This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Tori Bullard: This episode contains conversations about mental health and suicide.

[0:04] Tori Bullard: If you would like to skip this section, the timestamps are listed in the description below, along with resources such as Beyond Blue and Lifeline.

[0:12] Tori Bullard: You're listening to Stage Door Podcast, the podcast celebrating theatre and creativity from onstage mishaps to career-defining moments.

[0:21] Tori Bullard: Hosted by thespians, myself, Tori, and co-host Eliza.

[0:25] Tori Bullard: Fortnightly, we will bring you industry professional guests, deep dives, and more.

[0:31] Tori Bullard: Hello everyone, and welcome back to Stage Door Podcast.

[0:34] Tori Bullard: Today we are joined by the human personification of sunshine, Madeleine Wighton.

[0:40] Tori Bullard: But before we get started, we would like to acknowledge the traditional people of the Eora Nation.

[0:44] Tori Bullard: And the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

[0:47] Tori Bullard: We pay respects to the traditional custodians, past and present, and strive to continue in the traditions of Australia's first storytellers.

[0:55] Tori Bullard: We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.

[0:57] Tori Bullard: Always was, always will be.

[0:59] Tori Bullard: Madeleine is a huge fan of taking her work seriously and herself not at all.

[1:04] Tori Bullard: After attending too many unexpected funerals, she deeply feels the brevity of life and wants to use her work as a way of encouraging life to the full and acknowledging the fact that searing grief and resplendent joy can be and often are felt at the exact same time.

[1:20] Tori Bullard: Madeleine loves to tell stories that inspire empathy, hope, and silly goosery.

[1:25] Tori Bullard: As a filmmaker, Mads wrote, directed, and produced the wholesome rom-com thriller Bernice, in which she plays the goofy titular character alongside Home and Away and Colin from Accounts, Ty Hara.

[1:38] Tori Bullard: She produced and starred in the film Cadence, written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Stephanie Troust and cinematographer Roger Stonehouse.

[1:47] Tori Bullard: She plays Unhinged Elaine, who has a passion for dance and discipline in the Detention Diaries.

[1:53] Tori Bullard: Now in long form development, of which she is also a writer.

[1:57] Tori Bullard: As an actor, Madeleine plays the vibrant Meadow in ABC's actor-nominated season two of The PM's Daughter.

[2:04] Tori Bullard: She breaks Superwog's heart in their most recent web series and can be seen as the lead in multiple short films.

[2:11] Tori Bullard: She regularly performs on stages across Gadigal land as a standout in shows such as Nails Must Be Kept Short and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

[2:20] Tori Bullard: Last year, Madeleine toured Australia in the historical play Forgotten.

[2:23] Tori Bullard: Madeleine has written and starred in her own one-woman shows, including A Life Half Lived, The Natalie Wood Story, and can be seen in a handful of TVCs across Australia.

[2:34] Tori Bullard: Madeleine also works with passionate creatives as a mindset acting and musical theatre coach.

[2:39] Tori Bullard: Please welcome to the mic, Madeleine.

[2:42] Madeleine Wighton: Oh my gosh.

[2:43] Madeleine Wighton: Hello.

[2:44] Madeleine Wighton: Hello, how are you?

[2:46] Madeleine Wighton: I am wonderful.

[2:48] Madeleine Wighton: How are you guys?

[2:49] Tori Bullard: Good.

[2:49] Eliza Gunther: Great.

[2:50] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you for having me.

[2:51] Tori Bullard: We've got you very early this morning too, so thank you for coming on.

[2:54] Madeleine Wighton: We love it.

[2:55] Eliza Gunther: We love it.

[2:55] Madeleine Wighton: Um, I'd also like to acknowledge that I'm on Gadigal and Wangal land.

[2:59] Madeleine Wighton: Kind of on the border.

[3:00] Tori Bullard: Beautiful.

[3:01] Tori Bullard: Thank you.

[3:02] Tori Bullard: Well, I guess we'll kind of just jump straight into it with the first question, which is what are your current obsessions?

[3:10] Tori Bullard: Books, TV, podcasts, like what are you just obsessed with right now?

[3:13] Madeleine Wighton: Well, when you first said that, straight away, I was like, Cow Mermaid.

[3:17] Madeleine Wighton: They're my obsessions in life.

[3:20] Madeleine Wighton: But um, books and like TV wise and stuff.

[3:23] Madeleine Wighton: I recently finished reading and like must read it again, ASAP.

[3:27] Madeleine Wighton: Uh, Little Weirds by Jenny Slate.

[3:30] Madeleine Wighton: Um, the actor, comedian, writer, Jenny Slate.

[3:33] Madeleine Wighton: This book is like unlike anything I've ever read.

[3:35] Madeleine Wighton: It's like so, I don't know, magical and lyrical and like imaginative and so silly and like funny as well.

[3:43] Madeleine Wighton: It's just so delicious.

[3:44] Madeleine Wighton: Would recommend.

[3:45] Madeleine Wighton: What else?

[3:45] Madeleine Wighton: I'm just obsessed with Ted Lasso always.

[3:47] Madeleine Wighton: TV show just makes me want to cry all the time.

[3:50] Madeleine Wighton: And but laugh, laugh, laugh as well.

[3:52] Madeleine Wighton: And Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I really love as well.

[3:55] Eliza Gunther: Oh, isn't that good?

[3:57] Madeleine Wighton: Yes.

[3:58] Madeleine Wighton: Yes.

[3:59] Madeleine Wighton: That's like a dream.

[4:00] Madeleine Wighton: It's like badass comedy, female, hilarious, but like, period as well.

[4:08] Madeleine Wighton: All the costumes and stuff.

[4:09] Madeleine Wighton: It's like incredible aesthetic.

[4:11] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[4:12] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah.

[4:12] Madeleine Wighton: Podcast wise, I love this podcast.

[4:15] Madeleine Wighton: Stage Door Podcast.

[4:16] Madeleine Wighton: Um, of course.

[4:20] Tori Bullard: You don't have to, it's okay.

[4:21] Madeleine Wighton: I do, I do.

[4:23] Madeleine Wighton: You have such great guests, like beautiful people.

[4:25] Madeleine Wighton: I also love SmartLess.

[4:28] Madeleine Wighton: Um, there's like just heaps of great chats to actors and stuff, and it's hilarious too.

[4:33] Madeleine Wighton: I love losing brain cells listening to the Arnie Donner podcast too.

[4:37] Madeleine Wighton: It is so silly.

[4:38] Madeleine Wighton: You've gotta have something silly.

[4:40] Madeleine Wighton: It's just a good time.

[4:41] Tori Bullard: Yeah, and I guess kind of getting into you and the world of theatre, film, and television.

[4:48] Tori Bullard: What how did you kind of come into this world?

[4:50] Tori Bullard: What inspired you to first take your steps into doing theatre or film and television?

[4:56] Madeleine Wighton: Was it more one than the other, or was it all at once?

[5:00] Madeleine Wighton: Well, I kind of like as a kid, like danced growing up.

[5:04] Madeleine Wighton: And I loved it so much.

[5:06] Madeleine Wighton: And then like I kind of got into singing in high school, I was terrible.

[5:11] Madeleine Wighton: And then I don't know, I just like I did like the little song and dance Stedford moments, and like I loved them so much.

[5:19] Madeleine Wighton: Like singing and dancing, and like telling a story and just being like silly on stage was like, oh, this is really fun.

[5:29] Madeleine Wighton: And so then I studied after school, studied musical theatre, like I did a diploma at Brent Street, and then went on to do my bachelor.

[5:39] Madeleine Wighton: But I like I had no idea what I was doing that first year doing the diploma.

[5:46] Madeleine Wighton: Like, can I tell you a secret?

[5:48] Madeleine Wighton: This is really embarrassing.

[5:50] Madeleine Wighton: I didn't even know like who Sondheim was or anything.

[5:59] Madeleine Wighton: But I loved it so much, and I just learned so much and worked my ass off.

[6:05] Madeleine Wighton: And I was just so hungry and I loved it.

[6:07] Madeleine Wighton: And then yeah, I don't know.

[6:08] Madeleine Wighton: I graduated into the real world, tried to figure all that out.

[6:13] Madeleine Wighton: The balance between having a mugger job and trying to live that creative life.

[6:19] Madeleine Wighton: And I don't know, I failed a lot.

[6:22] Madeleine Wighton: And um did some indie theatre and went through a whole lot of mental health stuff, and then I started doing more like screen acting classes, um, with like Les Gentry and like Ben Matthews and stuff at the mastery, and I was like, ooh, this is yummy, like it scared me more.

[6:43] Madeleine Wighton: Um, it challenged me more, but it like lit me up inside more than uh like musical theatre had been, which was really interesting.

[6:53] Madeleine Wighton: Um and kind of like scary too to have those massive like musical theatre dreams shift as well.

[7:02] Madeleine Wighton: There was kind of like I would still do musicals today, but like the passion is definitely more into that screen kind of world now, and like with that shift of dreams, I guess, like I don't know, I had to mourn that a little bit too, because for so long I wanted this particular thing, and then I was like, wait, I don't want that anymore.

[7:19] Madeleine Wighton: I kind of want to let that go a little bit.

[7:23] Madeleine Wighton: Um, but then like celebrating that shift as well and being like, Oh, this is exciting, this is new and unknown.

[7:30] Madeleine Wighton: Um, and so yeah, that's kind of where I am now.

[7:33] Madeleine Wighton: Just diving more into the screen world and like writing and stuff within that as well.

[7:38] Tori Bullard: It's so scary when you take that leap and you try something new, and uh that I think everybody always has that fear that they they're gonna try something else, or you know, they might decide to leave performing entirely and try something else, and then realize that they do love that maybe more than they love performing, and it's it's so hard because it is it's something that you've spent so long that has been part of your life to then lose, but also you have to we do only get one life, and we want to make sure that we're doing what we want and following our passions, even if the passion is not what we thought it was what we were gonna be doing with our life, as long as I think we enjoy it, that's the main and most important thing.

[8:15] Madeleine Wighton: For sure, and sometimes that can feel like a failure, like you're giving up or something, but it's not at all.

[8:20] Madeleine Wighton: It's just you listening to your gut and doing what brings you joy, really.

[8:24] Madeleine Wighton: It's so it's such an important thing to talk about because so many people do feel like, especially I feel like in those first few years when you have finished studying, or you know, you've spent like five, six, ten years trying and like grinding and working your ass off every day to make it happen, and if it doesn't, and you try something else and you find more love from it, it feels like you've like almost betrayed yourself, but it's like no, you have to follow your passion, even if that passion shifts and it's and it's allowed to shift because it's your life.

[8:57] Tori Bullard: But I mean, so you often talk about being empowered by making your own work in this wild industry.

[9:04] Tori Bullard: What made you want to take that leap to not only, you know, kind of make that shift into, oh well, film and television is that's a bit fun.

[9:15] Tori Bullard: That's a bit different, but actually creating your own work within that world.

[9:18] Madeleine Wighton: So I did make yeah a one-woman show like before lockdown that was like the stage um like with singing and storytelling kind of about Natalie Wood's life.

[9:28] Madeleine Wighton: Um and that was challenging but it was very empowering as well and then like well during lockdown I started writing a bit more because I kind of had this weird belief that I wasn't creative and that I couldn't write kind of thing.

[9:44] Madeleine Wighton: Cause I feel like especially like in musical theatre you just kind of do the moves they tell you to do, sing the notes, stand over there kind of thing like you don't have much say in that especially on these big commercial shows and stuff.

[9:58] Madeleine Wighton: Um, it's all like set in place for the lighting and you don't have any say of the costumes or whatever.

[10:05] Madeleine Wighton: But yeah, I started writing and I always looked at filmmakers or like these people I knew who were making short films I always thought they were so cool.

[10:17] Madeleine Wighton: I was like you guys are so cool and I could never do that.

[10:21] Madeleine Wighton: Like that just blows my mind how you do that.

[10:23] Madeleine Wighton: I was like, why don't I give it a go?

[10:36] Madeleine Wighton: So no one was casting me, so I did it myself.

[10:40] Madeleine Wighton: And it was, yeah, a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of giving of like myself.

[10:46] Madeleine Wighton: It's quite vulnerable to like write something, then put it out there, put your art out there.

[10:50] Madeleine Wighton: Um, people care.

[10:53] Madeleine Wighton: This is stupid, the world is like so broken right now.

[10:57] Madeleine Wighton: Why do people need this like silly story?

[11:00] Madeleine Wighton: But um, just like yeah, tackling some like self-belief stuff and whatever with um my mentor was really helpful and exciting and yeah, so empowering, so empowering.

[11:13] Madeleine Wighton: Like, I'm also I'm a yapper, so just like tell me to shut up if no, don't talk about me.

[11:21] Tori Bullard: You're not even yapping, you're really not.

[11:25] Madeleine Wighton: I will just like keep going.

[11:28] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah, so empowering, um, like you said, Tori, because like in this industry, you just kind of go to the audition if you're lucky enough to get one, and that's kind of it.

[11:40] Madeleine Wighton: Well, that could be one way of living it, but yeah, I had creative control over like everything, which was really new and terrifying and exciting, like telling people what to do, and like being a leader of a team was so terrifying.

[11:57] Madeleine Wighton: But also when I did go to auditions, I didn't care as much.

[12:02] Madeleine Wighton: So I was able to do better work and then book some good jobs because like at the end of the day, if I didn't book the job, I was fine.

[12:10] Madeleine Wighton: I was so busy, I didn't have time to be stressed about this audition because I had so much work to do for this little film I was making.

[12:18] Madeleine Wighton: Um, and I was so creatively fulfilled already there.

[12:22] Madeleine Wighton: I didn't need this job to like be doing the work because I was already doing the work.

[12:27] Madeleine Wighton: And that helps so much with rejection too.

[12:29] Madeleine Wighton: Cause like if you're already doing something that's fulfilling you outside, it could be another project.

[12:35] Madeleine Wighton: It could just be life in general.

[12:37] Madeleine Wighton: You just can take that rejection so much better.

[12:40] Madeleine Wighton: And also you just do your better work and then the team are like, oh, I want to work with you.

[12:45] Madeleine Wighton: You seem like a really fun person to work with who isn't like all eggs in one basket necessarily or you just I think it's like some they call it like the ick or like the you know, you oh what's it the desperation, the desperation stink is what Analysis said.

[13:03] Eliza Gunther: Yes, she did.

[13:04] Madeleine Wighton: She that was the desperation stink.

[13:06] Madeleine Wighton: So you don't want that.

[13:09] Tori Bullard: And I guess kind of along those lines, what advice would you give to those listening who want to create their own work but really don't know where to start?

[13:09] Tori Bullard: So how did you kind of start?

[13:09] Tori Bullard: Do you have any advice on where you would start now that might be different to when you started?

[13:25] Madeleine Wighton: Well yeah it's a massive massive leap.

[13:28] Madeleine Wighton: Well it was for me.

[13:29] Madeleine Wighton: But you probably probably know more than you do because I just had like what's it called in the inferior inferiority complex whatever that whatever that thing is.

[13:40] Madeleine Wighton: I was like I know nothing but like we do we're okay we're smart.

[13:44] Madeleine Wighton: Um so like do it and there will be like steep steep learning curves um but it's so worth it and I think I like treated it as this is what my mentor um and coach Izzy Stevens shout out um Indie Spunk.

[14:00] Madeleine Wighton: Um, she was like, use it as your classroom.

[14:03] Madeleine Wighton: Because like I could have gone to afters and like spent three years learning how to do all this or whatever.

[14:08] Madeleine Wighton: But I just learnt so much by just doing it and making so many mistakes or like making it ten times harder for myself and now being like, okay, next time I'll do this instead, kind of stuff.

[14:21] Madeleine Wighton: But yeah, I learned so much.

[14:23] Madeleine Wighton: Other advice, figure out why you want to do it as well.

[14:25] Madeleine Wighton: Because if you just want like fame and glory and lots of money, don't do that.

[14:30] Madeleine Wighton: I like I as I said before, I wanted to see myself on screen, and I wanted to learn all these other roles, like how to produce a show.

[14:39] Madeleine Wighton: I wanted to like put my writing out there.

[14:42] Madeleine Wighton: I wanted to direct.

[14:43] Madeleine Wighton: I can't I directed it too.

[14:45] Madeleine Wighton: Um would not recommend doing all those things at once on a project.

[14:49] Madeleine Wighton: But I I learned I learned so much.

[14:52] Madeleine Wighton: And yeah, find yourself a good team, a good mentor, like like-minded, passionate people who want the same thing as you and are excited by the same things.

[15:04] Madeleine Wighton: Sometimes they're really hard to find, but if you can find someone like that, hold on to them because um it can often feel like you're so passionate about something, but then the other people might abandon you when we hit a roadblock or like once filming is done, yeah, etc.

[15:20] Madeleine Wighton: etc.

[15:21] Madeleine Wighton: Just do it and let it be messy, let it be terrible, give yourself a deadline and just like do it.

[15:27] Madeleine Wighton: And sell and like it's a big thing, so celebrate, celebrate all the tiny things.

[15:32] Madeleine Wighton: I wrote the film a year ago, and we're just wrapping up like post production now.

[15:36] Madeleine Wighton: So I've just been continuously working on this for a whole year.

[15:40] Madeleine Wighton: And if I was just waiting for it to be like done up on a screen to celebrate, then I'd be I wouldn't have finished it because there's just so many, so many tiny little things to do.

[15:53] Madeleine Wighton: So I've just been like celebrating the wins as I go, um, and would recommend that just in life in general too.

[16:01] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, definitely.

[16:02] Eliza Gunther: It sounds like you're enjoying the journey as well.

[16:05] Eliza Gunther: It might take a little bit longer than you know if you had a major budget from some production company or something like that, but you just gotta take the steps as it comes one at a time and enjoy it.

[16:19] Madeleine Wighton: Yes, for sure.

[16:21] Madeleine Wighton: Well, I guess we're gonna move now into a little bit of a game.

[16:26] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[16:29] Eliza Gunther: Not too terrifying game.

[16:31] Eliza Gunther: Not a terrifying game at all.

[16:34] Eliza Gunther: Um this is an a new cheeky little game we're doing called This or That.

[16:39] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[16:39] Eliza Gunther: Just to get to know you a little bit more, some fun different questions.

[16:44] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[16:45] Eliza Gunther: So we're gonna give you two things and then you get to choose which one you'd prefer.

[16:49] Eliza Gunther: Okay, we're starting really easy.

[16:52] Eliza Gunther: See Taylor Swift or see Pink in concert.

[16:55] Madeleine Wighton: Taylor Swift.

[16:58] Eliza Gunther: And Tori told me before this, so you went and saw Taylor Swift, right?

[17:01] Madeleine Wighton: I did, yes.

[17:02] Madeleine Wighton: It was beautiful.

[17:03] Madeleine Wighton: I cried so much just because I'm so proud of her.

[17:06] Madeleine Wighton: She's just like this little girl with a dream, and she just hasn't stopped.

[17:10] Madeleine Wighton: Despite you know the hardness that the world has thrown at her.

[17:13] Madeleine Wighton: Anyway, and the community, like the beautiful like conversations you'd have with strangers was just like so wholesome and so just life affirming and beautiful.

[17:23] Eliza Gunther: It's a beautiful community, the Swifties.

[17:26] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah, the Swifties are wild, but they are the most genuine lovely people.

[17:31] Madeleine Wighton: Felt very sad.

[17:32] Eliza Gunther: Okay, the next question is wear vibrant colours for the rest of your life, or wear neutral colours, of course.

[17:39] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah.

[17:40] Madeleine Wighton: Who wouldn't?

[17:41] Madeleine Wighton: Although sometimes I'm like, I just want to wear like all black today, and it's a vibe.

[17:45] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[17:46] Madeleine Wighton: If I want to be like super sexy, but generally give me some colour.

[17:51] Eliza Gunther: But I feel like even if you were to wear all black, you would still be like the brightest person in the room.

[17:56] Madeleine Wighton: Oh, stop it.

[17:57] Madeleine Wighton: That's so nice.

[17:58] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you.

[17:59] Eliza Gunther: That was cute.

[18:01] Madeleine Wighton: Vibrant but sexy.

[18:03] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[18:05] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[18:06] Eliza Gunther: This is a bit fun.

[18:07] Eliza Gunther: Um, be in a movie musical or be in a successful stage show.

[18:13] Madeleine Wighton: Ooh.

[18:15] Madeleine Wighton: Stage show musical?

[18:16] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[18:17] Madeleine Wighton: Uh movie musical.

[18:18] Eliza Gunther: Yes.

[18:19] Madeleine Wighton: Who wouldn't?

[18:20] Madeleine Wighton: Let's write one, guys.

[18:21] Madeleine Wighton: Let's do it.

[18:22] Madeleine Wighton: They're just so fun.

[18:23] Madeleine Wighton: They're just so camp.

[18:24] Madeleine Wighton: They're just so camp.

[18:25] Madeleine Wighton: It's so great.

[18:27] Eliza Gunther: Alright, the next one is ride the world's fastest roller coaster or do the giant drop.

[18:34] Madeleine Wighton: Um, roller coaster.

[18:36] Madeleine Wighton: Well, but both.

[18:37] Madeleine Wighton: I'm like a hoe for roller coasters and scary rides.

[18:40] Eliza Gunther: Stop it.

[18:41] Eliza Gunther: How did I know?

[18:42] Madeleine Wighton: I just like I knew.

[18:44] Madeleine Wighton: I was like, this is either gonna go two ways where you're like, I'm not a roller coaster person at all.

[18:50] Madeleine Wighton: Or yes, I am.

[18:52] Madeleine Wighton: My dream, my dream day would like start out at Luna Park and then get on with business.

[18:57] Madeleine Wighton: Last time I went to Luna Park, I cried with joy after going on whatever that roller coaster is.

[19:04] Madeleine Wighton: Not the mouse one, the other one.

[19:06] Madeleine Wighton: But I got off and I was like, that was so funny.

[19:09] Madeleine Wighton: I couldn't not cry.

[19:13] Madeleine Wighton: I love the mouse trap though, because I I genuinely feel like it's not even that it's scary, it's that the fact it's so old that you feel like you're about to fall off and fall into the ocean.

[19:24] Eliza Gunther: They're redoing it though.

[19:25] Eliza Gunther: It's it was closed last time I went 'cause they're like revamping it.

[19:28] Madeleine Wighton: So that no one does fall off.

[19:31] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[19:31] Eliza Gunther: I think there was like they were like we're mildly concerned now.

[19:34] Eliza Gunther: We're getting close now for it.

[19:36] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah.

[19:37] Madeleine Wighton: It's gonna happen.

[19:39] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[19:39] Eliza Gunther: Um farm holiday or the beach holiday.

[19:43] Madeleine Wighton: This is really hard.

[19:45] Madeleine Wighton: Um because my my dream is to live on a farm with a pet cow near the beach.

[19:51] Madeleine Wighton: Oh like down like maybe like Berry Way or something, and you're near all like Seven Mile Beach and stuff.

[19:59] Madeleine Wighton: But you have your cow.

[20:03] Eliza Gunther: You know, that's actually bigger coated.

[20:05] Madeleine Wighton: I'm I was yeah, and it's like there's cows and there's farms and there is ocean.

[20:13] Eliza Gunther: Okay.

[20:14] Madeleine Wighton: So it's happening.

[20:15] Madeleine Wighton: I feel like you just need You've got your retirement cow.

[20:19] Eliza Gunther: Done.

[20:19] Madeleine Wighton: You can make your own cheese.

[20:21] Eliza Gunther: Please.

[20:22] Madeleine Wighton: Please.

[20:23] Madeleine Wighton: That sounds like heaven.

[20:25] Eliza Gunther: Okay, that's my choice but together.

[20:32] Madeleine Wighton: Rules are made to be broken.

[20:34] Eliza Gunther: Honestly.

[20:34] Eliza Gunther: Okay, the last one is self-tape or in person audition.

[20:40] Madeleine Wighton: Ooh.

[20:41] Madeleine Wighton: I I love boys as well.

[20:45] Madeleine Wighton: I love um being able to be in the room and like be a human kind of thing.

[20:51] Madeleine Wighton: I feel like they can get to know you a bit better as a human as well as an actor.

[20:55] Madeleine Wighton: They always manage to make some silly joke that's a bit embarrassing.

[21:01] Madeleine Wighton: Um But I like self-taping too, 'cause it does feel a bit more controlled, especially if it's like a bigger deal ish, and I can just like take my time a bit more.

[21:11] Madeleine Wighton: But the adrenaline of being in the room is magical too.

[21:14] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, yeah.

[21:15] Madeleine Wighton: And sometimes you overdo it when you self-tape too much, and you're like every little detail you critique, and but then it's good because sometimes you have a bad day.

[21:25] Madeleine Wighton: Like you're just having a bad day, and you can just come back the next day.

[21:29] Eliza Gunther: Yes.

[21:30] Eliza Gunther: You can't do that in the room.

[21:31] Madeleine Wighton: No, no, you can't.

[21:32] Madeleine Wighton: I've got some bad audition stories.

[21:36] Eliza Gunther: Oh my gosh.

[21:39] Madeleine Wighton: I have bad self-tape stories where I've submitted things that uh that I've then like submitted it, sent it off, and afterwards have gone, oh I didn't actually check it.

[21:48] Madeleine Wighton: And then I've gone back and checked it and gone, oh, I used a tape, a take where I didn't finish, I didn't finish the take.

[21:55] Madeleine Wighton: I stopped the take, and I'm like, excellent, excellent.

[21:58] Eliza Gunther: You have one job.

[21:59] Madeleine Wighton: I love that.

[22:00] Madeleine Wighton: And you somehow.

[22:03] Eliza Gunther: Well, that is the end of our of our little game of this or that.

[22:07] Madeleine Wighton: I loved that.

[22:08] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you.

[22:08] Eliza Gunther: Did I win?

[22:09] Madeleine Wighton: Yes, you've won.

[22:10] Eliza Gunther: Good.

[22:11] Madeleine Wighton: I'm very competitive.

[22:14] Madeleine Wighton: It was a competition against yourself, so it was it was really tough conversation.

[22:18] Eliza Gunther: I won.

[22:19] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah, yeah.

[22:20] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you.

[22:21] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you.

[22:21] Madeleine Wighton: Well, jumping back into it, I know we kind of just spoke a little bit about it, but you wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the wholesome rom com thriller Bernice.

[22:32] Madeleine Wighton: Tell us more about like what is the story of Bernice?

[22:36] Madeleine Wighton: How did it come to be, and what was your process?

[22:38] Madeleine Wighton: Yes, okay, okay.

[22:40] Madeleine Wighton: So Bernice's my debut short film.

[22:44] Madeleine Wighton: Um it's about uh okay, this is my lockdown.

[22:47] Madeleine Wighton: You ready?

[22:48] Madeleine Wighton: A tenacious vigilante in a pink bella clover stops at nothing to sprinkle goofy magical love wherever she wanders until she's beaten by her own game.

[22:59] Madeleine Wighton: But yeah, she um she she Bernice regular Bernice breaks into people's homes, but she doesn't steal anything.

[23:07] Madeleine Wighton: She just steals their hearts and changes their lives for the better.

[23:11] Madeleine Wighton: It's it's very silly, it's very wholesome, a little bit spoopy, and does it get a little bit sexy?

[23:17] Madeleine Wighton: Maybe you'll have to watch it to find out.

[23:20] Madeleine Wighton: But yeah, um I already rambled a little bit about it.

[23:23] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah, I wrote it about this time last year.

[23:25] Madeleine Wighton: Formed a cast and crew of like people I knew slash newbies.

[23:29] Madeleine Wighton: Like I got um Tai Hara on board who is most well known for like his work on Home and Away, and he's just in um Colin from Accounts too.

[23:39] Madeleine Wighton: Okay, that's one of my obsessions too.

[23:41] Madeleine Wighton: Colin from accounts.

[23:42] Madeleine Wighton: Obsessed.

[23:43] Madeleine Wighton: Such a good funny Aussie, Aussie comedy.

[23:47] Madeleine Wighton: Um he's in that and I I work with Ava Cannon too.

[23:51] Madeleine Wighton: She's the little gorgeous girl in bump.

[23:55] Madeleine Wighton: I just kept seeing her forever all over like buses and billboards.

[23:59] Madeleine Wighton: But she's so sweet as well.

[24:01] Madeleine Wighton: But um, yeah, what else?

[24:04] Madeleine Wighton: I I just it was it was a lot.

[24:09] Madeleine Wighton: I it was a lot of hard work.

[24:12] Madeleine Wighton: Kind of already talked about that.

[24:13] Madeleine Wighton: Lots of obstacles, lots of missed deadlines, being patient, and just yeah, learning so bloody much.

[24:23] Madeleine Wighton: And I I fully recommend everyone to make their own own work.

[24:28] Madeleine Wighton: We'll have a private screening soon for my donors, or if you're interested, learn into my DMs.

[24:36] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah, it was it was it was a really special time.

[24:39] Madeleine Wighton: And I think one thing that I loved about it was after writing it.

[24:45] Madeleine Wighton: After writing it, I realized that it was like full of it like it's so wholesome and beautiful.

[24:49] Madeleine Wighton: But it's full of all these like kind words and all this love that I still had left over from like because Bernice is dealing with a bit of grief.

[24:58] Madeleine Wighton: Um all left over from love that I still have for my friend who um passed away a few years ago.

[25:06] Madeleine Wighton: Um right trigger warning am I allowed to talk about this?

[25:09] Eliza Gunther: Yeah of course trigger warning though for anyone listening.

[25:12] Madeleine Wighton: Trigger warning he beautiful beautiful performer MT Boy the most gorgeous dancer he um yeah he took his own life and it's so devastating and like we'll never be okay but I just have all this like all these things I still want to say to him and I realized yeah after writing this film that I kind of it's like a little love letter to him in all its like stilly silly glory it's um yeah that's kind of at the heart of it just sneakily in there.

[25:50] Madeleine Wighton: So it's it's dedicated to to him.

[25:53] Madeleine Wighton: Um so yeah that's kind of special.

[25:55] Eliza Gunther: I guess kind of like on that note that's really really special to get to like put that into the film as well and something that we've been talking a lot about on the podcast because it is really important is mental health within the arts because it's not something that is often spoken enough about and there's a lot of stigma behind it and I think people often find that they feel like they're alone in this.

[26:18] Eliza Gunther: Um so how do you keep your mental health afloat whilst working in such like a volatile industry and what resources do you utilize?

[26:28] Madeleine Wighton: Well I didn't keep my mental health afloat for a while there.

[26:33] Madeleine Wighton: I did not and then that's kind of okay again but then my friend died and so that kind of was a whole new thing again dealing with that.

[26:42] Madeleine Wighton: But I don't know I have a great psychologist would recommend.

[26:46] Madeleine Wighton: Um, there's no shame in that at all. I think there definitely was when I was growing up, like if you had a psychologist or if you were depressed or anything, that was like, you're a bad person. Like, so stupid, so so stupid, not correct. Mental health is just a beautiful thing, and like we struggle with it, and that's okay. What's helped me is putting my identity in other things, not in the work I'm doing. Sure, the work I'm doing can bring so much joy and purpose to my life, but it is not the sole purpose. It's not who I am; it's something I do, but it's not who I am. Like, I find so much of my identity in who I am, like I'm a daughter, a child, a sister, an auntie. I find identity in my faith and in my relationship with my friends and stuff, and I think just figuring out what's important to me without the industry has really helped as well.

And yeah, just finding what brings me joy and hope and clinging to that because this industry, this world in general, is so messed up and so broken. And if a little picture of a cow is gonna bring me joy, then I'm gonna look at that picture of the cow so that I don't lose it. But also when those feelings of sadness and whatever confusion come, to sit in them and not ignore them too. There's just so much out of our control.

[28:14] Eliza Gunther: Absolutely.

[28:15] Madeleine Wighton: We put so much pressure on ourselves, I think, that this has to be our entire lives. And I feel like, especially this season already, not that nothing from the season has been released yet, but already this season, that is something that has been spoken on so much is that you do, it's so important too. Yes, we love what we do so much, otherwise we would not be doing it. But we also have to put that same love that we have into other things. It cannot be our entire lives because otherwise we do, you know, we don't get a role that we really thought we were going to get, or you know, so many things can happen where if everything, our entire lives are in that and in this industry, which is, it's such a place to be, that's for sure.

If we put everything in there, then we have no hope outside of that. So whether it's a job, whether it's a hobby, whether it's people, but just going out and finding the joy in life outside of what we do is so important. Because even though it can feel like what we do, and it is what we do, is so much fun, it doesn't mean that it's not also work.

[29:20] Madeleine Wighton: And you have to have—no, but it's so true, and it's so easy to just like compare yourself to other people and to, yeah, compare and despair. It's so important to cheer other people on instead of being like mad at them for booking gigs or whatever. Cheer them on because that's exciting, and there is room for all of us.

[29:47] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, I was just gonna say, and then you feel like a better person too. Like there's no point being a bitter person because that's just gonna make you feel like you're not your truest self too. So be happy for other people's successes because they, at the end, they're your successes too.

[30:01] Madeleine Wighton: Yes, that's so true. I guess on that note, and it's kind of one of the final questions. Um, and I feel like it's really important that I state that there are things I'm gonna say right now that are in air quotes. But what would you say to performers who feel like they, air quotes, aren't making their mark or are air quotes falling behind? Because I know it's a feeling we all experience, and when I say that, it's because you're not actually not leaving a marker, you're not actually feeling behind, but that is a true emotion that we feel. What would you say to kind of keep them going?

[30:36] Madeleine Wighton: I would give them a big hug. A virtual hug. I'm hugging you right now if that's what you're feeling. Um, I love that you, yeah, that's definitely air quotes because that's definitely not true. Those things are lies. Um, so let's maybe find some truth instead, which is the fact that you're doing so great. This is a bloody hard industry, and still being here, giving it a go, is bloody amazing. And I think, yeah, it's so easy to compare yourself and to be like, uh, I should be there, but I'm here. None of these like shoulds. Nah. You're exactly—like it sounds trite, but you are exactly where you are meant to be. And if you don't book a job or something, it's not because you weren't good enough, because you are.

It's just that it wasn't right for you; it wasn't meant for you. Maybe it was actually gonna be a terrible time if you did book it. Um, I feel like it's not—I swear I read this on Instagram or something—not rejection, but it's protection. I don't think that's from my brain, but I like it. Um, I won't claim that as my own. But yeah, if what is meant for you will be yours, and what is not might be, and that's good. That's what we want, right? We don't want something that isn't meant for you. But yeah, I think it's so easy to not see how far you've come too. It's easy to be like, uh, I haven't done anything, I'm not getting better or whatever, but you are, you are. And like keep—I think I said this before—keep celebrating your wins, even if they're like seem tiny, they're actually massive, and there's a lot of them.

Like getting out of bed, whoo, you did it. Maybe you go outside. That's amazing. Maybe you checked in on a friend, like that is a win in itself, or just like staring out the window for five minutes while drinking your cup of coffee. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. But yeah, it's not a race, it's not a competition. There's room for all of us. And keep backing yourself. You gotta back yourself. Um, or you can book in a little mindset coaching session with Madeleine Wighton, and we could talk about it.

[32:49] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, so you're gonna be able to do it. You do some coaching, don't you?

[32:51] Madeleine Wighton: Yes, I do, I do. So I started out like just teaching singing, kind of focusing that now on just like musical theater singing and then doing more dang stuff, self-tape sessions, like audition prep kind of stuff, and yeah, some mindset coaching stuff and well-being for the creative because lots of people can be looking after themselves better. Let's say that. And I think that's really important, and I really like talking about it. I really like yapping on about it.

[33:27] Eliza Gunther: No yapping here, you haven't been yapping.

[33:29] Madeleine Wighton: Promise, promise, promise. It's just something I'm very, very passionate about. Very passionate about mental health and looking after yourself and making the most of this one beautiful, precious life that we have. Um, and yeah, finding as much joy as possible. And if you're saying lies to yourself all the time like this, then that's no fun, is it? Let's have more fun, please.

[33:53] Eliza Gunther: No.

[33:54] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah. Well, I mean, this is the perfect opportunity to give yourself a plug. Tell us where do we find you? Where do we book in for sessions with you? What have you got going on to give us all the information?

[34:05] Madeleine Wighton: I have a website, which you can find most things on there to do with like coaching and whatever. Um, you can also sign up on my website or just message me on Instagram if you want. Um, about the screening for Bernice. I don't know when this episode's coming out, but even if you sign up to that email list, you'll hear about like other screenings of it as well at film festivals. Hopefully, that will get into. And yeah, Instagram at Madeleine Wighton. But yeah, don't be a stranger, say hi, slide into the DMs. But yeah, if you want to hear about like the work I'm doing and stuff, sign up to the email list. You have to be a hot person to sign up, so that's important.

[34:48] Eliza Gunther: No, you're all hot.

[34:53] Madeleine Wighton: Well, joking. We will have everything linked in this episode description. We will have Madeleine's Instagram, Madeleine's website, and more details in there.

[35:05] Madeleine Wighton: I'm relaunching it all on my website slash new business name soon. So keep an eye for that too. It's very exciting. I'm excited.

[35:14] Eliza Gunther: Very exciting. Little revamp is happening.

[35:17] Madeleine Wighton: She's glowing up.

[35:19] Eliza Gunther: And I guess kind of to wrap things up today in a nice little bow, we're gonna have a little bit of a bedtime story now. So do you have a stage mishap or something that has gone wrong in a self-tape, an audition, anything that you would like to tell us about?

[35:34] Madeleine Wighton: Oh my gosh, I have so many. How much time do we have? Um, okay, one of my favorites is I was performing in The Wild Party at the Seymour Center with Little Triangle, and um, I played Sally. She's very like, she's just like platonic and just high the whole time and just like sings a scenario or two. And then she has one line at the very end in love. I don't know if you know Jack Dawson; I love him so much. He's beautiful. His character, I forget his character's name, but he throws Sally's coat to me, and I'm supposed to catch it, but he's so tall, and it just kind of logged into the air and just landed like perfectly fully over my face, over my head. And I was like, what the fuck did that mean?

Just like standing there with his coat on my face. But as he threw it as well, he like smashed all these glasses, so all these glasses shattered all over the stage. Um, I'm just standing there with this like coat over my head being like, wait, what do I do now? What should I do? Should I make it a bit? Should I keep it on? What should I do? I eventually took it off. But um, so many fun times with Little Triangle shows. I—the last one I did, Drew, I um, I just left stage at one point during an ensemble number because I was like coughing, and I couldn't stop coughing because I had this crazy, um, I had like multiple demons running through my body, I swear. I had like a 40-degree temperature and like this coughing fit.

I'd lost my voice. So I just like survived on steroids and the Holy Spirit. Um, but yeah. I love—I love a coughing fit on stage, I think. I um, okay, I'll do one more. Um, I was in Les Misérables, and we're all asleep on the barricade. Daniel Bell, he's like singing "Bring Him Home," bringing the audience to tears. His vocal folds are made of gold, I swear. It's so beautiful. And then I'm just like trying to be asleep on the floor, but it was like so dusty that I just like was crying as well with the audience. But like crying because I've like trying not to cough, and then I ended up just having a coughing fit. But yeah, it's fun times. I do love doing stage things. It's so fun. I just love being like naughty and trying to make other actors laugh too by like, yeah, dabbing inappropriately and stuff.

[38:22] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[38:23] Madeleine Wighton: Yeah. We love—nothing is the same as love either.

[38:29] Eliza Gunther: Yeah.

[38:29] Madeleine Wighton: But it doesn't mean we cannot have passions outside of life.

[38:33] Eliza Gunther: So true.

[38:34] Madeleine Wighton: So true. No, but that's—thank you so much for sharing not only your stories with us today, but also just your joy and your guidance. Um, it's so important to us as well. Something that we're really going into this season with. Even though this is like the fourth episode of the season, but you're hearing our season, our guide for the season, which is just trying to have more open and honest and candid conversations. Because whilst what we do is so wonderful and so magical, um, it's not easy. It's really, really hard. And it doesn't—uh, not every day is full of sunshine. As much as we can try to make it that way, it's not always going to be that way, and that's okay. But thank you so much for coming on and for taking the time to talk to us and share your story with us.

[38:34] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you.

[38:34] Madeleine Wighton: Thank you so much for having me. And can I just say, if this has been triggering for anyone, can you like put links to like Lifeline and stuff in the podcast notes or something?

[39:33] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, it's—life is hard. But keep reaching out to people. It's hard to do that though sometimes to keep checking in on people too, the smiley ones especially.

[39:42] Madeleine Wighton: Well, thank you. Thank you so so so much.

[39:46] Eliza Gunther: Thank you.

[39:46] Madeleine Wighton: And we hope to see you sometime soon.

[39:49] Eliza Gunther: Yeah, for sure. Let's do it. But I guess everyone, until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe, and we'll see you later.

[39:58] Madeleine Wighton: Bye-bye.