Interview: Allison Paranka And Maddie Scanlan of THE MAIDS at Mad Cat Theatre

Austin’s newest theatre company, Mad Cat Theatre, debuts with Jean Genet’s The Maids, a dark and provocative work of Absurdist theatre that explores class, power, identity, and role-playing.

The play follows sisters Claire and Solange, two maids who, while their wealthy employer is away, act out elaborate rituals in which they take turns playing Madame. What begins as fantasy and an outlet for their resentment grows increasingly dangerous as the line between performance and reality blurs.

Mad Cat was founded by actors and theatre-makers Maddie Scanlan and Allison Paranka, who met while working on The Filigree Theatre’s Suddenly Last Summer in 2024. A shared love of literature soon led to conversations about theatre and the kind of work they wanted to see on stage.

The Maids is a strong start for this young company and gives us a sneak peek at the potential these two women bring to the Austin stage as theatre-makers. We’ve seen them as actors; now we get to see what they can do wearing another hat.

Maddie Scanlan is an actor, producer, director, and filmmaker whose recent Austin stage credits include The Game’s Afoot, The Last Match, and Suddenly Last Summer.
Allison Paranka is an actor and educator whose credits include Macbeth in the Dark, Summer and Smoke, Titus Andronicus, and Insomnia Cafe.

BroadwayWorld spoke with Scanlan and Paranka about launching Mad Cat Theatre, choosing The Maids for their first production, collaborating with Dirty Gold Theatre, and what comes next.

BWW: What was the driving force behind launching Mad Cat Theatre, and what unique artistic voice do you hope to bring to the Austin community?

Allison and Maddie: We met through The Filigree Theatre’s production of Suddenly Last Summer in 2024 and immediately bonded over our shared love of the author, Daphne du Maurier. As we got to know each other, we quickly realized our shared love of literature was far from the only thing we had in common, especially when it came to theatre. As we started going to see local theatre productions together, we realized we shared many ideas and instincts about what we wanted to see on stage. Eventually, we thought: why not create some of it ourselves?
Around the same time, we had been discussing a collaboration with Maggie Scanlan (Maddie’s mom), an actor and director from the Twin Cities, and considered producing the work under Dirty Gold Theatre. But the more we talked, the more we thought: why not start a company of our own? And that’s how Mad Cat Theatre began.
We are committed to producing high-quality, thoughtfully staged, edgy, and accessible productions. We are interested in texts that offer abundance in detail and possibility. Works whose breadth and depth allow for a rich rehearsal process and provide for a thought-provoking and satisfying final product for the audience. We believe that engaging in challenging and rewarding interpretative work is more important now than ever.

BWW: Launching a company through a co-production with another collective is a unique strategy. How did the partnership with Dirty Gold come about?

Allison and Maddie: We have been honored to be friends and collaborators with the team behind Dirty Gold since their first full production (Venus in Fur, 2024) and have long found inspiration in their approach to playfulness, community, and mindfulness. We enjoy the provocative and unique projects they produce.
We were eager to get something off the ground this summer but didn’t quite have all the hard details in order. The Dirty Gold team stepped in and helped us make that dream a reality with their enthusiasm and professional acumen. They also let us use their cozy space (Smelt House), which perfectly transformed into Madame’s boudoir.

BWW: What were the main challenges you overcame while launching a brand-new theatre company in Austin?

Allison and Maddie: We were lucky enough to have several artistic directors to lean on while launching Mad Cat: Roy Lazorwitz and Rebecca Greaves of Dirty Gold Theatre, Elizabeth Newman of The Filigree Theatre, and Maggie Scanlan of Nightpath Theatre Company, all of whom were incredibly generous in their advice and willingness to support us.
We are also lucky that Austin has such a welcoming artistic community full of theatre-makers who genuinely cheer each other on. As a community of 80+ theatres, it is a gift that everyone is so enthusiastic about supporting each other, from lending props and costumes, to attending each other’s shows, to including Wednesday Industry Nights in run schedules to accommodate conflicting show dates. We couldn’t have asked for a warmer welcome from the community.

BWW: What was the deeper thought behind choosing The Maids as Mad Cat’s first production?

Allison and Maddie: When brainstorming ideas for our first show, we were looking for something a little edgy from the classical canon. We tossed around titles such as Sartre’s No Exit and Camus’ Caligula. We wanted something that had stood the test of time but that, like all true classics, was open to a multiplicity of interpretations and therefore available for us to put our own stamp on.
The complexity and force of Genet’s language, combined with the context of Absurdist theatre and the fact that we were looking for a play with at least three women (something you would think is a low bar, but it is not), made The Maids a perfect fit.

BWW: Maddie, what was it like balancing the roles of producer and actor for this inaugural show?

Maddie: Wearing both producer and actor hats was intense. It was a first for both of us! We are both professional email-senders by day; however, that part of the production came fairly naturally to us. The only difficult part was juggling rehearsal time, when we needed to do character work and talk about marketing strategies and had to figure out which to prioritize!

BWW: Allison, having worked with Dirty Gold on Insomnia Cafe just a couple of months ago, how did that experience bridge the gap into building Mad Cat?

Allison: Finding collaborators you trust and who bring you delight is essential for theatre artists, since we cannot achieve our art by ourselves! We are all trying to create meaningful, personal, vital projects, and working with people who celebrate what you bring to the room and make you excited to come to rehearsal every day is key.
I experienced this in spades during Roy’s rehearsal process for Insomnia Cafe, so it was a no-brainer that we would want Dirty Gold on our team as we started work on our first production. It gave us a huge confidence boost to have them behind us.

BWW: What is next on the horizon for Mad Cat Theatre?

Allison and Maddie: We want the company to be a place not only for making theatre, but for sharing the process of making it and upholding the rigor and specificity that we believe makes for enlivening theatre.
In 2025, Maggie Scanlan led an acting workshop under Dirty Gold Theatre centered around the acting process she uses in her own work. We’d love to build on that by creating opportunities for local artists and educators to share their own practices and perspectives through workshops hosted by Mad Cat.
We are also committed to maintaining a low barrier to entry for our workshops and performances, making them as financially and socially accessible as possible. As for what’s next on stage, we’re currently looking toward Chekhov, Pinter, and Shakespeare, so there’s plenty more to come!

THE MAIDS
Written by Jean Genet
Translated by Bernard Frenchtman
Directed by Maggie Scanlan
Starring Allison Paranka as Claire, Maddie Scanlan as Solange, and Angelina Castillo as Madame.

Duration: 75 minutes, no intermission

Now playing through August 16th, 2026
Wednesdays-Sundays at 8:30 PM

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