STAGE & SCREEN

Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox. Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence. Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. If the stars keep aligning, Winnetka natives Maddie McCormick and Natalie Pelletier will join this select club of Hollywood BFFs.

The two best friends and Los Angeles-based actors trace their friendship and shared passion for theatre to the storied Children’s Theatre of Winnetka (CTW).

McCormick recalls, “My first CTW production was Good News. They posted the cast list outside Matz Hall, and I remember sprinting to read it and literally jumping up and down when I saw my name listed as ‘Cheerleader.’”

“This is how I met Natalie; we were both cheerleaders in Good News. Cut to 20 years of friendship later and she was the maid of honor in my wedding last year … and yes, she did sing during her speech,” laughs McCormick. “I was the ‘Minnie Fay’ to Natalie’s ‘Dolly’ in Hello Dolly our eighth-grade year, and not much has changed in L.A.”

Following college graduation—McCormick from UCLA; Pelletier from UNC at Chapel Hill—they, like so many aspiring actors, moved to Los Angeles and were roommates. “Our first apartment was right off of the famous Robertson Boulevard, literally right behind the Ivy restaurant. We both waited tables at Dominick’s, and we were so broke that when we took our friend out to dinner for her birthday; both of our cards were declined after we tried to split the bill,” says McCormick.

Their strong friendship buoyed both women during the early days of their careers. “When we were fresh on the scene, we did weekly coffee meetings sharing our ‘wins of the week’ (nothing was too big or too small), tasks to accomplish before our next coffee, and a review of our long-term goals. We held each other accountable and pushed each other to keep after it even when we heard a lot of nos,” McCormick reflects.

“My first big role out of college was as a series regular in an MTV pilot directed by Zach Braff called Self Promotion. I was in a Trader Joe’s with Natalie when I got the call and both of us started jumping up and down in the checkout line. I’m pretty sure people thought we were crazy,” McCormick shares.

Recently, you might have seen McCormick in HBO’s Shameless or the mini-series Little Fires Everywhere with Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. As for Pelletier, she has appeared in four episodes as a casting assistant in the final season of Mad Men and starred in Geo-Disaster, an action sci-fi movie directed by Thunder Levin, the writer of the Sharknado films. Her other credits include roles on the talk show A Little Late with Lilly Singh and the mystery/thriller A Dark Place. When Pelletier isn’t filming, she can be found modeling, working as a sommelier, or hosting her successful podcasts—Family Meal, which can be found on Apple, and SipSip.mp3, which can be found on Spotify.

But it all started for them, and so many others, at the Children’s Theatre of Winnetka. Barbara Weldon and Lu Sunkel spearheaded the launch of the theatre with Winnetka legend Tom Fritts, then the executive director of the Winnetka Community House. The trio, along with a volunteer board of directors, executed the organization’s mission—to teach and involve students in all aspects of theatre production—through two shows each year.

The Theatre opened in 1974 with Charle Dickens’s A Christmas Carol debuting in 1975. In almost 50 years since, productions have ranged from classics—Rumpelstiltskin, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe —to adaptations of Broadway shows Bye Bye Birdie, The Music Man, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Oklahoma.

Thousands of young thespians have taken the stage at Winnetka Community House, some of whom, like McCormick and Pelletier, have pursued careers in theatre, dance, music, vocal performance, television, and cinema (think Saturday Night Live’s Beck Bennett, Broadway star Betsy Morgan, playwright Sarah Ruhl, singer Elizabeth Lyons, and violinist Emelia Suljic).

“CTW gives children a sense of belonging, being part of a team, acceptance, responsibility, hard work, and most of all, joy—so important to children at this age. That is why I am still involved long after my child moved on,” says CTW board member Connie Yonan.

Both Pelletier and McCormick share advice for future L.A. thespians: “Surround yourself with an amazing group of people who inspire you. This career has many ups and downs, and having a support system in place makes the worst times bearable and the best times that much sweeter. Champion your wins, however ‘little’ you think they are, and do the same for your friends. And know that you can follow many paths in life! Do the inner work (The Artist’s Way is a beautiful place to start for anyone, not just actors) and show up prepared, but also prepare to have a scene go in a completely different direction. Never dim your sparkle, listen deeply, and be kind to everyone,” says Pelletier.

According to McCormick, “My biggest piece of advice is to trust your gut. Listen to those little intuition pings—they’ve never steered me wrong.”

Both Pelletier and McCormick have a bright path ahead. “A feature-length romantic comedy I co-wrote with my friend Katherine Hughes is being shopped around. It’s about a woman becoming a sommelier and is based on a 2019 trip I took to Italy. I’m looking forward to being behind the camera and shining a light on all the fabulous women breaking barriers in the wine space,” shares Pelletier.

As for McCormick, “Last year, I spent three months in Atlanta shooting the lead of a series for Tosca Musk’s (Elon’s sister) platform Passionflix. The series is based on a New York Times bestselling book series called The Secret Life of Amy Bensen. They’re re-releasing the book series with my face on the cover, which is really exciting.”

“I’m also currently in pre-production to direct a short film with the cinematographer of the series. Our industry desperately needs more female directors/filmmakers and it’s something I’ve always been interested in pursuing, especially after receiving my film minor from UCLA,” adds McCormick.

As Pelletier and McCormick continue to build their careers, their admirers in Winnetka, the North Shore, and beyond will be celebrating their successes with the loudest applause coming from their CTW fans.