MADx is a celebration of creativity and performance, life and human spirit, and of finding and using our voice in a welcoming and supportive community.

At its root, MADx is about this question:
Q: What does it take to free ourselves from others’ ideas of who they would have us be?

Why MADx?
Well, it’s a bit mad and it has an x in it.

MADx aims to create a vibrant, supportive space where people can express their struggles,  joy, and creativity through short stories, poetry, spoken word, music and other forms of art and performance.

MADx SHORT SUMMARY:,

We live in a world that aims to define and label ourselves and each other, divide us into convenient categories that set limits on who we are, can be or can become.

Yet we have a choice: we can either conform to others ideas of who and how to be, lose ourselves and lose our voices, or we can rise up, come together and explore and express the full spectrum of what it means to be human in this world.

We are different for a reason; so we can come together and learn from each other.
MADx is about the spirit it takes to be human in a world that sometimes seems ill designed for humans and instead designed to negate and crush that very spirit.

A MADx event includes many people, performing songs and music, stand-up , short stories and poetry, whatever they want to share, doing their thing and doing it their way.

MADx is about finding our voice, about witnessing each other as we do
and doing it in a generous way that doesn’t rely on using whatever
power we have to put others down, or tell others how or who to be.

We welcome all performers, especially new and first-time performers
and offer a kind and generous community environment.
We  support each other fully, and resist labels and categories that threaten to divide us.

MADx is about being real, being seen, being heard, being felt and being  a witness to each other.

We want everyone to feel they can join in and join in the fun.


WHAT THE FUNDS WILL BE USED FOR

We want MADx to grow.

With this campaign we hope to raise at least $5,000 to help pay the administrative and legal fees involved in starting MADx, a not-for-profit company, that will facilitate and support performance-based events around the city of Toronto (and eventually all of Canada).

We want to do more MADx events in a variety of different venues, and involve people from a variety of communities and organization doing good work.

We also recognize that first-time performers need support as they prepare to go on stage and share their voice.  So we want to set up a simple workshop process to help newer performers feel comfortable expressing themselves on stage. In these workshops, we also want to involve performers who have had some success in the arts – to inspire and guide newer participants.

MADx is an urgent, and much-needed community-based organization.
Because of its simplicity – its potential is endless.

Humans everywhere are feeling increasingly alienated, disconnected, disenfranchised, lonely, dehumanized and forgotten. We all have a deep need to connect, feel felt and to express ourselves, be seen and felt and MADx creates a space where folks can do that in authentic, creative ways without being judged.
And have a good time too!
MADx is a party after all.

Sharing, playing, performing and being creative together is an essential part in our own individual health and, by extension, the health and happiness of our larger community.

MADx is a small part of co-creating the kind of world we want to live in.

Your contribution will enable a much-appreciated community event to flourish and reach more people.

OUR STORY / OUR BACKGROUND

Kevin Healey was called “activist” by Toronto star, was part of eth first conversation in which the idea for MADx along with Julie Bull. A small group workd for many months shaping MADx and bringing the first shows to The Imperial.

Alex Arena is an accomplished singer-songwriter with a passion for writing songs that express hope and resilience. She also enjoys helping others overcome their own struggles and hopes to use her music as a way of inspiring others at MADx events.

Corrina Melles-Orrego is a singer songwriter and poet. She works as a peer support worker and is a regular performer at MADx

Pedro Orrego and Michelle Melles. Their company Parallel Vision Productions  has seen numerous projects developed for the big and small screens. they produced MADx the publicity vid
MADx? What is MADx?.

MADx Swag/Merch/STUFF

We are grateful for donations of any size!

Gift Packs

We have a variety of gifts, tickets and opportunities available for those who donate online in the amounts of $25, $50, $100.

You can also get pins/ buttons and Tees at our shows.