ASU grad 'braids together' passions in theater, entrepreneurship and sustainability
Madison Davis leading a theater workshop in Los Angeles, California. Photo courtesy Madison Davis
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2024 graduates.
At the intersection of performing arts and sustainability, you’ll find an entrepreneur who is passionate about building community, igniting creativity and tearing down boundaries.
Madison Davis is an ASU Online student from Los Angeles, California, graduating from the School of Sustainability with a bachelor’s degree in sustainability with a concentration in policy and governance. She has been named the College of Global Futures Outstanding Undergraduate for the fall 2024 semester and was chosen to speak at the college’s convocation ceremony.
“I really hope to help others find intentional community and to create an inspiring and supportive space that invites all artists into the room,” said Davis, the founder of Veil Theatre Company and Troupe of Fools.
As a theater professional and budding sustainability leader, Davis was inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, “Braiding Sweetgrass,” to intertwine her passions for collaborative arts, environmental stewardship and education.
“I had yet to braid my passions together, as she had done, of art, science and spirituality,” said Davis. “I knew I wanted to step into my leadership as a writer and my stewardship for the environment, and the School of Sustainability helped me see the path forward.”
For Davis, sustainability and theater are complementary to one another, and her coursework emboldened their parallels.
“I developed a perspective on the synthesis between sustainability and theater — two seemingly unrelated worlds that are not luxuries but vital forces that shape community, purpose, integrity and beauty,” she said.
She believes sustainable communities should be nurtured through the arts, impactful storytelling and collaboration.
“To effectively collaborate with people is a gift and not to be taken for granted,” Davis said. “We create culture and shift value systems through working with other people and stakeholders — it’s an art.”
Driven to create, educate and lead, Davis got involved with Venture Devils and founded the Veil Theatre Company to tell meaningful and challenging stories. She then developed the artist incubator Troupe of Fools to further her company’s mission and expand its work.
While pursuing her degree, she has led arts education programs, mentorship opportunities and group workshops through ASU Local-Los Angeles. Davis was also cast in the musical “Topsy Turvy” by Tim Robbins, and performed internationally in Hungary and Poland while continuing her coursework.
After graduation, Davis plans to expand her professional theater career. She will continue teaching ballet and theater and performing with The Actors' Gang in “Night Miracles” and “Topsy Turvy.” She also plans to grow her company through theater workshops and shows throughout Los Angeles. Davis hopes to inspire others to see sustainability through the lens of art and the humanities.
In the below Q&A, Davis shares more about her time at ASU.
Question: Why did you choose ASU?
Answer: I most of all loved the mission statement of the school built around inclusivity. It was such an easy decision to choose ASU because I didn’t have to give up living in Los Angeles or working in theater. I could make my own schedule.
Q: Why did you decide to pursue this degree when you had already begun a career working in theater?
A: I was learning so much about theater through practice, but I felt something was missing — a “through line” that tied my work together. I was searching for deeper meaning and a way to create theater that resonated with nontraditional audiences, bridging the gap between the art form and people who might not typically engage with it.
In many ways, I wanted to bring theater to them, making it more accessible and relevant to the world we live in today. Coming out of the pandemic, I was also craving the structure of a degree program. I wanted the opportunity to write, research, study systems and engage more deeply with my community — something that contrasted with the DIY, self-taught approach I had taken for most of my life. I knew that to create my own artistic stamp in theater, I needed to strengthen my skills in writing, leadership and vision, and this program offered me the tools to do so.
Q: Why is it so important to you to have sustainability and the arts joined together?
A: I think there is a huge divide in the argument around sustainability that isn’t going away and isn’t helping any one of us controlled by fear and anger. These same divides exist in many areas of our lives and are extremely prominent, and I think the arts are the best tools we have to find wholeness. I see a big paradigm shift coming and that shift will need to be nurtured by the arts that reflect our values and value hierarchies. Our future needs arts and a collective consciousness that evolves alongside the rapidly evolving technologies and systems we are surrounded by.
Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?
A: Professor Sir Jonathan Bate taught me the importance of storytelling and critical thinking. In his class, SOS 320: Society and Sustainability, I felt challenged in the best way possible. I got to think outside of the box and learn from the great writers, philosophers and environmentalists of our world. It will be a lifelong learning journey I want to keep exploring.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?
A: Your capacity for doing deep work is your biggest asset. Use this time and every assignment as opportunities to deepen your perspective and passion.
Q: How do you plan to use your degree?
A: I really want to be involved in local governance and eventually collaborating on theater projects tied with sustainability initiatives. Specifically in LA, I want to create urban gardening projects in all the pop-up venues my troupe performs in.
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