Did you see this awesome profile of J’Kalein Madison, a young actor making a splash in the local theatre scene in Waterloo, Iowa? What’s particularly cool is that Madison is a graduate of Waterloo West High School and had this to say about his theatre experience there:
Madison originally planned to study law.
That changed in his junior year when he played a role in the raucous comedy, “The Love of Three Oranges.”
“It cemented for me that I loved performing and music. A lot changed for me about what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. (…)
He works with his mentor, William G. Dawson, West’s speech and theater teacher and a veteran actor and director at CFCT and WCP.
“He’s inspiring with the way he works and what he’s done. I was shy, and I hated speaking in front of groups. Bill taught me to work the moment and be comfortable in front of an audience.
“Without Bill Dawson, I would not be who I am,” Madison said.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bill Dawson on several of my plays and, while it’s incredibly humbling to have this young man credit The Love of Three Oranges with his change in life plans, it’s really a huge credit to Bill’s devotion to his students and the amazing theatre program that he’s built up there.
High school theatre can and does change lives every day and I am so very grateful to those of you like Bill who are out there living it and teaching it and making that magic happen!
Hillary DePiano is a playwright, fiction and non-fiction writer who loves writing of all kinds except for writing bios like this.
