Exclusive Q&A by Brad Balfour
Now in its 17th year, Origin 1st Irish is the annual edition of the only festival devoted to presenting theatrical works of contemporary Irish playwrights from around the world. Taking place from April 1 to April 28 in three boroughs, Artistic Director Michael Mellamphy is dedicated to bringing the very best of contemporary Irish inspired theater in this month-long festival across NYC.
Mellamphy took time out from preparing to open next week to explain his plans for this season’s series which starts with the festival’s opening night on Tuesday, Apr 1st (and that’s no joke).
It is the first night of “Fight Night” at 59E59 Theaters, one of two productions from Dublin-based Fishamble, The New Play Company. Gavin Kostick’s play tells the gripping comeback story of a failed amateur boxer who is from a long line of accomplished fighters. Directed by Bryan Burroughs, and starring Aonghus Og McAnally. The winner of Best Actor and Bewley’s Little Gem awards at Dublin Fringe, the production was nominated Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards.
As the festival continues, it offers top-quality theater at reasonable prices available throughout Manhattan and more. Through Origin, the fest gives the many Irish ex-pats and immigrants a chance to showcase in the city its many talented artists and creators.
Q: For Origin’s festival to be a must-attend series, what’s the criteria you use to establish it as such?
Michael Mellamphy: In order for productions to attend the first step is to get a production in front of us at Origin. I stress that we say production and not a script as 1st Irish is a presenting festival and not a producing festival. We present productions that have been tested in other markets as well as new work that speaks to our mission of supporting the new generation of Irish inspired work. If a company or producer has a production that has a viable budget, clear goals and a team to support the event that is always a plus. We also support playwrights whose work we have been able to help develop through our Plays in May reading series and various reading events throughout the year.
Q: What have you done this year that’s different from the past?
Photo: Brad Balfour
Michael Mellamphy: This year we are absolutely thrilled to bring five Culture Ireland supported plays to 1st Irish. I believe that is the most in the festival’s history. We are presenting two plays from Fishamble, the new play company at 59 E59, Gavin Kostick’s “Fight Night”, and Joanne Ryan’s “In Two Minds.” The Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre, is presenting the hilarious “Tom Moran Is A Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Lair,” at The Irish Repertory Theatre. Fairplay productions based here in NYC is importing the brilliant “No One Is Coming”, by Sinéad O’ Brien at An Béal Bocht in The Bronx.
Big Telly from Portstewart in Northern Ireland are also coming back with their much-lauded “Granny Jackson’s Dead,” in association with Inis Nua theatre company from Philadelphia at The American Irish Historical Society. I am also thrilled to be hosting the first ever live podcast at 1st Irish with the Irish Stew Team, John Lee and Martin Nutty at Ryan’s Daughter Pub.
Q: What’s consistent this year with the past?
Michael Mellamphy: Consistent this year with the past is a full program of top notch theater across New York City. We are thrilled to have some wonderful company’s and producers returning such as The Irish Repertory Theatre with their latest production of “Irishtown,” by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth. John McDonagh is another friend of the festival who will be presenting NYC stories with his new production of “A Cop, A Cabbie & A Crusader, at various venues throughout the city. Colin Hamell returns to 1st Irish with his hilarious one man play “Bumbled,” about a lovelorn Irish bumblebee that is not to Bee missed. Ayla Rosen who has been part of 1st Irish for many years is making her producing debut in this year’s festival with Rosie Coursey’s “Breezy Point.”
We are also blessed to have three more wonderful one person shows with some really amazing performers in Tim Connell and his one man show “Lucky Me”, Ed Gavagan and his autobiographical “Loud Memory”, and the brilliant Alan Smyth as he reprises his role in Marie Jones “A Night In November.” As always this magical program of theatre is also complimented with a number of special events such as a reading of Canadian Irish playwright, John Doyle’s epic play set during the famine, “Shelter,” Lauryn Gaffney’s beautiful new musical “Jilted, two readings by Seamus Scanlon at CUNY, a book launch with Larry Kirwan’s new book “Rockin’ The Bronx” and a reading from Tim McGillacuddy’s new piece, “Fanny Mendelssohn, A Fantasy.”
Q: Is there a balance you try to strike between various companies and types of productions?
Michael Mellamphy: We do try to strike some balance between the various companies and productions involved. As I mentioned above we are very fortunate to have the likes of The Abbey, The Irish Rep, Fishamble and Big Telly among others involved in this year’s festival. Their work is well known to audiences, not just in Ireland and New York, but also further afield.
Their inclusion in the festival allows us to also focus on newer up and coming producers who may often find it more difficult to realize their work in a city like New York which is saturated with theater. I believe that a festival like 1st Irish, which presents established companies alongside the new generation of theatre makers, provides a great platform for so many people to share their work and, of course, network and grow.
As artistic director of Origin, it is my main job to seek out people who I believe fit our mission. There is never a one size fits all strategy. Sometimes you find potential creators through sheer luck and sometimes people just appear out of the blue but more than often it is through seeing people’s work first hand whether it’s a reading or production. I never make a decision based on reading a script. As an actor myself I know that a script is only one element of what can make great theater. I also feel that it is important to have some sense that I can work with someone before committing to any project as our business is really all about collaborating.
Q: This is very much a younger person series. How do you hope to get younger attendees to see these plays created by younger generations?
Michael Mellamphy: Much of our outreach about this year’s festival is through social media on instagram and platforms like that. I also think that this year’s festival has a great mix of “Off Broadway” level productions but we are also introducing quite a number of one person shows this year which is something I am deeply interested in.
I believe there is a gap in younger folks’ minds about theater. Because of absolutely outrageous Broadway ticket costs and the general scope of what producing theater seems like, it can be a deterrent for younger people to go to the theater and worse prohibitive for them to realize that this is a wonderful art form that they can take part in. This season we have seven one-person shows which I believe can be encouraging to younger generations who could see that there is a space for them to get involved at a level that isn’t so mysterious and overwhelming.
Q: Though the focus is Irish the productions go beyond being Irish can you comment on that.
Michael Mellamphy: I don’t really see this festival as being anything overtly “Irish” per say except that we are encouraging Irish inspired playwrights to tell their stories. Ireland has been producing writers and storytellers for a long time now that don’t squarely focus on the “American” idea of Irishness!! Ireland is unique in its contribution to world theater and literature for such a small country and the festival is a celebration of that contribution.
We are proud to provide a spotlight for a month so people can express their visions of what theater should be. The common theme for me is that Ireland is a part of a broader global community that connects so many of us. That is the beauty of this festival. That it challenges the old stereotypes that people have of our country and like you mention presents tales that go far beyond the usual worn and tired tropes.
Q: One interesting aspect of Origin is that a student volunteer can go from working on the fest to producing, creating or acting in one later on. Talk about some of those who have done so.
Michael Mellamphy: Yes, as far back as the very first festival which was Origins founding Artistic Director George Heslin’s brain child, it was always remarkable to me how open it was to be involved in the festival as long as you had a solid idea and foundation to produce work. I myself first worked in the inaugural festival in 2008 with a production of Conal Creedon’s “When I Was God.” I’m especially thrilled that that tradition has continued with the marvelous team of Ayla Rosen and Hannah Ciesil with their production of “Breezy Point” this year at The Churchill Tavern.
Both Ayla and Hannah have worked on many Origin events through the years in many capacities and have been integral to the success of 1st Irish. Its been a right of passage for many producers and directors like Ayla and Hannah and I’m personally very privileged to see their careers moving forward in such a positive fashion. It’s my favorite part of my job at Origin to see the new generation of theatre makers that I hope will be employing my old arse in an acting capacity in productions in the coming years. Lol
Q: I like that you have expanded the fest to occasionally include films and such. Do you have more plans to expand in such a way?
Michael Mellamphy: Yeah, part of the incorporation of some films in recent years was out of necessity because of the restrictive nature of the pandemic back when we were dealing with all that. It has made sense in the past to include some of the wonderful films to showcase at the festival that have been created by wonderful Irish inspired artists.
Any chance to gather our audiences together for any medium is something I’m always excited by and although we don’t have any film to showcase this year I am excited to be hosting our first ever live podcast with John Lee and Martin Nutty from Irish Stew podcast. We are blessed in our community to have so many creative people contributing to Irish cultural life here in New York and across the U.S.
Q: And how do you decide what shows you participate in as either an actor, producer or director?
Michael Mellamphy: As an actor, I audition for roles that my agent sends me out on and I also choose projects from time to time that I’m personally invested in working on. I’m also blessed to have a great circle of creative colleagues with that I’ve worked a lot in the past and who trust one another with their work so there are often opportunities for collaboration which leads eventually to work.
As far as producing goes my own experience has been that young actors, directors, and playwrights need to create and produce their work. This is something I’ve been doing since my drama school days in Inchicore College in Dublin. As the adage from “Field of Dreams” goes “If you build it, they will come”!!!
New York is a very supportive city and I encourage everyone I know to not wait for the phone call or email and roll up your sleeves and create with what you’ve got.
Details can be found by going to: www.origintheatre.org