CFA: Where are you working?

Mairéad: SpeakEasy Stage (in collaboration with Somerled Arts), at the Maso Studio in The Huntington Theatre!

CFA: What is your role? What are your responsibilities?

Mairéad: As an actor in a developing show, my role is to uplift the work of the writers as they continue to fine-tune their brilliant piece. Learning new and changing music and dialogue and being able to stay on my toes with quick adjustments is super important. Everyone is in the room to bring their artistry to this story in development, shine a light and pose questions about the gaps in the piece, and offer a glimpse of what it would look like as a fully fleshed-out, staged production. It’s really fun!

CFA: How did you learn about this opportunity? And what steps did you take to secure it?

Mairéad: I constantly check Playbill for Boston & MA-based auditions, and I happened to stumble upon SpeakEasy searching for some actors to help in a short workshop of a new musical. There was zero context about the show so I sang two short random cuts from my book, two weeks later did a callback for two different roles, and ultimately was offered a role I wasn’t called back for! It was a blind, really fun audition process because I had no idea what to expect in the room or with the project. 

CFA: What are some of your accomplishments from this experience?

Mairéad: Being in this room has introduced me to so many AMAZING Boston and New York-based fellow actors and creatives. I’m the youngest in the cast, so I’ve been keen on networking and trying to get advice from those with more experience on how to tackle this industry post-grad. It’s also been so gratifying to get to bring my acting skills into song and grow my understanding of music theory.

CFA: Did any courses or resources at CFA help you prepare for success?

Mairéad: Both the music theatre concentration track, and every interaction I’ve had with Kirsten Greenidge has been insanely helpful in this work. Being comfortable with learning music and harmony quickly (and applying acting principles to that), was something I honed in on in the Music Theory 1 class and performing in Sunday in the Park with George this spring. Earlier in the Spring, I had the chance to work on One Penny Down, the world premiere of Greenidge’s new play, which also involved new pages of the script being added often, and many of our acting and ensemble choices in rehearsal affecting these changes. I also took Adaptation, a Theatre Ensemble class taught by Greenidge, that gave groundwork for providing questions and feedback to writers and a glimpse into what the actual writing process of a play looks like.