When students see Madeline Schussel walking around campus, few realize that her casting credits extend far beyond the many Tufts drama productions in which she has performed. Perhaps that is because her credits are under her stage name, Madeline Blue.
Currently a sophomore pursuing a plan of study major centered in Anthropology, Schussel is far from the typical college student. Not only has she made appearances in such television shows as "Law and Order" and "The Sopranos," but she even played the character of "Cure Girl" from the cult classic film "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001).
"It's like a secret fame," Schussel said of the fact that most students aren't aware of her various credits.
Schussel's career started early. When she was three years old, she used to make movies in her basement with her older sister - and fellow Jumbo - Stephanie (LA '05). Soon after playing around in her own home, she played the role of a No-Neck Monster in the McCarter Theater production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in her hometown of Princeton, New Jersey. She said the theater then became something of her "second home."
But it wasn't until she landed the role of Bette in a community theater production of "Oliver" that Schussel's acting career truly took off. The director of the show had a friend in the audience who soon became Schussel's manager in New York City.
"From there, I started getting bigger auditions," she said. At the age of 12, Schussel landed the role of a mentally-challenged child murderer in an episode of "Law and Order" titled "Killerz." She played the partner-in-crime to the real killer, who, though younger, was able to take advantage of Schussel's mental disability and coax her to commit murder.
"The producers were originally looking for an overweight girl, and at the time, I was awkwardly skinny," Schussel said. The script, however, was changed to fit Schussel's characteristics. "It was a challenging role," she said. "But I felt good about getting it, and it was fun to play."
Her other television appearances include an episode from the first season of "The Sopranos" in which she played a young Janice Soprano in a flashback. But the role for which she is most well-known is that of her first movie, David Wain's "Wet Hot American Summer."
A spoof of 1970s summer camp films and comedies, the film takes place at Camp Firewood in 1981. It features stars including comedienne Janeane Garofolo, "Law and Order: SVU" star Christopher Meloni, "Frasier" star David Hyde Pierce, Stella's Michael Ian Black and "Saturday Night Live" cast member Amy Poehler.
"Since it was an indie film, it wasn't the same experience as doing a movie for, say, Paramount," Schussel said. "We went to a real camp and everything, though - it was a blast."
Although Schussel does not keep in touch with any of her former "Wet Hot" cast mates, she says that writer/directors Michael Showalter and David Wain still send out emails to the cast members.
"I feel like I can get in touch with them for anything, at any time," Schussel said.
When it came time to choose a college, Schussel briefly considered the prospect of New York University or Juilliard to continue her acting career. She soon realized, however, that a conservatory-style education was not right for her. "People there are so intense," she said. "And at that age, auditioning was getting frustrating. Tufts is a great school with a great drama department, and I was inclined to get a good education."
As a member of Pen, Paint and Pretzels, as well as Tufts' improvisational comedy troupe Cheap Sox, Schussel has been a part of many productions since her freshman year, including "Metamorphoses," "Hay Fever" and "The School for Scandal."
"All of them have been good in different ways," she said.
The recent production of Tufts' "Fifth of July," however, in which she played Shirley Talley, the daughter of a former Berkeley radical, has been Schussel's "most liberating experience thus far."
"I got to play a 'real' character with emotions. I really liked the style of liberalism - it was a good opportunity to be both a realistic idiot and a goof ball at the same time," she said.
"Madi [Madeline] is an extremely creative and hard-working actress," said Tufts Associate Professor of Drama Don Weingust, who directed "Fifth of July." "She takes her job as a performer very seriously, cares deeply about the characters she creates and the choices she makes, and is always eager to grow, both as an actress and in the particular role at hand."
"I've been extremely impressed observing her work in others' shows, and [I'm] thrilled to have had the opportunity of directing her," he added.
Still, Schussel feels that her television and film credits put an "interesting strain" on her ego, especially in the college setting. "It's like people know me, but at the same time, they don't," Schussel said. "You have to have a sense of humor about it, definitely."
Tufts has served as a refreshing hiatus for the actress. Growing up, Schussel was always involved in productions or auditions; as such, she never felt the full junior high or high school experience. Schussel remembers how she could not attend the first big party thrown during middle school because she was in a show. "It was like a symbol for the rest of middle and high school," she said.
College life, on the other hand, has made it much easier for Schussel to assimilate her two worlds. The separation between school and theater that she felt growing up is now hardly a problem.
"I go to classes and then four- or five-hour rehearsals, but I still get to hang out with people afterwards," she said.
Although unsure of what she wants to do after Tufts, Schussel knows that acting has been too much a part of her life for her to let go of it altogether.
"I may find myself doing bizarre anthropological research," she said laughing. "But I know I can't really separate myself from acting."
