Greetings:

We actors always fantasize about landing meaty roles that allow us to shine.  Those of us who are capable of writing aren’t shy about creating roles on our own.  When I became aware of Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman pilot who died a tragic death while still young, I felt as though fate had sent me the role of a lifetime.  Here was an American original and a genuine heroine who, after nearly a century, was still awaiting discovery by her native countrymen, and women! Here was a diamond in the rough: a daughter of a sharecropper family from the sunbaked soil of Texas who grew into a charming, beautiful, stalwart young woman who burst through the racial and gender barriers of her time and place with the attitude of never taking “no” for an answer!  Baby-faced but brilliant and steel-willed, Bessie Coleman went from cotton-picker to pioneer aviator.  Her capacity to dream, and her strength in following her dreams, propelled Bessie to the pinnacle of international acclaim as a barnstorming stunt pilot and source of inspiration for young women of all races, all walks of life.

Here, I felt, was more than a role to perform.  Here was a chance—a privilege—for me to bring Bessie Coleman back to life onstage, and, with her speaking through me, to transmit an important life-lesson that could motivate the young people of our own time. 

I plunged into researching Bessie Coleman’s life. I was not prepared for the shock that awaited me: that this phenomenal woman died tragically, and suspiciously, in the prime of her career, while in the very ecstasy of demonstrating her seemingly goddess-like control of a swooping, looping airplane. How could fate—how could the world—be so cruel as to snuff out this brilliant spirit before her life’s full mission, of teaching and inspiring, could be accomplished?

But my shock and heartbreak were short-lived. The story brightened again as I realized that Bessie’s death was in many ways an affirmation of her life: that she fully understood the risk involved in her soaring, gorgeous dance through the skies, and that she accepted this risk—embraced it—as a possible price of tasting the sublime.  

Here lay the true message imbedded in her wonderful story! That the one thing worse than dying young was to shrink back from the inner voice urging your soul to risk your ultimate joy.

I believe that true happiness is to know, nurture, respect and love the essence of our spirit.  We’re all born unique with a divine purpose to fulfill.  It doesn’t matter how young or old you are-or-whether your life began in a ghetto or a mansion.  Once we embrace our purpose, we can begin the process of fulfilling our true destiny accepting with lighter heart all of its challenges and rewards along the way.  
 
Thank you for visiting my website.  I’d love to notify you of upcoming performances and events, so before you go please take a moment to leave your contact information. 

Meanwhile, remember to soar, to dance through your own skies, to shine your light and encourage others to do the same!

Very truly yours,

Madeline