The Happiest Medium

A Day In The Life … “The Family Shakespeare” By The Numbers

by Karen Tortora-Lee on April 4, 2011

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If you’ve never directed a show you probably don’t have any idea how many things need to be juggled, handled, addressed, discussed, solved, finessed, smoothed out, put in order  … it boggles the mind.   I asked my beloved friend Antonio Minino to tell me what a random day is like for him as he directs David Stallings’ The Family Shakespeare for MT Works.  I need a nap just reading his answers!

The Family Shakespeare is a magical and dark fictional look into the dangers and consequences of caging innocence. It is inspired by the true story of the Bowdler family and delves into the psyche of a family who thinks it has the right to cross out and modify words with the supposed aim to protect youth and purity.

As the director of this ambitious tale Antonio is busy from (early) morning till night (or … would that be even earlier morning?).  Here is a breakdown of how he spent his Saturday …

UP AND AT ‘EM

When did you wake up?
Around 8am today.

The amount of times you hit the snooze button
I actually don’t hit the snooze button, I just check my phone (which is my alarm clock) every 2 minutes to see how many minutes I can get away with – I should probably start embracing the snooze.

The cups of coffee you need to wake up
Two cups will do it!  Normally I brew it at home but with rehearsals I’ve been buying it at the closest deli or Starbucks to wherever we are rehearsing that day.

The time you REALLY feel awake
Lately around 11am - I’m normally a good morning person, when I hit the gym I like doing it at 6am – last time that routine happened it was 1985… no just kidding, it was a couple of months ago. The show has changed all my routines and added back the 10 pounds I had successfully lost.

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Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Diánna Martin

by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 27, 2011

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These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Diánna Martin.

Of course you’ve heard of Diánna Martin – she’s one of our contributors!  But her connection to The Happiest Medium started in a much different place … back with The Oath: I was a reviewer for Neighborbee, and I was left emotionally drained by her performance as Deck.  I later met her socially at a few of the Off Off Broadway industry events before I was lucky enough to snag her as one of our writers here.

Now she is a dear friend, but in terms of the acting community she is so much more … She is the name and the face behind Martin Acting Studios – a legacy handed down from her father, Ernie Martin.  Today, we celebrate Diánna the actress, and the acting coach who is carrying on the tradition she was born into.  Here is her story.

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Posted in Karen's Interviews and Off-Off-Broadway and Theatre and Women's History Month .


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