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Iowa City, Iowa 52245
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Meet Martin Andrews

Martin Andrews

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

Roles in RTSF 08:
Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors
Time/Storyteller in The Winter's Tale

How did you get involved in acting?
I came to acting later in my life, after teaching Latin and History in high school. While my wife was working on her MA one summer in Vermont, I audited an acting class: nothing has ever been the same since.

What was your first acting experience?
Well, all the world's a stage and you know, all men and women...wait, someone said that before, right? I guess the first defining acting experience came in that first acting class, when I performed a scene from Gingham Dog by Lanford Wilson in front of an invited audience. The scene depicted the final gasps of an interracial relationship. All the anger and hatred came out in that scene. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done at that point in my life.

What is your favorite role that you have played?
A few years ago I played Louis in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. I loved the journey of that character - and the challenge of finding the admirable qualities in him. I also had the opportunity to play Oedipus. Each night that I put the mask on, I felt connected along a continuum of actors stretching back two thousand years: that was a pretty cool feeling.

What is your favorite play?
Wow. Not an easy question. For me theatre is about experience and memory. I feel like the first memory of theatre I have is watching an actor scaling a ladder in the production of The Master Builder - it's an image burned into my mind. I have many others too numerous to list.

Who is your favorite Shakespeare character?
I remember seeing Richard III up at Stratford in Canada. He seduced everyone on stage and in the audience!

Why does performing Shakespeare interest you?
Shakespeare demands that you enter into a relationship with the work. I'm beginning to understand more and more that you can't have a fling with Shakespeare, no one night stands. You must dedicate yourself to the work, probably for your whole life, in order to be the actor that the work requires.

Who are your heroes?
My heroes are the teachers that have inspired me. Also, last summer I witnesses the bith of my daughter, the most heroic act I have ever seen. If I could bring half of that bravery to my work, I could take on any challenge.


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