a certain time, and then calls us elsewhere. Keep your ears and heart open to where He is calling you!
3) Know that you are not alone and there are multitudes of people who identify as Catholic artists with you! Being in the NYC Young Adult Catholic scene, you will quickly learn that most of us moved here for a specific thing, ie a job or the pursuit of a job. We are all yearning for community to ground us. Through groups, as well as through social media, I have encountered various Catholic artists living in NYC and there is something so comforting about knowing you are not alone. You are not crazy for loving showtunes and loving Jesus, you are not crazy for being proud of how you did at your audition and doing a sign of the cross after you walk out of the audition room, you are not crazy for desiring to share your passion and gift of performing/ arts with the world, while knowing that the gift comes from your Lord above. There are plenty of souls who have been called to an artistic discipline who are sitting next to you at Mass, so be encouraged on your walk and your pursuit of your art, with Christ at your core.
