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[0:00] Alan Seales: Welcome back to The Theatre Podcast, intimate personal conversations with the industry's biggest names. This interview is with Madison Lagares, who is a 13-year-old, amazing, amazing actor that I've had the pleasure of knowing since she was, I think, nine, nine and a half when she was first doing School of Rock. So I've seen her career grow quite a bit in the last couple of years. 13 now, incredibly genuine. She realizes she's got such a good thing going with multiple Broadway credits, TV and film credits. She's been auditioning for Disney. She's been doing workshops with John Mellencamp. She has a recording contract now with a record label. So she's going to start putting out her own music in both English and in Spanish.

She's just got so much going on. I think we're going to be able to easily say we knew her when. She still prioritizes school, which I think is incredibly cool and incredibly humble. She realizes that an education is everything. But everybody, just please keep your eye on her, support her. She is such an amazing and fun person to talk to. Find me online on Instagram and Twitter at theatre underscore podcast. I'm on facebook.com slash official theatre podcast. Hit that like button, leave a rating, leave a review wherever you are listening now. And everybody, please enjoy this episode now with Madison Elizabeth Lagares.

[1:38] Alan Seales: My guest today is a highly accomplished Broadway veteran with numerous TV credits, including one of my favorite shows, Search Party. She was hand-selected by Gloria Estefan in Get On Your Feet, helped bring School of Rock to life with Alex Brightman, has recently signed to a recording label and has become buds with Andrew Lloyd Webber and happens to currently be workshopping a new musical with John Mellencamp. And she's only 13. Madison Lagares, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:08] Madison Lagares: Hi, Alan. How are you?

[2:10] Alan Seales: Good, good, good. Actually, yeah, we were talking before we started rolling that I met you three and a half years ago for when you were doing School of Rock. It's been that long. And I mean, three and a half years when you're 13 is a good chunk of your life. But you've been performing. You've been performing for how long? When did you start performing?

[2:36] Madison Lagares: I started professionally performing when I was around eight or nine years old. That was when I started professionally. But I've been in the business since I was like five or six years old. So it's been a long time. Definitely.

[2:49] Alan Seales: I was scrolling back through your Instagram feed trying to prep for this. And it looks like you have a picture with Alex Brightman, which means School of Rock, in a very similar time frame from starting Get On Your Feet. So did you get cast for Get On Your Feet while workshopping School of Rock? Or how did the timeline work out?

[3:09] Madison Lagares: So when I was in, I got into On Your Feet around, I can't say how many years, it was a while ago. I was around nine or 10 years old. And I was pretty young at the time. And just to get some background on how the industry works, since it was my first time on Broadway, my parents took me to see a couple of Broadway shows. And School of Rock was ironically one of them. And so I was completely in awe. I watched Alex Brightman on stage. Just everyone, they were so talented. And I remember vividly after the show ended, I was on the other side of the gate. I was asking for their autographs. I took the photo that you saw with Alex Brightman. And I remember, after I finished School of Rock, after the after party, I took the same picture with Alex Brightman just three years later. And it was just, it was really ironic. And I loved it so much. And it was a great experience, definitely.

[4:03] Alan Seales: So you've been singing since, you said, five or six?

[4:06] Madison Lagares: Yes, five or six, but more professionally, like eight or nine. Yeah.

[4:10] Alan Seales: So at what point, then, I mean, is it you? Is it your parents? At what point are you just walking around the house singing at five or six? And then you're like, I need to take lessons. I need to go to classes. Where does the professionalism start to get turned up? And where is school in all of this?

[4:28] Madison Lagares: So I definitely, my parents tell me this story all the time. When I was younger, I was very active and very energetic. In nicer terms, I was energetic. And they decided that they needed to find me kind of an outlet. So they put me in like everything under the sun from like soccer and L.A. and tap and, you know, all these different things. And I enjoyed them. It just wasn't really, you know, it didn't really speak to me like in the way that singing in musical theater did. So after they put me into musical theater, I literally put all my time and effort into it. And I just knew it was something that I wanted to do with my life. So that was me at like, you know, five or six years old. I was like, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

So they my parents decided to invest in vocal lessons. And I got this amazing vocal teacher. And she said when I kind of tried out for her, she said my voice was actually very strong. So she wanted to lead me kind of, you know, into a different path than I wanted. So I was more like, you know, I kind of want to be on Broadway now, even though I was a bit young. But she trained me. She taught me the techniques and everything that I need to learn, like how to breathe in my diaphragm. And it was definitely a lot because even though my voice was strong, I still needed some, you know, touch up things to do. And it was definitely a different path. And after a while of vocal lessons, and you know, touching up my voice, I auditioned for Broadway.

And that's when I got On Your Feet. And I definitely learned a lot on the way like, to On Your Feet and during On Your Feet. And I learned how to be like a professional like nine-year-old girl. And I definitely matured a lot faster than your average nine-year-old. But I definitely, I knew my way around the industry. And it was fun. And after On Your Feet ended, they wanted me to do the tour. But as you said before, I didn't want to miss school, you know, so much, especially since I was like, you know, in my primary years of school. So I decided to stay. And I did school like either when I was doing rehearsals, they would bring a tutor over with us. We would tutor while we're doing rehearsals, especially like in School of Rock and stuff like that.

So school is definitely still a main priority with me. And it still is. No matter like, you know, how busy I get, I always make sure to keep school that specific path. And yeah, so it's definitely been busy, you know, my whole life, but I managed to keep it all balanced and everything.

[6:47] Alan Seales: So that's, it's fascinating to me. Because where you are now, two Broadway shows under your belt, you've got a recording contract, which side note, you plan on recording in both English and Spanish, which I think is very lovely. And it speaks to the lack of representation I think we have. And we'll get to that. But, but I'm fascinated because at 13, you have gone farther than a lot of people go in their entire careers, their entire lives, right? They come to the city, they start working to live instead of living to work. And they can't make those 5 a.m. cattle calls and they can't get up and do these, these big auditions and, or never get an agent or whatever the case is. So at what point, I mean, so I guess, was it your parents or, or did you already know somebody that got you that audition for that voice coach? And then was it the voice coach that got you the audition for Get On Your Feet?

[7:36] Madison Lagares: Well, it was definitely, since I was a little girl, it was definitely my mom. She always pushed me to, you know, be very, you know, on it with different things to be organized. And that's what she taught me ever since I was just at a very young age. So when I told her that I wanted to go into the singing and the acting and the industry, she was very, she was very fond of it. She was like, okay, and we just need to work on your craft. So she, she's like, researches everything. Like even now, she like goes through like YouTube videos and like, you know, goes through people's Instagrams just to like, you know, it's just to get all the research that I need to get before, you know, auditions and everything.

And at that point, she was, she knew that it's what I wanted to do. So she found the like, a vocal teacher, she's like, this is like the best of the best, we need to, you know, get you in with this woman. And I got in. And it's, it was definitely hard finding my vocal teacher, but my parents and my mom, especially, she just pushed for me to, you know, get it and to have like, you know, background and everything. So it's definitely grateful to her for like, you know, keeping me on top. So it's definitely all her.

[9:01] Alan Seales: So in terms of schooling, then if you knew, I mean, you said at five, you knew what you wanted to do five or six, you're like, I want to be on Broadway. And then it started to happen. And so then I've talked to a lot of people in their 20s and their 30s, and even in their 40s. And later, who didn't go to college or didn't finish college, right? And we're talking about college, you haven't even made it through high school yet. And obviously, you need to, you need to make it through high school, you got to get at least that going on. But there, and I don't know, actually, which camp I'm in. But there are people who are like, if you know you can get a job, if you know you have a career in the future, then don't go to, you don't need to go to college.

But there are others that are like, I mean, you look at, I think famously, like Natalie Portman, right? Who big is child actor who then still went to college or even James Franco, right? He's got this reputation for being a total stoner, but he went to Columbia. So obviously, education is important to them outside of their craft. So have you thought ahead to this point in your life later on of, I mean, I guess it might be a little too early to say, but have you, at this point right now, 13, do you know sort of where you want to go, what you want to do? Do you want to move into the recording artist side or stay on Broadway?

[10:18] Madison Lagares: I think it's definitely been a hard decision on what path to go on. I definitely think that for me, going down the college path would be best for me as, I'm a child now, so I definitely don't have, it's way far up the road. But I also, I do think that education is definitely very important. And just having college on your background is just, it's very, it's easy to get into different things with that kind of thing. And I think that it'll also build a lot of experience for me if I go down that path. But I do definitely, it's in between whether I want to go to the recording aspect or the, sorry, I'm like, the recording aspect or the Broadway aspect. I definitely, I like both of them equally. I just think that, you know, at the moment, I'm going towards the, you know, since Broadway is kind of shut down with COVID and everything, I'm, you know, I want to stay active and everything with my voice, and I want to keep my voice, you know, you know, working.

So I think that definitely recording would definitely be a good, you know, path for me to go on at the moment. I'm planning to record different genres of songs, because I'm definitely an eclectic when it comes to music. I know all different types of genres, and I know it'll definitely be a good path for me. So that's definitely it.

[11:32] Alan Seales: Oh, that's interesting. And I presented the question as either or, but actually, I think that there's a great opportunity now, especially with technology, the internet, all of the ways that we can do things at home, even, which the last year and a half has shown us that, that you could probably, I won't say easily, but you can do both. You can do sort of a thing where you are recording during the day and performing eight shows a week at night, you know, once you get to that sort of time frame in your life, I think that there's a lot of opportunity there. But I want to go back to the, like, I guess, being a child in the industry, right? And I compare myself to you at 13, and I thought I was the shit when I was 13, right? And girls mature.

[12:24] Alan Seales: And whatnot. But I don't think I would have ever had the wherewithal that you do, and even other children. Like, I'm talking to Andrew Barth Feldner, right? I talked to him when he was 18, or 17. I guess he's only 18 now, it was last year. But these children, you included, blow me away. And you even did when I first met you, three and a half years ago for School of Rock. More talent in your little finger than I have in my whole body. And I am so impressed with your dedication and how you're willing to, I guess, stay open to change. You don't walk into these situations like, I think I would have, and been like, I'm here. So everyone, give me the part now. You know what I mean?

[13:10] Madison Lagares: Yeah. Yes. I definitely, it's definitely a process and it takes some time to get used to it in general. But I definitely, being in On Your Feet, it gave me a lot of experience. It's easy to go into an audition and to be prepared and everything. It's just the way that you prepare for the audition in general and how you go about it and how you speak to people. And it's definitely difficult. And I know that being dedicated is definitely a big part of it too. You have to always be there and you have to be just like, it's hard to explain into words, but being in the moment all the time. And so you have to be dedicated in general. You have to be organized, which is something that I had to learn because I was, when I was younger, I was definitely kind of unorganized and kind of put together like in my first audition.

It was like so long ago. It was like six years ago. I went into this audition. I was like six years old, seven years old. And my mom had like the week before taken a photo with like her iPhone four or something, just of me in the front of my backyard. And she printed that out. And that was my headshot. So I went into this audition and everyone was like so professional. They had everything ready. They were so prepared. They had professional headshots, like full resumes. And I was just like, what am I doing here? I was like, what is going on here? And so it was after that, I was like, I need to start working on that, get more prepared. And so after that audition, which actually I was talking to the director of who auditioned me at that exact audition.

She's telling me that she actually kept my resume and my small little headshot. She saw something in me that I guess I didn't see at the time, but she saw it in me and she believed in me, which is definitely, it made me more confident in that aspect. But I definitely know that after that audition, I was like, you know, I'm going to get a professional headshot, a professional resume. I'm going to do more things to build my resume. And you definitely have to be prepared. That's why I have a songbook of different genres. I have a theater songbook, a pop songbook, and a binder and everything. So you definitely have to be prepared when it comes to just not only auditioning, but being in the industry because you never know when someone might need you to perform this song and you never know.

That's the thing about the industry. You never know when you might need to go in for this role. You just always have to have that in the back of your brain and you always have to be prepared for something like that to happen.

[15:49] Alan Seales: Yeah. What about the TV and film side of things? Because having a talented child who can sing and is humble and like, you know, all the things we've just been talking about, have you tried to audition for TV and film? Because it seems like you'd just be perfect to lead this Disney show on Disney Channel, right? It's like, you know, maybe a hangout time with Madison. I'm trying to think of a good alliteration, but I couldn't think of one.

[16:18] Madison Lagares: Well, I definitely have auditioned for Disney multiple times, actually. I definitely know it's harder since I'm in New York and some of them are based off in LA. So the traveling aspect is a bit hard, but I actually, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, I had a producer session with these Disney execs and I was just getting prepared and everything. And I was really confident in it. They basically had me, you know, sing a song. They had me do these lines and it was for the main character of the show. And I was just, this was my first producer session that I've ever done in my life. And it was definitely on Zoom, which made it a lot easier because if it was in person, I would have been like, what is going on here?

So I was in the comfort of my own home. I was, you know, very chill. I had my trusty water bottle with me. So it was definitely, it was easier on the, you know, being here and just more comfortable. But I was, I definitely had a lot of experience and they told me a couple of days ago that they wanted someone older for the role. And so they said that I was very close to getting the role. They just wanted someone older. And I didn't, I didn't look at it as like failure. I looked at it more as like, you know, experience. So I got to learn tons about being in a producer session, how to answer questions, how to, you know, be in that aspect. So it was definitely a good experience. And I think the movie and the TV aspect to just, you know, my career, I've been working on a lot of movies, you know, since I was younger, I've been in short films, TV shows like Search Party, which is your show that you're very fond of.

And I think that it's definitely a change between the two of them. There's definitely different, very, very different. Cause I know that I say this to people all the time that theater is very different from, you know, being on camera because in theater, you always have to overemphasize your reactions and your movements with your face and your, you have to over project. Whereas in TV, it's more natural. It's more on the natural side. You don't have to like over, you know, exaggerate your facial features or anything. So I definitely think it's definitely a bit of a change, but the more you adapt to it and the more, if you can switch between those two, like flawlessly, then I think it's, it's, it gets easier along the way. So it's definitely a challenge, but it's, if you have the right teachers and if you have the right people to, you know, lead you along the way, then you'll definitely grow.

[19:06] Alan Seales: We're going to take a short break. Stay tuned for more of the episode.

[19:11] Alan Seales: Who do you sort of model? Do you, I guess, model your, your songbook or your career or anything after a certain type of, of a certain type of performance or a certain type of performer? I guess, because what I'm getting at sort of is, is the lack of representation in our industry that I alluded to earlier, right? Like it's been a lot of straight or a lot of white people, a lot of straight white people who are in the creative seat and, and looking back, you know, when you started, obviously there's been a great amount of social reckoning that's happened in the last two or three years. And then even more so, I still don't know how Broadway is going to come back and, and show the change that everyone needs. It needs to see in a way, but I guess I'll stop talking there at what, who, who did you look up to? Who did you, who do you look up to now? If you look up to anybody and sort of, how do you feel about all this?

[20:00] Madison Lagares: Well, I think that everyone has, you know, some sort of person that they model after. Definitely for me, it's not like a specific, you know, it's not like a specific one person I think is, you know, multiple people actually, I think. And when it comes to the, you know, acting TV show, I think it's more of, um, let's see. I like, um, Angelina Jolie. I think she's a very authentic actress. Um, also Meryl Streep. She's a legend. She's great when it comes to, she's like a triple threat. She can, I love watching movies with her in it. She can act, she can sing, she can dance. She's just a triple threat. And that's what I want to be. Definitely when I grow up. Um, and when it comes to the Broadway aspect of things, definitely people like, um, Mandy Gonzalez.

Um, she's just an amazing, you know, person in real life. Um, she's very talented when it comes to singing and acting. And she's also, she's Latina. So she's, you know, part of my heritage. And so I think it's something to definitely look at, look up to, um, as a person. And I think that also Idina Menzel is amazing. Also, not, not even in the Broadway aspect, but when it comes to singing, definitely if you want to move back in time, you have, um, Aretha Franklin, you have, you know, um, Billie Holiday and you have, you know, those, um, genres of music. And, but now more into the, I'm more into the pop now since, you know, everyone's listening to pop. I like, um, people like Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga has always been one of my, you know, idols.

She's amazing. She's, her singing is just so like unique. And that's what I love about singers. Um, nowadays they're just, they have like unique voices. Like you can listen to someone and be like, Oh, that's Ariana Grande or Oh, that's Lady Gaga. And I've always, I guess I've always wanted to have, you know, have a voice that's just very unique. And you can be like, Oh, like one day you can be like, Oh, that's Madison Lagares, I guess. And, um, just being, I think that's just a really great accomplishment to have a voice that you can just hear and be like, Oh, that's that. So definitely unique voices, um, people who are like that and also people who stay true to their, not only their roots, but, um, just to them in general, like, like Selena, um, she's Latina, but she didn't, she didn't necessarily speak, you know, like full on fluent Spanish, but she definitely went back to her roots.

She sang all these Spanish songs and she was known like, not only in America, but in also Latin America. So that's something that you, that's a really great accomplishment, especially. So I love people that stay true to their heritage, their ethnicity, and just them as a person. So those are definitely people I look up to and I kind of want to be like when I hear a hook.

[22:41] Alan Seales: So I think, I think you did a really good job. I, again, going back to your Instagram feed, I, I, it not often do I look at a 13 year old's Instagram feed, right? And, and, uh, I, I was very, very happy to see the feed was, was so well, I mean, all your, your photos and your captions, and it was all just so thoughtful and kind. I think that's what surprised me the most is just how it comes across, how kind you are in, in how you present yourself. And I can tell that even by talking with you now, that that's, it's, it's not an act, right? I think you really are this kind of person. And, and I can tell that you want to just, you want to express yourself. You want to do good in the world. You want to just feel happy in your career. And I want to go back to the fact you turned down the tour of On Your Feet to stay in school. I don't know how many other people in this situation would have done that either. Like you're still very grounded through all of this.

[24:30] Madison Lagares: Yeah, it's, it's definitely, I had my parents to thank for that. You know, being 13, especially now that I'm, you know, in school in person to just being in middle school in general, it can definitely be hard because there's a lot of, you know, kids who like, especially you have to choose your friend groups wisely because it really, you know, matters in which friend group you're in. Because, you know, as people, some people learn the hard way and some people, they learn by people telling them, definitely stay true to who you are, because especially in middle school and high school, when you get to that aspect of your life, it's really hard to, you know, be hanging around with people and they can kind of change who you are as a person.

And you always want to like live up to other people's expectations. And that's something that, you know, I've always, it's been hard to, you know, be kind of, you know, stay true to who I am, I guess, in general, and especially being in the industry, everyone, I guess they look at you a certain way. And when people don't actually know that in real life, I'm actually, I'm more on the mellow side, the shy side. And people are just like, Whoa, but you are on Broadway. And it's.

[26:17] Alan Seales: This is similar to this. I don't want to give it away because I want your answer in the moment there. But I was, I'm going to ask sort of what do your parents do right in the industry? Because you have stage moms and stage dads, stage parents, right, that just can go turn into monsters on behalf of their children. And I have never met your parents. They're not on this interview, but I get the impression that they're not like that.

[26:45] Madison Lagares: Yes, they're very authentic people, definitely. And I know that it's been kind of hard, you know, with my mom, since I have a younger sister, she's also in school. She's two and a half years younger than I am. So it's hard, you know, being a parent, obviously, I don't know what it's like to have two children, obviously, but she has to keep my younger sister, you know, in school, she has to keep her, you know, my mom, she, my mom is she, but she has to keep, you know, her in school and me, you know, she has to, you know, see all the auditions that I'm auditioning for, she has to make sure they're clean. And also my dad, in the aspect, he helps me with my, you know, kind of my press, you know, what to what to say how to respond to questions, you know, he kind of helped me with like how to, you know, work on interviews kind of like this when I was much younger.

So it's definitely I'm still working on it, you know, how to, you know, be eloquent with my words and everything. But they definitely both help in that aspect. And I know that on Broadway, they're both insanely, my whole family, actually, they're insanely supportive of me. And my mom, normally, she would drive me into the city, which is like, an hour away from here, she'd drive me in every day there. And my dad would pick me up since he worked in the city. He actually works in the Catskills now. But basically, yeah, so they would both, you know, contribute, contribute, contribute, contribute to, you know, bringing me to there from there, they'd watch the shows, they would literally wait hours, just so I can get off the show. And they were both very supportive. And they, they were definitely, you know, very involved in my career ever since I was a little girl. So I definitely have them to thank for that.

[28:30] Alan Seales: That's really cool. Well, you're very lucky to have, you know, two parents who are supportive of such a volatile career in the arts, but obviously, they can see the talent that is there. And hopefully, you know, you continue. And this is just the beginning, especially as you get into high school. I mean, your voice matures, the acting matures, and you're going to, you're going to be go places, I think, especially with the recording artist side of stuff here. So we can all say we knew you in. But tell me about In the Heights, which as we record this, it's going to come out in nine days. What the representation of the Latinx community? What does this mean to you personally, in this movie in the show?

[29:17] Madison Lagares: Well, I'm definitely I'm insanely excited for this to come out. I'm also I'm very I feel like I've been waiting a long time for a movie like this to come out. Because, you know, on Broadway, and in certain movies and everything, there hasn't been a lot of, you know, Latina, Hispanic, you know, side of that. And it's definitely, it's exciting to, you know, show other people that side of us, you know, especially the music and the dancing. And I think that is something that I'm definitely proud of. I'm definitely very proud of being a Latina because just my heritage, food is amazing. But it's definitely I'm very proud to be a Latina. And I know that other people are too. And it's just something that I feel like we've all been waiting to show other people.

And I think people a lot of people are going to enjoy In the Heights, just not only In the Heights in general, I just feel like a lot of things are going to pick up, I hope so, in Broadway, and like movies and TV shows when it comes to like Latina and all that. And I think that people are really going to enjoy it. And they're just gonna love it as much as we do. So that's definitely what I think in that aspect. And I'm just very excited for it to happen.

[30:23] Alan Seales: That's very cool. All right. So the last thing I'm gonna ask you before we wrap up is something I teased at the very beginning that you're working on a new musical with John Mellencamp. Right? I'm so excited for that. It's, I think we started the readings like a year and a half, I think it was around a year and a half ago. And it was definitely, it was a process to start the readings. I was younger when I started, it was actually on my birthday of like last year. That's what I remember. It was, I literally celebrated my birthday being in that amazing, with all those amazing people. They sang happy birthday for me. But it was definitely, it was my first reading that I've done. I haven't, I don't think I've done any workshops when it comes to Broadway.

I've always either come, you know, towards the end, like the last cast and everything. So it was definitely a great experience. And it's not something that a lot of people can say, like I was in the reading. And hopefully I go through, you know, till when it gets on, if it gets on Broadway. So hopefully I get to have all that experience under my belt. And it was definitely a great experience, especially working with the amazing John Mellencamp. He's just such a legend in the music community. And I learned a lot from him. He definitely gave me some notes. And it was just such like the music, the people, it was just an amazing thing to be a part of. So, and I definitely want to do it again.

[31:37] Alan Seales: That's very cool. So is there anything else that you can, that you're allowed to say about it? Is there a timeline? I guess it's sort of shut down for COVID and is it going to pick back up again?

[31:46] Madison Lagares: Actually, it didn't, I don't think, it didn't necessarily shut down for COVID. It was more like, they actually had us doing some things at home. They sent us like some tracks and they wanted us to record some songs that's going to be in the show. We didn't necessarily do the, so we did the reading twice. You know, we did it one at, you know, in the place like about a year and a half ago. And about a couple of months ago, we did a resume reading like, you know, like this, and we had our lines in front of us. It was more like a reading. And about a couple of weeks ago, actually, it's just, it's been still go, it's still going. So a couple of weeks ago, they had us, you know, record professionally, a couple of songs that we had to do with the backing track.

And, you know, hopefully after when things start picking up again, we get to go in in person and just record, you know, like professionally and do the scenes and the choreography and everything so that it can maybe hopefully go into workshop and previews and hopefully get into Broadway. So that's, that's kind of like a process. It's definitely a lot more intricate than that, but that's just like the simpler version of it.

[32:57] Alan Seales: Well, of course, you know, I know like some shows literally take eight to 10 years to get onto Broadway and yeah, they take a super long time. All right. So the three questions I ask everyone to end every episode here, the very, the first one, very simply is just what motivates you.

[33:10] Madison Lagares: What motivates me is my family. Definitely knowing that they push me and they, they put all their time and effort into, you know, making me who I am today. And definitely they motivate me to be better, to strive and to make them proud one day. So yeah.

[33:22] Alan Seales: Oh, I love that. All right. So the next question, and this is, this is the one similar to what I was asking about what your parents do well. Okay. So this question is what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now, starting out down a similar path?

[33:37] Madison Lagares: Be prepared. Definitely being in the industry, you always have to be prepared. I know like some people think it would be a lot more deep than that, but definitely being prepared is a really, really, really important aspect to it. You always have to, you know, just make sure that you're ready for anything that's coming up. And it's definitely, it can be, it can get really hard at some point, but you always have to keep pushing on and be organized and prepared and being a perfectionist in this industry is definitely a good thing. And if you just want to make sure that you don't take it too seriously, the perfectionist part in real life, which is something that's one of the hard way, but definitely be prepared for a lot of things and be dedicated to it. And if it's something that you love, then just push to do better.

[34:29] Alan Seales: So this is something that I want to, I'm going to amend that question again, now for your parents. So what advice would you give to younger people, sorry, to your younger self's parents and your younger, younger people's parents who are listening now?

[34:38] Madison Lagares: Okay. Probably definitely motivate them. It can definitely be a hard time for, especially if they're busy with school and everything. Definitely, you know, kind of let them take their time doing it, but also, you know, try to get them, you know, as a good experience and have a lot of things under their belt. So definitely stay patient with them. It can be a tedious experience, but definitely if they love it and if it's something that they want to do with their life, it'll eventually be good for them. So yeah.

[35:19] Alan Seales: I like that. Okay. So the last question here, this is the hardest one. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[35:22] Madison Lagares: Phantom of the Opera. It was, I, it was like one of the first shows that I saw when I was younger. I think I was five years old. And my parents took me to see it. It was at that moment I was like, this woman is so talented. I don't know who it was. I think it was, I don't remember who was the Christine. Christine is also my dream role on Broadway to play. My vocal teacher has been working on opera with me and I just, I want to kind of, you know, be, have a role like that one day when I'm older, but it's definitely the, not only the show, but the music and the aspect and also the cost, the costumes are just amazing to it. And so I just, I feel like that show also has like a great plot to it and it's just amazing in general. And if I could watch it like every single hour of my life, I literally would. I have it on DVD, I think the movie, but yes. So yeah.

[36:18] Alan Seales: Awesome. So where can we find you on social media?

[36:22] Madison Lagares: Follow me at Madison Lagares Official. So that's my Instagram name. Lagares is spelled L-A-G-A-R-E-S. It's a lot of people spell it different ways. So yeah.

[36:35] Alan Seales: Sweet. All right. And you can get more of me at thetheatrepodcast.com. I'm on Instagram and Twitter at theatre underscore podcast. Please leave a rating and a review wherever you're listening. Now hit that like button, that follow button. This has been edited by Well-Rounded Hoodlum Productions. Thank you to Jukebox The Ghost for the intro and outro music. And Madison, thank you most of all. I have really enjoyed this.

[36:53] Madison Lagares: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me on. Thank you.