As co-host of Radio Disney’s skit show Maddy & Chase, Madeleine Coghlan is gearing up for a fun summer! We chatted with her about what to expect from the show, as well as her love of animals and what it was like to meet Boy Meets World‘s Ben Savage on the Radio Disney Music Awards red carpet. Read on for our interview with Madeleine Coghlan.
Your Radio Disney show Maddy & Chase was officially announced back in April, which is really exciting! What can people expect from the show?
Madeleine Coghlan: It has an old-fashioned variety show feel, so there’s different sketches and skits, and we play different characters depending on the guests we have that week. It’s been really fun because a lot of it is improv-based, so it kind of happens on the spot.
You’ve been in several TV shows and films, and that type of media generally involves a very specific script you have to follow. Do you prefer a rigid framework like that, or getting to improv and go off on your own as you do on Maddy & Chase?
It’s interesting because my personality kind of lends toward when things are planned out. I like knowing what’s going to happen, but improv’s been so good for me. I kind of love it! It’s definitely more freeing. There’s also an art and a skill to be able to perform and create and make that match happen with the script, but I feel like with comedy, I really prefer the improv.
Credit: Maddy & Chase on Instagram
How did you get involved with Radio Disney?
My friend and I made YouTube videos and did sketches, but those were definitely more planned out. I think when we came into Radio Disney, we weren’t exactly sure what we were going to do even going into our first meeting, so I think just the fact that we came in kind of in an improv way, it helped out. We were all on the same page [in terms of] seeing what this was going to become, and it sort of evolved over time.
You and Chase met a ton of stars on the red carpet at the recent Radio Disney Music Awards. Who were some of your favorites to talk to, and did anyone make you starstruck?
I was definitely starstruck by Ben Savage because I loved Boy Meets World so much when it was on – it was my favorite show! We were trying to find a structured skit or bit to do with everyone that we met, but with him, it was almost like we were fawning over him the whole time. But everyone was really great. Sabrina Carpenter [of Girl Meets World] was so sweet and really fun, and she played along really well too, so I think we both enjoyed that. It’s fun when whoever we’re doing the skit with is totally on board and game for whatever, because half the time, we’re not even sure what we’re doing! Everyone was really cool and supportive, especially [given that] we were in matching red pantsuits and we looked a little bit crazy on the carpet!
Credit: Radio Disney on Twitter
As the show goes on, you’re going to be interviewing more people and attending more events. If you could go to any star-studded event, what would you choose and why?
That’s a good one! If we were at the Oscars, that would be amazing, especially because I feel like they emphasize the dramatic side of things a lot more, so it would be fun to do totally unscripted bits in a setting where maybe it’s not as called for.
And in terms of interviewees, would there be anyone at the Oscars or at another event who you’d particularly like to interact with and play off of?
I love Eddie Redmayne as an actor. I think he’s incredible. I’d probably be a little starstruck, but I think doing something like that would be really fun!
Switching to a totally different subject, your St. Bernard’s name is Dorothy. I have to ask – how did you come up with that name?
She’s a rescue dog, and her name was Dory when we got her. She has an underbite and she’s like 130 pounds, so she’s already a little bit goofy, and we wanted to give her a very ingenue name that still sounded similar to Dory but made her a little bit more feminine and sophisticated!
Animals are one of your passions, and you specifically support the NKLA no-kill shelter. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
I’ve always found it kind of weird that animals are put down if they’re not adopted after a certain amount of time at a shelter, which is a place that’s supposed to be a sanctuary and a safe space, whether for animals or people. That always felt wrong to me, so when I found out about NKLA, I was like, oh, of course, this is how everything should be! It’s so ridiculous that there are animals who are put down just because they’re not adopted in time. NKLA works with spaying and neutering and that sort of thing in hopes that there will be no more kill shelters.
Getting back to Maddy & Chase, can you give us an idea of what to expect as the show kicks off?
We shot a few episodes in the past couple of weeks of us exploring the offices at Radio Disney and trying to find our place, and we shot a video with someone else who works at Radio Disney. We did one skit where we try to form a barbershop quartet, and we find a third person but we can’t quite find a fourth person, so it’s a little bit of a mess! And then we’ll also be hosting Radio Disney’s morning show over the summer – it’ll be called Maddy & Chase’s Summer Break.
We’d like to thank Madeleine Coghlan for taking the time to chat with us! Keep up with the latest on Maddy & Chase via the show’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, and don’t forget to follow Madeleine Coghlan’s personal Instagram as well!
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