S
tephen Madigan, M.D. ’73 is not a drag racer, but he has raced at New England’s most challenging speedways. He is not a horse whisperer, but he studied with Monty Roberts, the world’s most reputable horse whisperer, at Roberts’ home in California. He is not a jet pilot, but he can fly a training plane using top-gun maneuvers. He is not a professional deep sea fisherman, but he caught a trophy sail fish on his first time out. He is not an actor, but he can play one of the most complicated characters in Shakespearean theater, alongside professionals. In a word, Madigan is curious, with a habit of asking “What more can I do?” that takes him from under the sea to soaring altitudes, from the East Coast to the West Coast, and from reading x-rays at Down East Community Hospital in Machias, Maine, to reading lines at the Studio Theatre at Portland Stage in downtown Portland, Maine, where, in August 2015, he produced and starred in a production of William Shakespeare’s The Life & Death of Richard III. “I’m not trying to prove anything,” Madigan explains, “Life is really short and I try to make every day count—and do it in the broadest way possible. There is so much to do in this world.” Guided by that truth, and founding tenant of a liberal arts education, Madigan began work on his next challenge during downtime from seeing patients. He revisited Shakespeare’s The Life & Death of Richard III, a play of particular intrigue to him. Set in England in the late 1400s, the play follows the Duke of Gloucester’s merciless plot to rise to the throne and his inevitable defeat. “I had memorized Richard III’s opening soliloquy years ago and heard all the great actors recite it, but even then, it never really grabbed me. So I looked at it, looked at it, looked at it. I knew there had to be something more.”
Madigan in the the 1973 Purple Patcher (top right)
And there was. When Richard III’s remains were found in England in 2012, it was discovered he suffered from severe scoliosis. However, that “something more” for Madigan far exceeded his interest in Richard III’s medical history, which might be unexpected for a medical professional of almost 40 years. For him, it was more
Richard’s unwavering determination, albeit ruthless, to persevere in spite of his disability and deformity. Though Richard’s steadfastness resulted in many gruesome murders in 15th-century England, the 2012 discovery gave new meaning and raised new questions for Madigan about Richard’s multidimensional character. In search of those answers, Madigan decided he would portray Richard III in his own production of the play, with neither a background in acting nor training in Shakespearean English, but with plenty of encouragement from friends and family. A testament to the liberal arts curriculum at Holy Cross, Madigan welcomed this opportunity to broaden himself as an individual. “A liberal arts education teaches you to think about life, the world you live in, the people around you and to appreciate the beauty of the written word and the power of the spoken word so you are not working and looking to make money only.” So, Madigan began to run lines at home when he was not running reports at the hospital. During the fall of 2013, Madigan met with seven directors to pitch his vision and drive for the production. A host of scheduling conflicts and concerns from directors one through seven led him to director number eight, Sally Wood. Wood, an actor, director and fight choreographer, was almost stoic as she listened to his pitch. Madigan recalls having no sense of her interest by the time he was through speaking, an hour and a half later. But Wood heard something she liked in that 90 minutes and agreed to take on the
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