Get Messy with Maddie

Get Messy is the mindset podcast for creatives who want sustainable, successful careers — without losing their sanity. Hosted by Maddie McGuire, a performer of 10+ years and currently in grad school to become a therapist, each episode goes deep on the mental side of the creative grind: core beliefs, mindset blocks, facing obstacles, making a living as a creative, chasing dreams, and what it takes to stay in the game.

Get Messy with Maddie is a education podcast hosted by Maddie McGuire, with 89 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Maddie McGuire hosts Get Messy with Maddie, a education show with 89 episodes published.

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  Get Messy with Maddie

  88. Not All Feedback Is Good Feedback | Ruchi Loomba on Filmmaking, Motherhood, and Owning Your Own Path

  Oct 1, 202645 min

  Welcome to The Grind — a new series here on Get Messy. Nobody tells you what the middle looks like: the slow seasons, the unglamorous work, and the years it actually takes to build something that lasts. This series is for that middle, told by the people who are actually living it. Ruchi Loomba is an actor, writer, producer, and director based in Seattle, and this conversation covers a lot of ground: juggling acting with another full-time career in healthcare, pursuing outside representation in markets like Chicago, and the two short films she's written, produced, and self-funded — including one deeply personal story about mental illness in the South Asian community. She also opens up about becoming a new mom just 11 weeks before this conversation, and what it's looked like to figure out how to make space for creativity in a completely new season of life. We get into the damaging "this has to be your Plan A" rhetoric so many actors are raised on, why most actors don't make most of their money from acting (and why that's nothing to be ashamed of), learning to discern good feedback from bad, and the power of community — including the serendipitous referral that landed her outside representation in Chicago. Ruchi also shares what it's been like to navigate this industry as a person of color, and how that's shaped the kind of work she's chosen to create herself. This episode is for anyone balancing a creative career with another job, another identity, or a completely new season of life, and wondering if that makes them any less of an artist. Key Topics Discussed: Balancing Acting with a Full-Time Career in Healthcare Pursuing Outside Representation and the Realities of Being a "Local Hire" Why "This Has to Be Your Plan A" Is Damaging, Limiting Advice Learning to Discern Good Feedback from Bad Writing, Producing, and Crowdfunding Her First Short Film Stepping Back from Acting to Direct Her Second Film Navigating the Industry as a Person of Color Becoming a New Mom and Making Space for Creativity The Power of Community and Serendipitous Connections ✨ Connect with Ruchi Loomba ✨ Instagram: @ruchiloomba Website: ruchiloomba.com ✨ Connect with Maddie ✨ Explore Maddie's Website | @messywithmaddie

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  Get Messy with Maddie

  87. Your Calling Will Always Find You: On Purpose, Timing, and Finally Saying Yes

  Sep 24, 202614 min

  I got nominated to give a speech in front of 150 people at my grad school residency, and what came out of that week — the stories I heard, the things I haven't been able to stop thinking about since — is something I knew I had to bring here. In this episode, I share what unfolded during my grad school's yearly residency, including getting nominated as my cohort's group leader and having to give a speech in front of the entire program. I get into the three biggest things that came out of that week: why your purpose and your calling will always find you on the right timeline, why the people in your inner circle are keys that unlock the next door you're meant to walk through, and why zooming in on the next step (instead of the whole mountain) is often the only antidote to future tripping. I also share my own winding path to grad school — including a conversation with a past guest, Sasha Feldman, that planted the seed years ago, and a strange, chills-inducing moment involving Tim Tebow's Instagram bio that pushed me to finally act on it. This one's for anyone who feels like their calling has been trying to get their attention for a while now. In This Episode: Getting nominated as group leader and giving a speech to 150 people at grad school residency My own winding path to grad school, including the conversation that planted the seed The Tim Tebow story that gave me chills and pushed me to finally commit "Your purpose and your calling will always find you on the right timeline" Why the people in your inner circle are keys that unlock your next door Why clarity often comes from moving forward together, not figuring it out alone Future tripping, and why the antidote is zooming in, not out The bravery of saying yes to something that scares you RESOURCES: Get Messy episode with Sasha Feldman ✨ Connect with Maddie ✨ Schedule a Call with Maddie | Explore Maddie’s Website @maddiemcguirecoaching | @maddiemcguire4

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  Get Messy with Maddie

  Climbing Cringe Mountain | Corey Clifford on Creating Your Own Work, Coaching, and Community

  Sep 17, 202642 min

  Corey Clifford is a SAG-AFTRA actor, writer, director, and acting coach based in LA, and this conversation is a masterclass in staying in the game for the long haul — with humor, humility, and a whole lot of reality TV references along the way. We get into what it actually takes to balance the craft and the business side of acting, why the old "ladder" of co-star to guest star to series regular doesn't really exist anymore, and why creating your own work has become less optional and more essential. Corey opens up about becoming a mom nearly two years ago and figuring out what it means to stay an artist while raising a toddler, the terrifying-but-necessary decision to end a manager relationship that wasn't serving her, and the years-long journey of writing a feature film with her husband that they're now determined to actually get made. We also talk about coaching actors through self-doubt regardless of how much they've booked, the "actor's rejection muscle," and why climbing cringe mountain — reaching out, self-promoting, putting yourself out there — is nonnegotiable in this version of the industry. This episode is funny, honest, and full of real, practical wisdom for anyone building a long-term creative career in an industry that keeps rewriting its own rules. Key Topics Discussed: Balancing the Craft and the Business Side of Acting Why the Old "Ladder" of Career Progression No Longer Exists Creating Your Own Work as a Non-Negotiable Career Strategy Becoming a Mom and Staying an Artist at the Same Time Ending a Manager Relationship and Learning to Advocate for Herself Coaching Actors Through Self-Doubt at Every Level Climbing Cringe Mountain: Self-Promotion, Reaching Out, and the Actor's Rejection Muscle Writing and Pursuing Funding for a Feature Film with Her Husband The Importance of Community and Accountability Groups ✨Connect with Corey✨ Corey’s Instagram Corey’s Website Corey’s Podcast: Cinema Possessed ✨ Connect with Maddie ✨ Schedule a Call with Maddie | Explore Maddie’s Website @maddiemcguirecoaching | @maddiemcguire4

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  Get Messy with Maddie

  Authenticity Isn't Fixed | It's a Practice, Not a Personality Trait

  Sep 7, 202616 min

  Authenticity has become such a buzzword that some people are starting to reject it entirely — but what if we've been thinking about it all wrong? In this episode, I'm reframing authenticity as something that isn't a fixed destination you arrive at, but something that shifts depending on the day, the season, and the version of you that showed up this morning. I revisit something my past guest Sasha Feldman (actor-turned-therapist) said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about: that authenticity isn't a general idea, because he's constantly different — sometimes confident, sometimes not. I get real about how I'm actually feeling on the day I'm recording this (not great, if I'm honest), and why showing up in that state is just as authentic as the confident, put-together version of me from last week. I also share a reframe my therapist gave me about anxiety — how a part of me I've resented has actually been helping me all along — and why staying near yourself, even the messy or scared parts, matters more than performing a fixed identity. This one's for anyone who's tired of performing a version of themselves that doesn't leave room for the full range of who they actually are. In This Episode: Why authenticity isn't a fixed destination — it shifts day by day A reframe from Sasha Feldman: "I can't be authentic as a general idea because I'm constantly different" Getting honest about how I'm actually feeling today, and why that counts as authentic too A therapy reframe on anxiety — how a part of me I resented has actually been helping me Staying near yourself instead of abandoning yourself when things aren't going perfectly Why vulnerability, contradiction, and mess are the material for creative work, not liabilities A conversation with Amy Austin on unraveling yourself from what other people expect Authenticity as a practice of telling the truth about where you are right now, not a state you achieve RESOURCES: Get Messy episode with Sasha Feldman My mindset coach, Amy Austin ✨Connect with Maddie✨ ⁠Explore Maddie's Website⁠ | ⁠@messywithmaddie

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  Get Messy with Maddie

  Your Insecurities Are Boring | Tatiana Pavela on Fear, Failure, and 20 Years in the Industry

  Sep 3, 202648 min

  Welcome to The Grind — a new series here on Get Messy. Nobody tells you what the middle looks like: the slow seasons, the unglamorous work, and the years it actually takes to build something that lasts. This series is for that middle, told by the people who are actually living it. Tatiana Pavela has been in the industry for two decades — from experimental theater in New York, to grad school in Seattle, to finding her creative home in Chicago's storefront theater scene. In this episode, she opens up about the darkest, most burnt-out period of her career (a deep depression that forced her into real mindset work out of necessity), and the profound reset that came out of COVID: learning to build space into her life instead of constantly pushing. We get into what it actually means to "do it" in this industry, why the fearless artist is a myth, and how Tatiana has learned to hold fear as a sign of doing meaningful work rather than something to avoid. She shares the wild, years-long journey of developing and touring her solo show Brandy Alexander — from a grant, to a double-header show in Minneapolis, to an invitation from Juilliard, to a full run in Edinburgh that was, in her words, one of the hardest and proudest things she's ever done. We also talk about the stigma around staying non-union, redefining success beyond bookings, and why she's stopped believing in goals altogether. This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like the industry's "shoulds" were pulling them further away from what they actually want. Key Topics Discussed: Two Decades in the Industry: New York, Seattle, and Finding Home in Chicago Theater Redefining What It Means to "Do It" as an Artist Burnout, Depression, and the Mindset Work Born Out of Necessity How COVID Forced a Profound Reset and the Gift of Space The Stigma Around Staying Non-Union, and Why Talent Isn't the Distinction The Fearless Artist Is a Myth: Learning to Use Fear as a Signal, Not a Stop Sign Creating Her Own Work: The Years-Long Journey of Brandy Alexander Success and Failure Existing in the Same Moment Letting Go of Goals and Making Room for What Actually Feels Aligned ✨ Connect with Tatiana Pavela ✨ Instagram: @tatianapavella Website: https://www.tatianapavela.com/ ✨ Connect with Maddie ✨ Explore Maddie's Website | @messywithmaddie

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