Right before I moved over to Ireland in September, there was a great article in the NY Times about what a fabulous theatre scene Dublin has. On one hand, I was glad to see the article; it confirmed what I already know: theatre in Dublin is exciting, usually very good, and inexpensive by New York standards. On the other hand, I was a bit miffed to see it, because it meant a secret (not a very well kept one, but a secret still) was out of the bag. The last thing I wanted was for more Americans to be heading to Dublin, my new choice of city. There are few things worse than coming across your fellow countrymen as tourists abroad.

The Arts, or the knowledge that I would be able to participate in the arts, was one of the main reasons for my moving to Ireland. Truth be told, I had a few other reasons that would have pushed me to move over, but as an actress, producer and writer the fact that I could live and work here, was a big draw.

Unlike New York, where I am from, I knew that Ireland is a place, and Dublin is a city where theatre of all levels and skills is celebrated, produced, seen and reviewed. In New York, there is very little quality theatre to be seen outside of Broadway productions, and the ones that do go up are very expensive indeed. There is very little room to move if you are just starting out and want to produce your own work. Funding comes from private donors, meaning there is no one body to go to for financial support. If you have rich parents or friends, or a happy trust fund yourself, you will most likely be able to put on a show where it can be seen and reviewed. However, if you do not fall into any of those categories, there is very little hope that you will be able to produce any kind of show.

In Dublin, that is not quite the case. Apart from there being slightly more funding options, the viewing public tend not to mind if shows are in pubs, old houses or outside. In New York no casting director or agent or reviewer would really go to a reading in a pub. In Ireland they do, no problem, and the whole scene is the better for it.

I accept that Ireland and Dublin in particular is much smaller than New York. Fine. At the same time, there is a celebration of theatre and the arts in general that is very exciting, and it can rival larger cities.

Since being here, however, I am aware of theatre companies losing their funding, actors seeking jobs outside their profession, and artists and arts based companies struggling over all. I have begun to ask around to see what people in the show business world feel about this. Because it is a business, Show Business, and yet many feel that they are treated as a trapping of society and not a major part of it.

I came to Dublin because I know artists can be successful here. It is our job now to make ourselves heard so that this is a fact and not just a hope in the coming years.

PS: the NY Times article I mention is here, for reference sake.