2015 Fall
| August | |
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The Book of Me Presented in association with Police Athletic League William J. Duncan Center On Display Through September 12 Artist Talk and Reception During the month of August, teaching artist Pamella Allen will devise an exhibition with a group of young students from Irish Arts Center’s local Hell’s Kitchen community. Exploring the famous Irish illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells, students will take part in an artist residency to create their own handmade books based on their life, family, culture, and relationship to their neighborhood. |
| SEPTEMBER | |
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South of Hy-Brazil September 2015 – January 2016 In South of Hy-Brazil, Irish artist Caoimhghin Ó Fraithile showcases exquisite ink drawings on handmade paper, combining text in the Irish language with an imagined topography that refers to the sacred land and seascapes influenced by the hermitage island of Skellig Michael of the coast of Kerry. |
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Selfie September 10 - 27 Following his acclaimed Broadway turn in last season’s Tony-nominated The Cripple of Inishmaan, the incomparable Irish comic actor Pat Shortt returns to New York with his newest solo comedy As singing undertaker Mossey Burke, Shortt takes audiences on a madcap journey through the chaos of an Irish funeral, with the uniquely hilarious take on everyday Irish life that has made him one of Ireland’s most beloved comedic stars. |
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Saturday Morning Cartoons Song of the Sea Saturday, September 12 | 11:30 am From the creators of the Academy Award-nominated The Secret of Kells comes a breathtakingly gorgeous, hand-drawn masterpiece. Based on the Irish legend of the Selkies, the Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea tells the story of the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben, who go on an epic journey to save the world of magic and discover the secrets of their past. |
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Muldoon’s Picnic Monday, September 14 | 7:30 pm The feast of word and song led by Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet, pop lyricist, and New Yorker Poetry Editor Paul Muldoon returns for a third season on the second Monday of every month. More Info |
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Helen Vendler on Seamus Heaney Wednesday, September 16 | 6 pm This seminar will survey poems from the three volumes Seamus Heaney completed between the 1995 Nobel Prize and his death in 2013. Explore his adaptation of classical motifs and ethics to modern circumstances, his debts to Virgil and Ovid in constructing his own autobiography, and his stark poems of oncoming death.
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Rachel Moran Bestselling author, sex-trade survivor, and activist Rachel Moran joins us to discuss her new memoir Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution—a brave, compassionate, and humane account of her time lived as a prostitute in Ireland, her struggle to break free, and the politics and psychological damage associated with selling your body to survive. More Info
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SongLives: Curated by Grammy Award-winner Susan McKeown Wednesday, September 23 | 8 pm SongLives showcases some of Ireland and North America’s most exciting contemporary songwriters, bringing the rich tradition of busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street and beyond to New York City. More Info |
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Dead Centre As part of Dublin Theatre Festival September 24 – October 3 During the turmoil of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Maria Chekhov, Anton’s sister, placed many of her late brother’s manuscripts and papers in a safety deposit box in Moscow. Dead Centre, creators of the OBIE award-winning Lippy (also winner of a Fringe First and Herald Angel Award and the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Production), return to do injustice to a great playwright. |
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Afternoon Art Party Toy Theatre Making Workshop with Sarah Burton Whicker Sunday, September 27 | 11 am – 3 pm New York based artist and puppet fabricator Sarah Burton Whicker will lead a crafty toy theatre class where kids’ imaginations will soar. In advance of our first-ever Rí Rá Children’s Festival of Literature, students will build small table top stages inspired by Irish author and playwright Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince.” |
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T.J. English Tuesday, September 29 | 7:30 pm The New York Times bestselling author of The Westies and Paddy Whacked T.J. English joins IAC to share an intimate view of the world of organized crime and law enforcement with his new book Where the Bodies Were Buried: Whitey Bulger and the World That Made Him. More Info |
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Eleanor McEvoy Wednesday, September 30 | 8 pm Eleanor McEvoy returns to perform songs from her newest album Stuff, telling tales of unrequited love, lust, and eloquent farewells, with a heady brew of candid observation laced with witty, wry self-deprecation. More Info
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| OCTOBER | |
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STORY, STORY, STORY Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 Learn a few tricks of the trade from leading Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan who will facilitate a two-day workshop entitled STORY, STORY, STORY. How do we generate and exploit story for drama and conflict? How do we keep an audience engaged and guessing? In this enjoyable weekend workshop, learn how to manipulate story to its greatest effect in theatre always keeping your drama vibrant, shifting and surprising!
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Jane Urquhart Presented by Irish Arts Center in association with Consulate General of Canada in New York Join us as one of Canada’s bestselling authors Jane Urquhart reads from her most rewarding novel to date, The Night Stages. |
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Irish Film New York Presented by Irish Film New York in association with Glucksman Ireland House – NYU Supported by Irish Arts Center IFNY brings the very best in contemporary Irish cinema to New York. This three-day screening series will showcase critically-acclaimed contemporary Irish films and will host a selection of filmmaker Q&A’s, industry panel discussions and filmmaker receptions. More Info
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Rí Rá Children's Festival of Literature Presented by Irish Arts Center and Children’s Books Ireland Sunday, October 4 | 11 am – 4 pm Bringing children and families together to creatively engage with literature, the festival encourages readers tall and small to discover new books at our readings, talk with those who create them, and share their love for reading through storytelling workshops. More Info |
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A Vision: A Life of W.B. Yeats Presented by Irish Arts Center and Irish Film Institute Tuesday, October 6 | 7 pm We continue to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of W.B. Yeats (on June 13, 1865) with Images from a Past Life: W.B Yeats on Film, a biographical and experimental “film poem” from director Alan Gilsenan (last here with Queen of Paraguay). Using solely the words of Yeats, the film takes the viewer on a cinematic journey into his extraordinary imagination. More Info |
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Directing New Plays Saturday, October 17 | 1:30 pm-5 pm Over the course of a half day, artistic director of Fishamble: The New Play Company Jim Culleton will explore the role of the director, focusing on new plays. Through a mixture of theatre exercises, discussion and text analysis, Culleton will look at how the director works with actors and playwrights to create a piece of theatre which engages as powerfully as possible with an audience. The main play explored will be Underneath by Pat Kinevane, who will join the masterclass for a discussion about writing and performing the play.
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Anybody Waitin'? Presented by Irish Arts Center and Abrons Arts Center October 7 - 10 Funny, charming, half-naked, and still good looking, the champions of comedy dance theatre ponydance are back are back with their highly entertaining show Anybody Waitin’?—a whirlwind of movement and mirth, and a generous pinch of audience participation More Info |
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Sundays at Seven Curated by Fiona Walsh and Ann Design This long-running staple of the New York City comedy scene offers laugh-out-loud standup comedy from an ever-changing line-up of performers. Audiences can expect to see rising stars and local favorites sharing the stage with seasoned TV and film vets from HBO, Comedy Central, Letterman, and Conan O’Brien. More Info
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Muldoon’s Picnic Monday, October 12 | 7:30 pm The feast of word and song led by Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet, pop lyricist, and New Yorker Poetry Editor Paul Muldoon returns for a third season on the second Monday of every month. . More Info |
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Fishamble: The New Play Company Presented by Irish Arts Center in association with Georganne Aldrich Heller October 14 – November 1 Award-winning writer and performer Pat Kinevane and company Fishamble return to Irish Arts Center with Underneath. A woman lies dead in her freshly dug grave in the Tumbledown cemetery, Cobh, County Cork. Here she tells the story of her life. More Info
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Imagined Biographies Presented by Irish Arts Center and Center for Fiction Gavin McCrea and Therese Anne Fowler in conversation, moderated by Julie Buntin Tuesday, October 20 | 7 pm Join us on the East Side at Center for Fiction as we welcome writer Gavin McCrea for the launch of his acclaimed debut novel, Mrs. Engels. McCrea will be in conversation withTherese Anne Fowler, The New York Times bestselling author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. More Info |
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One Night in Heaven with Maeve Higgins October 20 | 7:30 pm From Cork via Harlem comes Maeve Higgins, star of page and stage, with an all-new variety show featuring an eclectic and invigorating clutch of guests. Only the wisest voices, freshest thinkers, funniest moments, and best stories will make it past her gates into One Night in Heaven. October sees us savoring comedy and lore around food. More Info |
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Rónán Ó Snodaigh Thursday, October 22 | 8 pm A founding member of the iconic band Kíla, Rónán Ó Snodaigh is a singer-songwriter, poet, vocalist, gaeilgeoir, and recognized by many as the best and most innovative bodhrán player in Ireland. More Info |
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Bodhrán and Rhythm Workshop Saturday, October 24 | 1 pm - 3 pm A unique opportunity to take a workshop with one of Ireland’s most experienced and innovative Bodhrán players. Rónán Ó Snodaigh has performed as a professional musician for over twenty years touring with the bands Dead Can Dance and Kíla and as a solo artist. He has been teaching and giving workshops in bodhrán and rhythm for over ten years in festivals, online, and venues abroad and at home.
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Oíche Shamhna / An Irish Halloween Saturday, October 31 | 12 pm – 4 pm Immerse your family in the dream-like world of the mythical Irish Banshee, notorious for their mysterious, echoing howls and spooky singing. Emerging children musicians, sound artists, and noise enthusiasts will explore rhythm, sound, and music in creative, enjoyable, and educational ways. More Info |
| November | |
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South of Hy-Brazil by Caoimhghin Ó Fraithile Artist Talk Tuesday, November 3 | 6:30 pm In South of Hy-Brazil, Irish artist Caoimhghin Ó Fraithile showcases exquisite ink drawings on handmade paper, combining text in the Irish language with an imagined topography that refers to the sacred land and seascapes influenced by the hermitage island of Skellig Michael of the coast of Kerry. More Info |
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New York Trad Fest Thursday, November 5 | 8 pm Local masters of traditional Irish, bluegrass and old-time American music come together to launch New York Trad Fest at Irish Arts Center. Curated by Brooklyn-born fiddler Tony Demarco, the concert features traditional and original folk duet Murphy Beds, two-time Grammy Award-winning violinistAndy Stein, American jazz guitarist Glenn Crytzer, Dublin uilleann piper Ivan Goff, and many more joining forced for a kick off evening sure to live long in the memory. More Info |
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PoetryFest November 6 – 8 Curated by Belinda McKeon and Aengus Woods Presented in association with Glucksman Ireland House - NYU Our seventh annual PoetryFest celebrates Ireland and America's great literary connection by showcasing an array of superb poets from both countries. The only New York festival of its kind, PoetryFest brings audiences and poets together for three days of readings, conversations, and signings in the intimate atmosphere of Irish Arts Center. Poets include Fiona Benson, Ciaran Carson, Elaine Feeney, Leontia Flynn, Alan Gillis, Kerry Hardie, Lucy Ives, Cathy Linh Che, Alicia Ostriker, Connie Roberts, Tracy K. Smith, Vijay Seshadri, and Gjertrud Schnackenberg. More Info |
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Muldoon’s Picnic Monday, November 9 | 7:30 pm The feast of word and song led by Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet, pop lyricist, and New Yorker Poetry Editor Paul Muldoon returns for a third season on the second Monday of every month. More Info |
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Pen, Paper, and Palate Tuesday, November 10 | 7 pm Frank Delaney moderates a conversation with an esteemed panel of writers for a witty and engrossing literary salon. Panelists include: Rhonda K. Garelick, Mireille Guiliano, Kathryn Harrison, Michael Neiberg, and Ronald Rosbottom. |
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BAC and IAC Resident Artist Baryshnikov Arts Center and Irish Arts Center Resident Artist November 2 - 21 Multi award-winning company Brokentalkers (last in NYC in January 2014 with Have I No Mouth) return to develop an ambitious new theatre piece as part of the Baryshnikov Arts Center’s BAC Space residency program. For three weeks, Brokentalkers creators will try out new ideas to create a bold production examining healthcare and aging, and what the future might hold for the human race as technological advances challenge normal patterns of aging and death. More Info |
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ModERIN Swings! Darrah Carr Dance with Tara O'Grady & her Black Velvet Band November 13 - 15 Family Shows Bessie-nominated Darrah Carr Dance fuses the company's trademark style of ModERIN with swing music from a bygone era, featuring live accompaniment by jazz vocalist Tara O'Grady and her Black Velvet Band. More Info |
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Sundays at Seven Curated by Fiona Walsh and Ann Design This long-running staple of the New York City comedy scene offers laugh-out-loud standup comedy from an ever-changing line-up of performers. Audiences can expect to see rising stars and local favorites sharing the stage with seasoned TV and film vets from HBO, Comedy Central, Letterman, and Conan O’Brien. More Info
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Kevin Barry Monday, November 16 | 7:30 pm One of the most exciting and important writers at work today,Kevin Barry (City of Bohane, Dark Lies the Island, and There Are Little Kingdoms) returns to IAC to discuss his new novel Beatlebone. More Info |
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One Night in Heaven with Maeve Higgins November 17 | 7:30 pm From Cork via Harlem comes Maeve Higgins, star of page and stage, with an all-new variety show featuring an eclectic and invigorating clutch of guests. Only the wisest voices, freshest thinkers, funniest moments, and best stories will make it past her gates into One Night in Heaven. November pinches our cheeks as we pinch our pennies and get down to real-talk about money. More Info |
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From Neuve Chapelle to New York City: FEATURING November 19 – 21 | 8 pm Singer-songwriter Declan O'Rourke, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, and historian and broadcaster Myles Dungan come together to highlight “the pity of war”with a special engagement of music, poetry, and memory inspired by “The War to End All Wars." More Info
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Saturday Morning Cartoons Saturday, November 21 | 11 am Continuing our family-friendly Saturday Morning Cartoons series, we encourage you to come in pajamas, grab some pancakes, and snuggle up on the Donaghy Theatre stage to enjoy the best feature films, TV shows and short films from some of the leading Irish animation companies. |
| December | |
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Joseph O’Neill Wednesday, December 2 | 7:30 pm The author of the best-selling and award-winning Netherland returns to Irish Arts Center to read from his compelling new novel The Dog—a comedic tale of alienation and heartbreak set in the glittering Middle Eastern city of Dubai.
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Afternoon Art Party Children’s Animation Workshop with Lisa O’Donnell After a successful debut workshop last spring, Galway-born artist Lisa O’Donnell returns to IAC to lead a stop-motion animation class for children. To tie in with our annual Irish Christmas concerts, this season’s workshop will explore the theme of winter solstice. More Info
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SongLives: SongLives showcases some of Ireland and North America’s most exciting contemporary songwriters, bringing the rich tradition of busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street and beyond to New York City. More Info
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Sundays at Seven Curated by Fiona Walsh and Ann Design This long-running staple of the New York City comedy scene offers laugh-out-loud standup comedy from an ever-changing line-up of performers. Audiences can expect to see rising stars and local favorites sharing the stage with seasoned TV and film vets from HBO, Comedy Central, Letterman, and Conan O’Brien. More Info
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One Night in Heaven with Maeve Higgins December 15 | 7:30 pm From Cork via Harlem comes Maeve Higgins, star of page and stage, with an all-new variety show featuring an eclectic and invigorating clutch of guests. Only the wisest voices, freshest thinkers, funniest moments, and best stories will make it past her gates into One Night in Heaven. December sees love rule the day…and night. More Info |
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An Irish Christmas December 18-20 Featuring Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis New Yorkers of all backgrounds love the amiable Irish spirit of our favorite holiday tradition, An Irish Christmas, led by Mick Moloney and Athena Tergis with a cast of America’s top Irish and world musicians, andspecial guests from the world of arts and letters. Guaranteed to fill you with warm, fun-loving cheer, kick off the winter season with your loved ones with this unforgettable journey of music, dance, and storytelling as we celebrate winter solstice traditions from around the world. More Info |
| January | |
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St. Ann’s Warehouse presents A New Opera by Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh Co-Presented with Prototype and Irish Arts Center January 8 – 17 A man silently mops the floor with a bucket full of bloody water. He prepares a room that’s not yet ready for its next guest. A woman meets a man and his wife in the parking lot. All three are nervous. Tonight there will be a death. The Last Hotel unites two of Ireland’s most fascinating artists, multi award-winning playwright Enda Walsh and composer Donnacha Dennehy in a new chamber opera. More Info
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The Man In The Woman's Shoes Special Return Engagement by Popular Demand! The Man in The Woman’s Shoes follows Pat as he walks the five miles from his white cottage to town and back again. He meets unforgettable characters along the way -- water diviner Huby Patterson, GAA enthusiast extraordinaire Kitsy Rainey, big voiced Casimir Marshall, an array of farmers all named Gilmartin and Kemp, a man whose idea of a good time is to direct traffic wherever he may find it. Pat may be an ageing man but he has a boundless enthusiasm for life. More Info |
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The Architecture and Playability of Theatre with Mikel Murfi Back by Popular Demand in an Extended Version! January 2016 In this lecture Mikel Murfi talks about his work and influences with particular reference to his recent works with writer/director Enda Walsh and designer Sabine Dargent. More Info |