August 2008 - Irish American News

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32 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS August 2008Irish StewEducating Brigid - Part IIBy Frank J. MahonPart 1 can be viewed at www.iannews.com Under columniststab go to frank mahon - july 2008Born in County Longford,Brigid Duffy and her familymoved to Chicago when she wasa little girl. Her parents both livedin Chicago for a time before theyknew each other, but both of themreturned to Ireland during theGreat Depression. Annette andJames eventually met, were married,and had four daughters. SinceIreland was not exactly the land ofopportunity for young women inthose days, Annette Duffy decidedthat the family should move toAmerica, so her daughters wouldhave a better chance for a goodlife and a good education.Brigid, their eldest daughter, hashad both, as it turns out. Her motherwould have been very pleased toknow that her foresight paid off.And through Brigid’s careers ineducation and in the theatre, shehas always found ways to “pay itforward.” And ingeniously, she hasfound ways for one profession toinform the other.Brigid, who studied acting at theGoodman Theatre School of Drama, at that level, it was already toofirst got her Equity Card at CandlelightTheatre in the late 60s, playing the iceberg. Brigid believes thatlate. Irish Rep had already struckin The Boyfriend for director Bill Chicago still needs an Irish theater,Pullinsi, whom she knew from and Irish Rep could have made itthe Goodman. But after the show with the right leadership. “Thereclosed, Christmas was approaching, were very serious financial problems,”she says. Most theatres haveand Brigid needed extra money.Since she had a degree in education, financial problems. But Irish RepBrigid took a temporary job teachinggrade school. She found that she Brigid feels that it failed becausehad FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.loved teaching and her “temporary” of poor business management andjob lasted 34 years—teaching first poor play selection. “One personand third grades. Of course, the tried to do everything, and thereclasses put on lots of plays. weren’t enough bodies to do all theShe kept acting herself until her jobs.” But still, she says being partown children came along, and after of it was something that made herthat, performed only occasionally.She and her husband, actor notices… It was heartbreaking.”very proud. “We always got goodCharles Gerace, wanted the normalcyof a “traditional life,” so she the atmosphere of what some callBrigid Duffy loves working inwas semi-retired from professional “The Chicago School” of acting.theatre in those years. The kids are “There’s something so real aboutall grown now. Their son Sean is working with Chicago actors. Everythingis so authentic—there’s noa writer and their daughter Erin isa teacher. But as for their mother, fakery. They are really concernedonce the acting bug bites… with delivering the playwright’sIn 1991, Brigid won a Golden content in the most authenticApple Award for excellence in way—no histrionics.”teaching. Along with it went a Brigid also thinks having taken asabbatical and free tuition to Northwestern.Not surprisingly, Brigid to be valuable as well. “It’s goodlong sabbatical from acting provedtook a lot of drama classes. Also in a way to be away from it, tonot surprisingly, she decided to go be studying other people, and toback into acting professionally. She be carrying on with your life—was cast in John Hughes’s film Baby’sDay Out, Unsolved Mysteries, craft. And when you go back, thebecause you learn a lot about theand Hedda Gabler at Steppenwolf, more avenues of your life that youto name just a few roles. Then Irish bring together, it’s more interestingRepertory of Chicago came along than being totally immersed allin the late 1990s, and Brigid was the time. Most of the actors thatcast often. She and her husband I admire have real lives—becauseCharles worked together in Well of (the theatre) gets so insular.”the Saints by J.M. Synge.Besides acting, another wayBoth Brigid and Charles served Brigid has gotten back into theatreon the board of Irish Rep, and tried has been to offer her services as ato help keep Irish Rep afloat, but dialect coach for theatres such asby the time they became involved the Goodman, Northlight, and IrishRepertory. She has learned, however,that sometimes a dialect coach cando too good a job. An authenticregional Irish dialect can be so authentic,that it can be almost unintelligibleto American audiences.So what makes Irish drama sodistinctive? Brigid thinks it’s thelanguage. “That grasp of languageis so the center of an Irish play. Thebiting humor. The new writers, likeMartin McDonough and ConorMcPherson are coming out of sucha rich history of language, and humor,and compassion… The newercrop of Irish playwrights are clever,but for a play that’s beautiful, that’sreally moving, that’s really humorous,that just breaks your heart—there’s no one like Brian Friel.”Other favorite Irish playwrightsof Brigid are Sean O’Casey andEugene O’Neill. She considersO’Neill an Irish playwright byvirtue of the hugeness of hisdrama. Like O’Casey, the “Irishness”is in his language and hischaracter development. “It’s hisIrish bones in there.”And Sean O’Casey? “His comicsense in the middle of chaos, in themiddle of tragedy—he’s able tohave you crying one minute, killingyourself laughing the next.”Brigid feels that Hugh Leonard isunderappreciated and bemoans thefact that John B. Keane, “an importantwriter,” is practically unknownin this country. Other than O’Neill,Beckett and Wilde, why are Irishplays not as well known by Americanactors? Brigid thinks that there is amindset among actors that Irish playsare difficult to do. She doesn’t thinkthey are, but that’s the perception.But then again, actresses likeBrigid Duffy always make itlook easy.
August 2008 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS 33Intro of Retirement Villages to IrelandThere is a growing emphasisin Ireland on promoting independencefor older people, by offeringchoices and improving the qualityof life. Retirement villages, essentiallya community for seniors,do just that.However, the name is somewhatinappropriate, as one doesn’t necessarilyhave to be retired at all tolive in retirement villages.Entry is generally restricted topeople who have reached fifty-fiveyears of age or have retired frompermanent employment.Retirement villages offer purposelydesigned barrier free homeswith a range of facilities and activitiesthat generate opportunities forsocial activity, alongside a range ofcare and support services that canrespond quickly and flexibly to arange of care needs.Published data on retirementvillages throughout the world reflectthe following. Older peopleview retirement villages as a positivechoice. They are particularlyattracted by the combination ofindependence and security, as wellas opportunities for social engagementand an active life. Independenceis associated with havingyour own private living accommodationand choices about howyou spend your time. Concepts ofsecurity are complex, covering arange of concerns including care,security, freedom from crime etc.Retirement villages are seen byresidents as places to live as opposedto “care settings”.The size of retirement villages(i.e. more than 100 homes) allowsthe development of facilities andcare services that may not be viablein smaller developments. Amenitiessuch as restaurant/bar, healthspa, fitness suite, etc. provide opportunitiesfor leisure, educationand social encounters.Retirement villages play animportant role in promoting healthand well-being among older people.Flexible on-site care services,sometimes provided by on sitenursing homes, can assist residentsas their care needs change,and may promote early hospitaldischarge and reduce the need forhospital admission.Retirement villages can helpaddress the current shortage ofhomes suitable for later life, byproviding housing that is specificallydesigned to meet residents’needs. And they provide employmentopportunities for the widercommunity, alas increasing theviability of local services andfacilities.The true meaning of the termretirement village, specificallyone which offers more than 100homes, is a relatively new conceptin Ireland. There are relatively fewexamples, apart from GlendaleEstate in Tullow, County Carlow.Internationally, retirement villagesoffer high levels of service,care and support within environmentsthat maintain and promoteindependence. Also, they havethe additional benefits of offeringa rather wide range of social andleisure activities. They truly havemore in common with resort hotelsthan care facilities.Finally, the concept also appearsto be attractive to people from arange of different socio-economicbackgrounds. All indicators showthat there is great potential inIreland for retirement villagesto expand the choices of livingarrangements for older people.Retirement villages offer the opportunityfor not just well designedage-appropriate housing, but alsofor enhancing older people’s qualityof life, health status and sense ofsocial well-being and security.Glendale Estate retirementcommunity, Tullowphelim, Tullow,County Carlow, Ireland. Phone:011-353-59-151184. Website:www.glendale.ie.Saw Doctors Get Lifetime Achievement AwardLegendary Irish Supergroup TheSaw Doctors were presented with aLifetime Achievement Award at the2008 Meteor Ireland Music Awardsin celebration of their illustrious careerin the Irish music industry.The Saw Doctors are this yearcelebrating over 20 years in the musicbusiness, having achieved internationalacclaim across the globe withclassic hits such as ‘N17’ and ‘I UsetaLove Her’, which holds the record forIreland’s biggest selling single of alltime and the number one chart positionfor nine consecutive weeks.Local summer tour dates includeSat., Aug. 16 and Sun., Aug. 17 atMilwaukee Irish Fest, and Cleveland’sHouse of Blues on Fri., Aug. 22.www.sawdoctors.com.L-R: Eimhin Cradock (Drums), Kevin Duffy (Keyboards), Leo Moran (Guitar), DavyCarton (Vocals), and Anthony Thistlethwaite (Drums). Photo by Kyran O’Brien.
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August 2008 - Irish American News

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