So the creation of “Madison on the Air” came about in the not-so-unusual circumstances of an actor/writer stuck at home during the COVID quarantine of 2020. In late 2019, I’d just joined a local theater group and was helping to produce a production due to premiere LITERALLY the week the world closed down. As the summer droned on, I sat down to write that film script idea I’d been bouncing around for a good decade. Done. Sigh. The reason I’m not a big fan of writing film or even TV spec scripts is because I know they’re just going to remain saved into my computer, never to see the light of day or an audience. A few nice (and equally as bored) friends read it, but in the end, it proved just to be an exercise in “can I finish it” and nothing more. One of the reasons I continue to gravitate to theater in Los Angeles, a town that truly doesn’t appreciate it, is just so I can have an audience. And that’s when the lightbulb went off.
I came to the podcast world a mere babe in the woods. While my background training and work experience absolutely suited me for audio dramas, I’d never listened to a single podcast! Oh, I’ve listened to hundreds of old time radio shows, but Jeremy, my husband, had told me about the science or religious discussion podcasts he listened to and so it never occurred to me that this little sub genre of podcasting, audio dramas, existed. But with nothing but time on my hands, I began my research in October of 2020 and by February 1st, 2021, premiered the first four episodes of “Madison on the Air.”
I am now a devotee to this audio drama podcasting world. While some podcasters may fret over download numbers, one fellow podcaster put it in proper perspective for me. He was a musician playing in dive bars for years. Much like my decades in improv troupes or Jeremy’s own original band experiences. He said, okay, your episode got fifty downloads. Compared to some, that’s not a lot. Especially compared to the big name, big money shows. So that might make you feel “is it even worth it?” But now imagine you in your tiny bar, or tiny theater, and FIFTY people came there to see YOU. Wouldn’t you be thrilled? And fifty STRANGERS on top of it? Not fifty friends/family, but people you’ve never met who liked what you were doing and made a point to see YOU. Yeah. This global reach of podcasting can put anyone in any niche in front of the right audience. An appreciative audience. It might be a slow climb for your show to find those people… but it is possible. And, in my book, way more rewarding that finishing that film script no one will ever see.
So can you say I’m “grateful” for COVID? Maybe a bit. Well, not the disease, itself, that Jeremy actually is recovering from at the very moment I am writing this. Crossing my fingers all of the boosters and precautions we’re taking will keep me free of it. Watching him, definitely don’t recommend getting it if you can avoid it. But, in the global, wider perspective of the world, I think this other not-so-unusual circumstance of having a disruption in my life-routine to show me a new and better suited path has given me direction and joy in a way I never would’ve otherwise found. So everyone, stay healthy and safe out there, but also… don’t shy away from a new experience. It just might be your calling.
-Chrisi (aka Madison)
