Madison Dae Clarion appeared on The Neighbors back in 2013. This year she has been busy working on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and you may have seen her in the music video for Alesso’s single Heroes (We Could Be)! To keep up to date make sure to visit her page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

1. How did you get started in the industry?

My mom says that I was too shy when I was little so she enrolled me into theatre camp when I was 5 years old. She always says she thinks they overdid it! Anyway I did that for about five years. The camp was associated with First Stage Children’s Theater in Milwaukee WI. This is one of the oldest children’s repertory groups in the US. When I was 10 they called me for an audition for their Milwaukee Performing Arts Christmas play. There were 800 kids trying out for this prestigious play. Much to my surprise, I was cast as a lead in “Junie B. Jingle Bells Batman Smells”. We performed 25 shows in the month of December, before houses of 500 people. My acting shoes were well-broken in and I adored it all-the costume fittings, the rehearsals, the tech nights, opening night-you name it! However, right before this happened, I had been on a “Passport to Discovery Cruise” for aspiring models and actors. The ship had 1000 competitors ages 5 to 21. After 3 days of competitions, the judges, who were agents, casting directors and managers from NY and LA had callbacks in the ship’s dining room. It turned out that I had the most callbacks of all the kids on the whole ship! I had many people recruiting me to Hollywood, so after the Christmas play closed, mom, me and two geriatric cats moved to LA. And we are still living and growing here while keeping our Wisconsin connections as strong as ever with frequent visits to our home there.

2. What was it like filming the Disney In Summer music video?

This was a 2 day shoot and I adored every minute! I had the most fun on the shoot because we had a choreographer and learned the dance routine before the actual filming. I loved the swingy pink dress I was wearing because it fit the dance routine perfectly. We sang the chorus too. I made many new friends on that set, including in the crew, that I still talk with. I became friends with Mackenzie, the great lead of the video. She is so much fun!

3. What the experience like working on Jimmy Kimmel Live?

I was on Jimmy Kimmel twice. First time, the skit was about Michelle Obama and the Secret Service agents, but that wasn’t the best part about it. The best part was using a green screen! Then second time it was about summer camps. The camp they made up was Camp Long Term Storage. The premise was that cheap parent put their kids in storage bins for the summer instead of camp. We got to be in an actual storage unit box, which was cool! We did swimming, s’mores, kayaking, and pounded on the storage unit to attempt an escape…too cool.

4. How did you enjoy working on Chicago Fire?

This was one of my very first jobs and I was totally excited! My eyes were like saucers and I knew this is where I belonged. The cameras and lighting and all the action of filming was incredibly fascinating to me. I wanted to know how it all worked; why everything was the way it was. I remember I gave up my 11th birthday party to be there by my own choice. I knew this was what I wanted even then, enough to miss my own birthday party!

5. What was your time on set like filming The Neighbors?

I was also on that show twice. The first time I played an alien kid at a Country Club and the second time some controversial kid in class with Dick Butkus. The set was really interesting because the whole outdoors of the house is right inside on a soundstage. All the principals were totally fun and cool too.

6. What was it like working on the music video for Heroes (We Could Be)?

It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I had to use method acting as I imagined I could freeze water, turning it into ice. I felt like a silent movie actor from 1920 as I let my feelings show with my eyes alone. This scene occurred in the spookiest set I have ever experienced: a dungeon in an ancient basement in skid row-downtown Los Angeles. I was petrified! The other actors were some of the coolest people I have ever encountered on set. Alesso was really quiet and shy. The two huge bodyguards in the white coats were my biggest fans, so to speak. They constantly sat with me on breaks to hear my stories. What a fun shoot that was. That video has over 5 million hits now and Alesso runs it during his huge shows, including the big one coming up in Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve. I’ll never forget that shoot.

7. How do you prepare for an audition?

I normally search up the director, producer, writer, and casting director. I use IMDB, casting about and any other search engine that helps. If the show is a pilot then I see if I can find any video clips on the show because sometimes they put out previews on shows. It is so important to me to feel the timing and tempo of the show before I begin studying the lines. If there are no video clips I look at past work of the writer and director for an idea of the timing. I think about who the character really is and where she is -who are the other characters and what is really happening here in this scene. Then I try to relate it to something I have already experienced myself. Then I read it from top to bottom without missing a single word of any line or stage direction. Next I look for the other characters’ scripts to get more of a background of the show to understand it even better. Next I memorize. After that follows the direction of how to say each specific line; after that I work on the reactions. And finally do it with everything I just learned. If I think that I did a good job with everything then, that is the end of my preparation. I rehearse it many times to make sure I know the lines. I will have coaching if I think the part requires it, just depends.

8. What was the day like filming Modern Family?

This is another show on which I have had two appearances. One was a theater scene and the other was an awesome carnival scene. It was soooo disappointing that we could not ride any of the rides. There were dummies having a great time on them all day though! I was so jellie…

9. Who have been some of your favorite people to work with?

I enjoy working with the adult crew members on many sets. I love to ask questions about their jobs and how they make the production work so well. This helps me to learn more of what the film industry is all about.

10. What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

My favorite project will be the one that I write, produce, direct and star in myself. Watch for it!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Last summer I had my first big screen appearance and even had a stunt coordinator for it. This was the Earth to Echo NBA Cinemark Promotional video. It was shown before all showings of Earth to Echo at all Cinemark Theaters nationwide. Sad to say there are not may Cinemark Theaters in LA! Anyway I rode in the basket of a bike like ET and the bike was driven by Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shawn Marion of the Dallas Mavericks, and DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers in the film. All were such nice people to work with and all had HUGE feet!

We’d like to thank Madison for participating in this year’s Holiday Q&A Event!