May - July 2012: World Premiere of I LOVED, I LOST, I MADE SPAGHETTI at Harford TheaterWorks.
April 2012: She performed as Anna Magnani in MAMMA ROMA in two glorious evenings at The Cherry Lane Studio Theater. This was produced by the Cherry Lane Mentor Project.
Spring 2012: Antoinette just returned from playing Annabelle in the critically acclaimed 2-person comedy, YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP! tour which hit 5 cities in 5 1/2 months. The smart and screamingly funny comedy is written by real-life married couple, Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn.
Summer of 2011: She played Mrs. Alving in GHOSTS in the Secret Garden of the Merchant's House Museum.
Spring of 2011 saw her "sparkling" performance as Officer Randy Osteen in SUPERIOR DONUTS at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, directed by Artistic Director, Ted Pappas with "perfection." The show was a hit with Pittsburgh audiences and critics alike.
In February 2011, she played Mother Augustina with "beauty, delicacy and intelligence" in the world premiere of A WORLD APART at The Flea Theater. The play was written by Susan Mosakowski and directed Jean Randich.
2010: She was quite busy this past fall with readings and workshops of new plays (and new translations): Goldor and Mythyka by Lynn Rosen directed by Shana Gold @ New Georges, The Germ Project. Dog and Wolf Meets The Community by Catherine Filloux, directed by Jean Randich @ various locations throughout NYC. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, directed and adapted by Eric Krebs @ Baruch College and Rutgers College. Dividing Ashes by Chiori Miyagawa, directed by Erica Gould @ New Dramatists. Will Sacrifice by Julie McKee, directed by Jean Randich @ EST's Octoberfest. We Used To Be Fun by Carole Real, directed by Giovanna Sardelli @ EST's Octoberfest. A Thing of Beauty by Sherry Kramer, directed by Jean Randich @ Hedgebrook Women's Playwright Festival. Plus, she made two short films: Sophie Gets A Head (Adrian Grenier, Exec Prod) playing Ellie Banes (Lead), directed by Damien Paris/Reckless Productions, and the short, Lily of the Feast, playing Ann (Lead) directed by Federico Castelluccio.
2010: Antoinette participated in the Dorset Theatre Festival in the "thrilling production" (Boston Globe) of THE PAVILION, directed by Giovanna Sardelli.
2010: she played Mrs. Lipari in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE on Broadway, opposite Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson.
2009: her critically-acclaimed one-woman show, HOW TO BE A GOOD ITALIAN DAUGHTER (In Spite of Myself) directed by Ted Sod, had sold out audiences at The Cherry Lane Theatre in NYC.
Antoinette's most recent SAG feature, The David Dance is in post-production and will be released in 2012. She was Victoria Woodhull in VICTORIA AND FREDERICK FOR PRESIDENT in the NY Fringe Festival and in THE EUROPEANS at Atlantic Theatre Stage 2 in which she played a shiny Empress. Prior to that, she played Deborah Harford opposite Daniel J. Travanti and Ellen Crawford in Friendly Fire's A TOUCH OF THE POET which was in the Wall Street Journal's Best of 2008 theater review; Terry Teachout included this production as one of three revivals that warranted his praise in 2008.
In the fall of 2008, she performed as "Ariadne" in the "impeccably acted" (NY Times) HEARTBREAK HOUSE at Two River Theatre Co. and was thrilled to be in the world premiere of MAX & THE TRUFFLE PIG, directed by Erica Gould, one of the elite selections of the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) in which she played La Comtesse and various other roles.
Earlier in 2008, she performed as "Diane" in an extended run of THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED directed by Portland Center Stage's Artistic Director, Chris Coleman. Favorite reviews describe her performance "as a smart-ass Mephistopheles in a white pantsuit" and "the heart and empty soul of the play."
She has been seen at The Public Theatre in THE BOTTLE HOUSE, a new piece adapted from Sam Shepard's poetry and short stories, at Playwright's Horizons for a reading of Michael Watson's new play, SAFE AND SOUND with a cast led by Karen Ziemba and at The Culture Project, NYTW, EST, the Abingdon Theatre, the Lark Theatre and many others for workshops and readings of many new plays including Shirley Laura's ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT, Richard Vetere's LADY MACBETH's LOVER, and Ted Sod's THE LOST ART OF CONVERSATION. She also joined Denis O'Hare, Bebe Neuwirth, Bobby Cannavale and others for The Fire Department's AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ directed by Erica Gould at 45 Bleecker. Antoinette created the role of Rachel in Richard Vetere's latest play, THREE SISTERS FROM QUEENS which has been workshopped as part of the NY Playwright's Lab festival led by Israel Horowitz at The Cherry Lane Theatre and more recently at NJ Rep. Company.
Antoinette can be seen opposite Steve Buscemi in Tom DiCillo's latest film, DELIRIOUS which won Best Director in the San Sebastian Film Festival. The film is an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival. If you pay close attention, you can also hear Antoinette singing in the dance club scene between the two young leads.
In 2007, she began "Storytime with Antoinette" - evenings in which she shares stories from her recent spiritual and physical travels over an eventful period in her life, beginning with unexpected surgery which leads her to decide to go to Ethiopia to work with HIV+ orphans then to Florence and back to NYC where she came home to unexpected visitors.
Most outrageously fun gigs: Debuting at Carnegie Hall as the Italian Narrator in a Puccini celebration, acting opposite Steve Buscemi in Tom DiCillo's DELIRIOUS, being directed by the legendary Kathleen Turner in a reading of CRIMES OF THE HEART at the Williamstown Theater Festival, performing a slew of characters in the critically-acclaimed STRING OF PEARLS at Primary Stages opposite Ellen McLaughlin, Mary Testa and Sharon Washington and playing opposite Michael Rispoli and Ralph Macchio in the much-loved MAGIC HANDS FREDDY.
Antoinette has worked extensively with Andre Gregory in an invitation-only Chekhov/Growtowski project, Philippe Gaulier, Christopher Bayes, Jim Calder and members of Theatre de Complicite on different styles of physical theatre. She received her MFA from NYU's Graduate Acting Program, has studied at the Moscow Art Theatre. She has taught improvisation, theatre games and various workshops at NYU's Grad Acting Program and The Actor's Center.
Antoinette is also preparing for her next project: an ensemble piece called VILLAGE STORIES based on her birthtown, a small province of Salerno, Italy.
She is a recipient of a Fox Fellowship and most recently, awarded an Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant.
She is a member of Actor's Equity, SAG and AFTRA.
Antoinette co-directed and co-created a theatrical piece with 40 HIV+ orphans, ranging in age from four to fourteen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia through Dr. Jane Aronson's Worldwide Orphans Foundation. The performance took place May of 2006 at The National Theatre of Ethiopia to a standing-room only crowd which included members of the Clinton Foundation. Antoinette and her creative colleagues (James Hallett, James Haven and Lisa Rothe) were sent by the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, founded by Dr. Jane Aronson, who is also known as the "Orphan Doctor". The experience was inspirational, life-changing and filled with a tremendous amount of love and generosity. If you are interested in hearing more about it, please sign up on Antoinette's mailing list and she will send you her journals of the experience.
Dr. Jane Aronson, who started the Worldwide Orphan Foundation believes that the children in WWO's many orphanages across the developing world need creative expression. The next step is to have an "artists in residence" program in which volunteers travel to these orphanages and teach the children how to express themselves creatively. For more information, and to learn more about Dr. Jane Aronson and her work, visit the Worldwide Orphan Foundation's website.
Antoinette was also an adjunct Professor at NYU's Graduate Acting Program for seven years. At NYU Grad, she taught Theatre Games and co-founded with James Calder, the advanced workshop, "Kinetics of Literature," which challenges actors to create theatre from great literature, movies and art without using anything more than their own bodies and voices. She co-founded NYU's Alumni Lab in which she and James Calder worked with NYU's Graduate Acting alumni, helping them to create and work on original material. Antoinette also co-taught and co-directed NYU undergraduate theatre majors in the basics of Commedia dell'Arte with Jim Calder at La Pietra (NYU) in Florence, Italy and undergrads at the New York Institute of Technology on "How to Direct Actors."
Antoinette has also taught various classes at J. Michael Miller's The Actor's Center where she was a Teaching Fellow. Her independent Improvisation workshops include teaching at Chamber Music America's 2002 national conference, teaching master classes to high school students from across the country and teaching senior citizens as a visiting artist at SAGE in Astoria, Queens. Antoinette's one-on-one coaching includes working with actors in the Broadway production of ENCHANTED APRIL on their use of the Italian language, and also with actors getting prepared to audition for graduate programs and professional employment.
Antoinette is a Drama League Directing Fellow and assisted Jerry Zaks on the production of THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER.
