Doc Madison

In late January of 1966 someone called the Madison residence and said. “There’s something wrong with the baby”. And there was something wrong. It was something different from the rest of the family. This child was born with an extreme form of Spina Bifida. There was a large opening at the base of the spine, paralyzed limbs, and urinary as well as bowel incontinence. This was an awkward way to start out. It was difficult to make his way through the early years of his life. But with the help of a kind and supportive mother, Doc Madison actually learned to walk using upper body muscles. He went through several painful surgical procedures and still couldn\'t walk very well, but at least he did manage to walk. Doc graduated from high school, though a team of specialists said he wouldn\'t live that long. He became the first in the family to attend college, and to graduate, coming out of The University of Massachusetts with a degree in Theatrical Design in 1989. He is fond of saying that painting and drawing are the basics in design, and Doc designed countless plays, dance theater productions, and installations throughout the 90’s using the skills he learned from his years at U-Mass. With The Catbox Cabaret, Doc produced the innovative “Doc’s 3-D Theatre”, using the anaglyph process as a live shadow theatre. He also designed a play called Café Noir, wherein the audience was conditioned to see in shades of gray, they couldn’t see color unless they left the room. By the turn of the century at The Theatre Cooperative, Doc took on the challenging role of Production Designer, and got the opportunity to paint on a much grander scale. In this space, he painted expansive walls, and large floors, creating worlds out of his own imagination. Because of the repertory nature of these productions, these paintings had to be removed in place of what had to come next. But it was still satisfying, and won him The Elliot Norton Award in 2003. After The Theatre Cooperative, He went on to rediscover his greater passion for painting. He says, ”Now, I find myself with what I started doing. Painting. I’m older now, and my body is not as strong after all of my adventures. But, I have all of these paintings; they chronicle my travels. However, even these paintings are only a small example of what I still have in me. The best is yet to come.”