I've always wanted to use this blog not only for Break a Leg matters but for matters that revolve around the people who we love, who take part in the show, who are talented beyond all measure and who deserve to get various kinds of recognition, like Oscars and Happy Birthday blogs from me.

So, that said -- I want to wish Daniela DiIorio -- our very own Francesca Scala -- a very, very happy 25th birthday (oh that's right, we're all very young -- aside from Old Man Drew and Old Man Vlad)!!

Daniela (and actually Dustin [Mint]) was in the second play I've ever written, a one-act called Courting 101. We had been friends in our acting class then and decided, on a whim, to perform this play. I didn't bother auditioning her -- something I rarely do -- because, aside from the fact that we had two weeks to put up the show, I also could tell the amount of talent she had in her little firecracker body.

And I was right!

The show was a big success in our college and was eventually published. Daniela went on to work with me in pretty much every thing I've ever put up (and even a few things I didn't). She's a phenomenal actress, and is as ready to cry and show emotion as she is to throw on mime make-up and look ridiculous in the middle of a very, very populated area. She has the ability to give an honesty to every role she plays and she's able to do it while being funny and charming -- and that, by the way, is very, very hard.

Aside from her massive talent, she's also a supremely good person. Generous, insanely empathetic and Italian to the very core of her being, she's passionate just about everything (wine, theater, fashion, laughter -- you name it) and cares deeply about everyone. To work with, she's a joy and will trek out to a cowboy town to do one scene while having a full-time job and finals at her University the following week. That, by the way, is also very, very hard.

Not only do I love her, but everyone who's ever met her loves her too -- she's that kind of person. The kind of person you'll be friends with your entire life.

Unless your soccer team just beat Italy, in that case, you are and will forever will be her eternal enemy.

So, in short -- have a Happy, Happy Birthday, Daniela! We all love you dearly!

-Yuri