Mikel Murfi Trilogy, Oct 24–Nov 18.
Hi all,
It's Mikel, thanks for coming out.
A few, like, 12, years ago, I began writing a solo show, that was scheduled to do five performances in my native Sligo and then we'd be done…
One show, became a second, and a second begat a third, and so we're back in our home, in Irish Arts Center, with all three.
It's a sequence of reflections I guess, three chronologies, that center around the small life of a very lovely man called Pat Farnon.
It's been a beautiful and fulfilling journey. I've become very attached to the characters that I've been living with and playing for over a decade now. They've become so familiar to me and have so appropriated the plays for themselves, that they regularly say stuff that I haven't written, which is kind of delightful and frightening during a live performance.
I feel the privilege of being back amongst you here in New York. I want to thank everyone at Irish Arts Center for their unstinting support over the years, we're family at this stage. We started in the old building and are delighted now, to be playing in the new.
Theatre is a complicit arrangement, a chance for us to share some time together, to think on big or small things and I can't do what I do without you, the audience. None of us can walk with Pat or roar with Kitsy without one another. So, for your presence, thank you so much once again and I hope you enjoy the shows.
Mikel
Mikel Murfi (writer/director/performer) is originally from Sligo and trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Paris. His performances in theatre include Swan Lake (Teac Damsa); The Man in The Woman’s Shoes, I Hear You and Rejoice, The Mysterious Case of Kitsy Rainey (Loco and & Reckless Productions); The Last Hotel, Ballyturk (Galway Arts Festival/Landmark/Wide Open Opera); The New Electric Ballroom (Druid); The Chairs (Blue Raincoat Theatre); Morning After Optimism, Playboy of the Western World (Peacock Theatre); The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest (Abbey Theatre); Giselle, Rite of Spring, Petrushka (Fabulous Beast); Desire Under the Elms (Lyric Hammersmith).
Directing work includes Toraiocht (Fíbín); Waiting for Godot (Theatre Du Pif, Hong Kong); The Far Off Hills (Nomad Theatre Network); The Walworth Farce, Penelope (Druid); Trad and The Great Goat Bubble (Galway Arts Festival); The Country Girls (Red Kettle); Diamonds in the Soil and The Lost Days of Ollie Deasy (Macnas).
Film work includes The Ballad of Kid Kanturk, Intermission, Sweety Barrett, The Butcher Boy, Love and Rage, Guiltrip, and most recently Jimmy’s Hall. As a director, Druma and John Duffy’s Brother.
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION (AEA) The U.S. stage managers employed in this production are member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S. AEA was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote, and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers, and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatres as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. actorsequity.org
Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion or appreciation for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. We present, develop, and celebrate work from established and emerging artists and cultural practitioners, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually engaging experiences in an environment of Irish hospitality. Steeped in grassroots traditions, we also provide community education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In a historic partnership of the people of Ireland and New York, Irish Arts Center recently completed construction on a fully-funded $60MM state-of-the-art new facility to support this mission for the 21st century.
STAFF
Adam Browne (Development Associate)
Elise Bargman (Ticketing and Marketing Data Manager)
Zohra Coday (Programming and Education Assistant)
Aidan Connolly (Executive Director)
Christine Cullen (Director of Administrative Operations)
Manuel Da Silva (Production Manager and Lighting Supervisor)
Chloe Eisen (Development Associate)
Fiona Farrell (Communications and Marketing Associate)
Vivian Fong (Director of Communications and Marketing)
Laney Granito (Special Events Coordinator)
Rachael W. Gilkey (Director of Programming and Education)
Jon Harper (Chief Operating Officer)
Anah Klate (Audience Services Manager)
Barry Ó Séanáin (Director of Development)
Ciara O'Shea (Communications and Marketing Associate)
Brian Ralston ( Associate Director of Development Operations and Database Administrator)
Emma Reifschneider (Executive Assistant)
Jessie Reilly (Director of Education, Family and Community Programming)
Grace Schultz (Artist Services Manager / Resident Stage Manager)
Teresa Shyr (Development Associate)
Mac Smith (Director of Production)
Pauline Turley (Vice Chair)
Dennis Walls (Director of Facility Operations)
Kestrel Wolgemuth (Associate Director of Programming)
Tehmina Anjum (Senior Accountant, NCheng)
Desaann Legzim (Senior Accountant, NCheng)
Pat Morin (Graphic Designer)
Taylor Panetti (Graphic Designer)
Vera Wong (Senior Accountant, NCheng)
Faizan Younus (Manager, NCheng)
Blake Zidell (Public Relations Consultant, Blake Zidell & Associates)
Mia-Isabella Brea (Development Intern)
Gráinne D’Alton (Special Events Intern)
Honor Fitzpatrick (Programming Intern)
Emily Mayo (Communications & Marketing Intern)
FRONT OF HOUSE
Box Office: Bev Kippenhan, Stephen Peterson, Tylene Soto
House Managers: Lindsey Freeman, Tiffany Clifton
Ushers: Anne Marie Mascia, Anne Rutter, Aram Krikorian, Christopher Cunningham, Frances Lavezzari, Francis Rosario, James Barniker, Joanne Sutton-Smith, L.E. Woods, Michael Lester, Naima Randolph, Nyel Manley, Sylvia Morsillo
Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government, foundation, and corporate partners including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; Howard Gilman Foundation; Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; the Charina Endowment Fund; the Ireland Funds; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; the Arnhold Foundation; the Irish Institute of New York; the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York; Northern Ireland Bureau; Invest NI; CIE Tours International; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; and thousands of generous donors like you.
