Every year, the Origin Theatre Company treats New York audiences to the Origin 1^st Irish Theatre Festival, showcasing Irish artists both established and up-and-coming. This year, Stagebiz was fortunate to discuss the fesivial with the man in charge, Mick Mellamphy. He took over the helm of the Origin 1st Irish Festival during the pandemic, and he is also a busy actor.  He starred in “The Smuggler,” which premiered at the 2019 Festival and was seen again at Irish Rep in 2023. It will be touring in Ireland this coming summer, directed by Conor Bagley and produced by Jessica M. DeLucia

Stagebiz: What is the Origin 1St Irish Theatre Festival and what is its history?

Mick Mellamphy: Origin 1st Irish is the only theatre festival in North America dedicated to showcasing the very best of new Irish and Irish inspired theatre. It has been running consecutively since 2008, and presents plays and productions from Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as plays produced locally. To date we have showcased the work of over 400 playwrights from across the entire island of Ireland, and from the incredibly busy Irish theatre diaspora that is most abundant in New York, but that also thrives in other cities too.  For example this year as well as our local producers we are also thrilled to include groups from Canada, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Boston this year.

Stagebiz: And how do you decide which productions to showcase?

MM: Generally we find productions that have done well overseas that we feel are right for our ever expanding audiences. We also work with playwrights in developing their work through our annual reading series here in New York. So really it’s through a network of relationships — it means working with established companies here and across the pond, from Irish Rep, Fishamble of Dublin and Northern Ireland’s Big Telly — as well as emerging groups. Then on top of that we work with a whole range of New York venues (in three boroughs right now) to host these bigger and smaller shows.

Stagebiz: What does bringing a show to NYC from Ireland actually entail?

MM: That’s a question that requires a very long answer, lol. Here is the short version off the top of my head. There are many challenges and hurdles to bring a production to the festival. One has to consider whether it will have a chance of being a success in a relatively short period of time. Companies and producers have to budget for VISAs to work in the US and this also includes attorney fees and application fees as well as the time it takes to file paperwork, accomodation costs, travel expenses, stipends for day to day necessities.

The Irish government is very supportive of bringing productions here to the festival through Culture Ireland. We also make sure that all productions have union stage managers so this also means working with Actors Equity to ensure the highest standard of production once the team from Ireland arrives. On top of this then you have the usual obstacles to getting  any type of production on its feet.  All this being said the only reason this works is that the quality of the work is very high, and we always have a lot of fun, so the word gets around that Origin 1st Irish is a great place to showcase work.

Stagebiz: What are some of the more memorable shows you’ve already brought to us?

MM: There have been so many through the years it is hard to single any ones in particular out. I was involved in the very first festival in 2008 with a production of Conal Creedon’s “When I Was God”. Last season we were thrilled to bring Pat Kinevane’s “KING” to 1st Irish with Fishamble from Dublin who have attended multiple festivals. In 2023 I was particularly thrilled to have Big Telly appearing at 1st Irish with their zany and wonderful production of “FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER IS DRUNK AND THE SHEEP HAVE ALL JUMPED THE FENCES”.  They came back last year with “The Worst Cafe” which won the Innovation Award (actually so did “Frankenstein!”)… and so it’s fantastic they are returning this year with another amazing site-specific play called “GRANNY JACKSON’S DEAD” which takes over the beautiful mansion that’s home The American Irish Historical Society.

Stagebiz: Have you seen a change in the kind of shows that you put on over the years?

MM: I think because the focus is on contemporary work we receive consistently new and evolving pieces of theatre so it can be hard to say if there’s definitive “changes”to the type of shows we see at the festival. We have a broad pallet to work with in terms of the types of plays that are presented. For me personally, theatre is always evolving to reflect the current mood of society in general and the wonderful thing about a festival like 1st Irish is it allows for multiple styles and content to be co-exist under one tent. I am always very proud that in general the festival reflects a modern and progressive perspective which is much more reflective of Ireland and its diaspora than the stereotypical old tropes that we often see in film and television.

Stagebiz: Have the audiences changed? Either in composition or tastes?

MM: The audiences have grown with the festival which is a wonderful thing. I think in the early days we saw a lot of the Irish community and people interested in Irish theatre come out to support the festival but certainly as the festival has evolved so have our audiences. As well as performing in theatres we also hold many events and productions in spaces such as restaurants and bars which brings us even more audience members that may not be theatre junkies. I have also noticed that we get a lot of younger folks coming to see shows at 1st Irish and this can be attributed to our value relative to quality, as well as the broad menu of shows we offer. Also it is because many of the theatre makers in our festivals are producing for the first time and they bring an excited younger crowd with them.

Stagebiz: What pitfalls are there in this kind of festival?

MM: One major thing I stress to prospective producers of the festival, especially first timers and those on tight budgets is managing expectations. NYC is a theatre town and there is a massive inventory of plays to see every single day of the year. So often I like to make sure that creatives understand that it may be best to cut your cloth accordingly. For example, instead of trying to book a two week run during the festival at a space, consider a shorter run where you will have more opportunity to sell out a run. A festival like 1st Irish should always be seen as a platform to build towards bigger and better rewards. One of my greatest joys is seeing a new play take its first steps in our festival in front of audiences and then seeing it get picked up by a theatre or producer that will allow it to go onto longer runs with bigger budgets ensuring the greater success for all involved.

Stagebiz: Why do you think the festival has been such a success over the years?

MM: While there are a lot of reasons behind the success of the festival, I truly believe its greatest strength is that it continues to bring together our entire community of artists and supporters. I am very privileged to be a part of something where so many people are pulling together to create something that’s really unique and wonderful. Our supporters, whether in government, corporate and individual donors have been steadfast in making sure that we can continue to grow the festival year after year and for all of this I am truly grateful.

One thing I might add is that we often talk about how much we want to send our own locally-produced productions to Ireland, to make the pipeline go both ways a little more than it does… We don’t have the kind of public support for this, so it is a bit harder.  1st Irish has done it several times… so we are proud of this.

Stagebiz thanks Mr. Mellamphy for his time with which he was so very generous. For more information about this year’s festival visit  https://www.origintheatre.org/1st-irish-festivalwww.origintheatre.org