The Cripple of Inishmaan

Kate Osbourne at Illinois Central College, Feb 2018 – Apr 2018

I was cast as Kate Osbourne in Illinois Central College's production of The Cripple of Inishmaan, written by Martin McDonagh, and directed by Chip Joyce. This dark comedy about life on the island of Inishmaan, Ireland in 1934, is known for it's crude language (rated R), violence, & blunt storytelling. It follows the journey of an orphaned cripple named Billy Claven, & how he dreams of getting off the island & away from the people who have always bullied & taunted him. He seizes his opportunity when a film crew from America visits a nearby island, & Billy talks his way into going over to audition. In the end he is chosen to go to Hollywood to audition for a film of his own, but he soon realizes that his dream wasn't everything he initially thought it would be. In a twist of events, he ends up returning to Inishmaan to continue his life--but more than one thing has changed.

My character, Kate Osbourne, is one of Billy's aunts, & is overly protective & motherly towards Billy. She constantly worries about him & complains about his strange habits, but when he leaves, the audience soon discovers she has strange habits of her own.

In addition to acting in the show, I was in charge of teaching the cast Irish dialects & making sure they understood the sound of the dialect & the meaning/pronunciation of Gaelic slang in the show. I reviewed lines with them, gave them tongue twisters to work on, offered written descriptions in IPA for them, & sent them various video & audio examples of the dialect.

I was also the go-to historian & dramaturg for the show, & assisted the cast in understanding the lifestyle of the time, the environment of Ireland, a bit of background on Irish people & their history. I worked heavily with set construction as well as props so that the cast could live in a physically accurate world, & interact with accurate objects & items from the time.

[ Production photos courtesy of Chip Joyce. ]