Madoka

Madoka, or Madoka Kasahara, was born and raised in Sapporo, Japan. From childhood, she formally trained to play the koto, a traditional Japanese musical instrument. She has appeared in concerts in Japan and the United States. To pursue her acting career, Madoka moved to Los Angeles, where she studied with Howard Fine, Improvisation Technique for Acting, and others. She appeared in Pirates of Caribbean At The World's End. After doing several short films including Akira's Hip Hop Shop with James Kysoon Lee and Flowers and Weeds with Tanc Sade, Madoka had her first big role in the award-winning feature film The Red Machine, directed by Stephanie Argy and Alec Boehm. After having its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival and its international premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the movie has played successfully all over the United States and internationally, winning many awards. For a new media web series, she was cast as a character that the director/producer created based on what Madoka did in her audition. She also helped co-direct another episode of the series that featured characters speaking in Japanese. Having grown up with an older brother who used be a mogul ski player and who worked as a ski patroller in Sapporo, Madoka enjoys skiing and playing baseball and basketball. She is always thankful to her loving parents and brother, who allowed her to move to America by herself and who have been very supportive of the career choice she has made.