We were lucky to catch up with Brandon Kazen-Maddox recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brandon, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My resilience definitely comes from the women in my family. My mother, who is a Child of Deaf Adults, or CODA, has taught me the most about how to uphold myself as a person of integrity, with values and ethics that I live by, and to keep my heart both open and guarded at the same time. My Grandma, who is white and Deaf, taught me to question the rules of society, and to challenge those that are unjust. My Nana, who is a Black woman from the Bronx, taught me how to love fiercely and forgive quickly, but to never forget how a person has made me feel. Every member of my family, both chosen and blood-related, has had a lasting impact in how I perceive and navigate this world, and I am grateful for every moment I get to spend with each of them.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Brandon Kazen-Maddox is a Grandchild of Deaf Adults (GODA) and third-generation native signer of American Sign Language (ASL) who identifies as a Non-Binary, Black Indigenous Person of Color and a member of the LGBTQAI+ community. Brandon is an ASL Artist, choreographer, director, dancer, actor, and activist.acASL interpreter.
Brandon creates work with artists of all backgrounds and abilities, including Deaf, DeafBlind, Blind and members of the Disability community. Brandon focuses on highlighting and empowering BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ artists by building bridges of collaboration and community.
In May 2019, Brandon graduated from New York University’s Tisch School
of the Arts with an MFA in Dance and New Technology.
In the summer of 2020, Brandon co-founded Up Until Now Collective, an
arts and media company that focuses on developing and producing
radically inclusive interdisciplinary work. Up Until Now projects include
SOUL(SIGNS): An ASL Playlist (a series of 5 ASL music videos for Broadstream Media, featuring iconic songs by Black women; featured
in The New York Times, on ABC World News, and as the “Midnight
Moment” in Times Square, appearing on 80+ screens every night at
midnight in July, 2021); SOUL(SIGNS): OPERA, a series of Opera ASL
videos commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera, and Pride video campaigns
for Amazon Music and Global Citizen.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Brandon served as the lead consultant for
providing ASL Services at The Shed, Little Island, Lincoln Center and the
Park Avenue Armory, where they brought Deaf Directors of ASL into
the inner workings of arts organizations and integrated both the Deaf
perspective and Deaf performers onstage, on camera and behind the
scenes.
Brandon’s work as an interpreter and activist has been profiled on CNN
and they have appeared as a co-star on “The Good Fight” (Paramount +)
and “High Maintenance” (HBO).
Brandon was also a featured storyteller on the 100th episode of “Stories From The Stage” (PBS) and they were chosen as one of Gucci and Time For Change’s “22 for ‘22: Visions For a Feminist Future.” Brandon is the recipient of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) National Dance Production Grant and an awardee of the 2022 cycle of the Creative Capital Award.
In the summer of 2023, Brandon was honored by RISE Theater Collective, founded by The Miranda Family Foundation, as one of 16 individuals who make significant contributions to the Arts and Theater in New York City.
Brandon’s story has been featured on Disney/ABC’s On the Red Carpet: Storyteller’s Spotlight and on PBS: Brief But Spectacular. Brandon is the recipient of the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation grant funded by New York Foundation for the Arts, which has provided the opportunity for them to develop and hone their one-person show, (FREEDOM): An Interactive, Multimedia, ASL Dance Theater Community Project.
Find more about Brandon Kazen-Maddox at: www.brandonkazenmaddox.com, www.upuntilnowcollective.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The first quality that comes to mind for me is thoroughness: To always complete a task to the utmost possible and beyond. Originally, this quality comes from my mom, and her persistent guidance in reminding me to “never do anything halfway.” I have ingrained this motto into my own practice. For me, being thorough extends beyond physical tasks and makes its way into work assignments, academia, production projects in the fields of entertainment, and even dance technique and training. Always do everything to the fullest of your ability with your full heart.
Find a mentor. If you have an interest in something, find the person or people who do that thing THE BEST and ask to learn from them. You’ll learn more from someone who has taken the journey than by trying to reinvent the wheel entirely.
Collaborate. Make yourself uncomfortable. Find people who have a completely different walk of life than you and learn what you have in common. It’s easier to stay comfortable in a circle of people that think similarly to you, so be a learner and learn how our differences can bring us together.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
As an inspirational, multimedia, ASL storyteller, a dancer, an acrobat and a theater-maker, I am always looking for organizations who are looking to be inspired by unique stories. Having spent the last 10 years as a professional ASL interpreter, I devoted my life to facilitating communication between the Deaf and hearing worlds, but was not able to fully express my own voice, until now. If you are looking for a piece of theatre that includes live instruments, holistic theater, dance, aerial arts, acrobatics, music videos and American Sign Language, please, feel free to get ahold of me! You can find me on Instagram @bkazenmaddox and I’ll be happy to connect with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.upuntilnowcollective.com
- Instagram: bkazenmaddox
- Linkedin: Brandon Kazen-Maddox
- Twitter: bkazenmaddox
- Youtube: Brandon Kazen-Maddox
Image Credits
Brandon Kazen-Maddox signing “relationship” as part of an A.S.L. interpretation of the song “Midnight Train to Georgia.”Credit – Justin Kaneps for The New York Times Turquoise curtain, cream wool sweater: Rog and Bee’s Social Handle and Site URLs: Instagram: @rogxbee Website: https://rogbee.com Artistic Portrait of Brandon: Tracy Piper Body Paint Misunderstood: Christopher Elassad Brandon and Mervin in chairs for Midnight Train to Georgia: Marcus Shields Brandon in glittered (FREEDOM) outfit: Andy Hart
