Every Day Is a Story All Its Own: Origins and Book
In 2013, the theatre company I cofounded in 2004, New Mystics, went through a name change and became Seven Stories Theatre Company.
That was when I chose the tagline "Every Day Is a Story All Its Own," which has become the core principle of all of my storytelling work.
After more than thirty years as a teaching-artist and more than a decade of work on writing a book about what I had learned about Storytelling and the benefits of using a transdisciplinary approach (including actors understanding the work of the writer and director, and so on) in 2024 Dimensionfold Publishing published this book:
It has been endorsed by a number of industry professionals and was a new release bestseller in several categories on Amazon.
Praise for Every Day
Is a Story All Its Own
Throughout my award-winning career as a director and writer
in theater, television, and film I have built a reputation as an “actor’s
director.” Every Day Is a Story All Its Own honors and extends this practice by
giving actors, directors, and writers the practical tools they need to
understand the unique skills and viewpoints that each of their disciplines
brings to the creative space and to ensure that their collaborations are
respectful, supportive, energizing, and synergistic.
—Mary Madeiras,
3-Time Emmy-Winning Director/Writer/Producer
Every Day Is a Story All Its Own is both a practical guide
to the fundamental aspects of Storytelling for professionals in the creative
arts and for people in everyday life, because it is through telling our stories
that we create Connection, Community, and Communion. I highly recommend
everyone read this inspiring book.
—Dea Shandera-Hunter,
film and TV producer, former Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing
for MGM Television.
An accomplished shaman of story, in his book Every Day Is a
Story All Its Own, writer/director Joey Madia leads you through a transcendent
journey through the creative space of symbol, experience, and thought, so you
can discover the deeper mysteries of storytelling for yourself.
—Director-Producer
Shadow Dragu-Mihai, International Independent Producers Guild
Every Day Is a Story All Its Own incorporates key principles
of spiritual/shamanic systems and neuroscience, psychology, and quantum physics
into traditional storytelling practices to enhance and extend the creative
process. Whether you are a creative, teacher, audience member, or someone who
understands the importance of telling your personal story, Joey Madia gives you
the practical tools you need to succeed.
—Temple Hayes, Global
Spiritual Leader, Author and Activist
Watching Joey in action, as he guides both novice and
seasoned actors through exercises designed to improve their skills is
inspiring. He has an innate ability to
help people connect with genuine emotions—and to bring those emotions alive
through performance. I work with him on
films as an actor because of his talent. I engage him to teach film students
and budding actors because of his skill.
—Robert Tinnell,
screenwriter/director/producer/graphic novelist
Joey Madia really gets it. He gives compelling evidence of
his being in deep possession of a truly holistic understanding of the ways in
which theatre can "fuse" playwright, actors and audience into a
totality greater than the sum of its parts—and this unified whole, in turn, to
the wider social–spiritual nexus that constitutes "community" in its
very best sense. I admire Joey’s emphasis on the key role that dreaming plays
in the success of theatrical and story-telling undertakings.
—Dr. Richard Wertime,
author of Citadel on the Mountain: A Memoir of Father and Son (Winner of the
2001 James A. Michener Memorial Prize in literature); former Professor and
Director of the Graduate Program at Arcadia University.
Joey Madia served as playwright-in-residence, teaching artist,
and actor for Youth Stages from 2002 to 2007. Our collaboration began when Joey
stepped in as a professional performer for an original production by high
school students with emotional and psychological disorders at a counseling
center and alternative school setting where Youth Stages was teaching and
directing. He added a shot of professional adrenaline to the cast alongside an
energetic understatement, so as not to outshine the high school students. I was
highly impressed at his ability to walk this tightrope. Joey understands
children. He gets the playfulness of them, their excitement to learn new
things, their need to wiggle and be physically involved in the material
presented to them, as well as their emotional and social needs.
—Jean Prall Rosolino,
founder of Youth Stages, professional actor and director.
For over a decade, Joey Madia was involved with me in a
variety of dramaturgical, directive, and artistic collaborations. Joey distills
down from a very large canvass of thematic discipline a straightforward yet
always fascinating thesis which I can attest as true and pure best practice. He
has been an invaluable leader and guiding force in making my work simpler,
simply by his command of the art form.
—Sam Graber,
award-winning playwright with both national and international productions to
his credit. His work is published by Dramatic Publishing, Smith & Kraus,
and Independent Play(w)rights.
Synopsis
Every Day Is a Story All Its Own: A Triadic Approach to Storytelling draws on the author’s thirty-plus years of professional experience as a writer, director, actor, and immersive experience designer, along with his twenty-plus years as a spiritual practitioner and social justice advocate to shed new light on the art and craft of telling our stories. Using a transdisciplinary approach, the author looks at storytelling from numerous perspectives, from the classical theatre and contemporary film to quantum physics, neuroscience, and psychology. He breaks down the structure of story through the application of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, the Three Act Model, and his own Three 3s of Good Storytelling. In the process of exploring the structure and importance of story to not only professional storytellers but to everyone who has a story to tell, he explores the limitations of monads and dyads and the birth of new techniques from utilizing the triads that are the heart and soul of our stories. Likening the director to a shaman, the actor to a warrior-hero, and celebrating the essential role of the audience as both mediator and collaborator, the author discusses the importance of location and sacred spaces, the use of ritual and the dangers of spectacle, and how to use myths, dreams, and rites of passage to strengthen your stories.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Dedication
An Extended Prologue: For Every Star in the Sky, There Is a Story
Chapter 1: Breadcrumbs in the Maze: Taking the Hero’s Journey through the Book
Chapter 2: Storytelling and the Quest for Equality of Opportunity and Justice
Chapter 3: The Power of the Triad and Art and Science of Transdisciplinarity
Part I: The Writer as Storyteller
Chapter 4: The Hero’s Journey as Made Manifest in the Three-Act Model
Why Use Structural Models?
Using the Three 3s for Story Analysis
Getting Started with the Raw Material of Story: The Magical “What If?”
Chapter 5: Character as the Conduit of Story
Creating Complex Characters using Archetypes
Bring the Characters to Life by Exploring Wants, Needs, and Motivations
Characters in Conflict
Closing the Gap as Character Motivation
Blurring the Lines between Character and Storyteller
Chapter 6: The Limits of Language and the Importance of Silence and Sound
The Art of Subtext
The Necessity of Silence and Stillness
The Artistic and Spiritual Application of Rhythm and Sound
Part II: Breathing Life into Our Stories
Chapter 7: The Director as Shaman
Chapter 8: The Actor as Warrior-Hero
Training the Actor’s Body and Mind
Breath Work
Visualization
Concentration and Focus
Working with the Shadow Self
Emanating Energy and Acting from the Heart
Chapter 9: The Audience as Community in Communication and Communion
Part III: Exploring [Sacred] Spaces
Chpter 10: The Space, Empty and Otherwise
The Energetic Power of Place
The Sacred Space
Chapter 11: The Power of Ritual (and the Dangers of Spectacle)
The Function and Necessity of Ritual
Emptiness and the Dangers of Spectacle
Ritual as Sacred Work
Chapter 12: Myths, Dreams, and Rites of Passage as the Nexus of Ordinary and Nonordinary Reality
Working with Dreams
Rites of Passage in the Nexus of Ordinary and Nonordinary Reality
Creating New Realities
Epilogue: Forging toward the Future while Honoring the Past
Appendices
Appendix 1. Rules for Successful Improvisation
The “Big Six Questions” to Ask Yourself When Doing Improvisation
Appendix 2. Bullying Prevention and Education Script for Middle Schools
Appendix 3. Guide Sheet for Desert Island Scenario and Play
Appendix 4. Five-Minute Myth
Appendix 6. Town Hall
Appendix 7: What If?: Opening Number
Appendix 8. Working with Tableau and Living Images
Appendix 9. Building a Character Worksheet
Appendix 10. Creating Strong Characters
Understanding the Form and Function of Characters
Appendix 11. Dueling Dyads: The Energy and Intention of Words
Appendix 12. Eight Steps to Outlining a Well-Made Play
Appendix 13. Fundamentals for Beginning Directors
Appendix 14. The Complete Script of Scenes from a Deep Dream River by Joey Madia
Bibliography
About the Author
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