The character counts, not the size of the role

They're vital to a play, but don't always get the glory – so what balance does an actor strike when in a supporting role? A selection of this year's Irish TimesIrish Theatre Awards nominees explain

ASK MOST actors and actresses involved in a production about their role, and they will tell you they are both supported and supporting in one way or another. Try getting them to talk about a hierarchy of importance on set, and the majority will refuse, stating that each participant in a production is of equal value. It’s a collaborative process.

So, in one respect, the title “supporting actor or actress” is perhaps a slightly awkward one, albeit one used in most major performing arts awards, including the Oscars. More and more these days, plays are viewed as a whole and not simply vehicles for one or two big stars in choice roles.

The manner in which staging techniques and increased complexity backstage are being incorporated into productions means that characters on stage are seen in slightly different terms. They are part of the whole as opposed to the whole itself. So, what do actors think when they are nominated for a best supporting role? Is it a welcome acknowledgement that every role is important, and that a play is the sum of its performing parts? Or is it a case of “I told you so” to the director, perhaps vindication that they could and should have been cast in the lead?

JOHN OLOHAN

Played Byrne in Big Maggie

John Olohan admits he was taken aback when news came through of his nomination. “I was so surprised that my wife said congratulations to me for getting nominated and I said to her, ‘nominated for what?’ I hadn’t a clue.”

Despite being a constant on the Irish stage for many years, this is the first time Olohan has been up for an award. He has a long association with Druid Theatre Company and says it is fitting that it is this role he got the nod for. “I’m playing a character who is Maggie’s support. His job in the play is to be around for Maggie. Byrne never judges her and is there all the time for her to the very end. I must say in that context I am delighted that it was picked out. There is no better supporting role.”

You might think that the older the actor, the less awards like this make a difference, but Olohan disagrees. “The older you get, the less confidence you have and the more doubt you have. It’s not easier as you get older. When you are younger you go out and do it and bungee jump away into it. I find that now you have to go through a bigger minefield getting it right. I’ve talked to a lot of other guys my age and they all say it’s horrible as you get older.” And as to the humble recognition that comes with being nominated? “I expect there’ll be no living with me now,” he says.

INGRID CRAIGIE

Played Kate in The Cripple of Inishmaan

One of the interesting things about Ingrid Craigie's nomination is that she shares it with Dearbhla Molloy for their performances as sisters Eileen and Kate in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Given the way their roles are intertwined, the judges found it difficult to award one above the other so decided to nominate them both.

Off stage, Craigie and Molloy are close friends, and even lived together during rehearsals for the production. “Dearbhla was living with me in London when we were rehearsing it. When we were doing the opening scene, the strange thing with something like that is it is absolutely obvious how to play it when you eventually get there,” she says. “Our two characters are waiting for the nephew to come and they stand there in Beckett mode. Many a night we were washing dishes and saying the lines together and finding a way of doing it while thinking about something else.”

This closeness translated to the stage and Craigie says it is especially welcome to be nominated in a comic role. “If you look at things like the Golden Globes they have categories like ‘best comic performance’, but in theatre often comedy is not recognised enough. People think about drama as being serious and traumatic and don’t recognise how difficult comedy can be. I don’t mind as an actor whether I get the smaller role or the bigger one, it is the character that counts.”

In terms of the number of female roles available on the Irish stage, Craigie believes she has been fortunate to work with directors drawn to particular work. "There are always leading female roles like Big Maggie. I suppose, though, the old adage was there were seven male parts in a play for one female and you might often have the leading lady in a smaller part. I think in Ireland there are so many strong female actresses that [ Cripple of Inishmaan] director Garry Hynes is attracted to plays with strong roles."

FRANKIE McCAFFERTY

Played Ivan in The Seafarer

Another seasoned actor, Frankie McCafferty, was nominated previously in both the best actor and the best supporting category, so he is well placed to assess the merits of one nomination above the other. “A good role is a good role and actors don’t think that way any more about which role is better than others,” he says. “It is more about the ensemble and the show as an overall thing. I am privileged in that I have been here before, nominated in both supporting and best categories in the same year, which was a bit surreal. I do remember thinking at that time what makes one a best actor and one a best supporting actor, but I suppose, who cares really?”

Is it a bit annoying though for a member of the public to be reminded of the strength of a production after the event, not allowing them a chance to see it unless it is revived? "I remember doing a production of the Vincent Woods play At the Black Pig's Dykeand it ran for about two or three years. We went to London, Australia and Toronto with it and it had been back to Ireland twice in that period. When we got back to Galway, a friend of mine said to me, 'Is that show over? I wanted to see that.' I replied, 'Do you want us to come and do it in your sitting room?' It's no harm for people to be kicking themselves for not seeing a production."

McCafferty says you know instinctively as an actor whether or not a production is having an impact on the audience. With this one, looking out during one of the first previews, he knew they were on to something. “You know when it’s shite and when it is good. That doesn’t mean you’d be going around saying, I think maybe I’ll get a gong for this. I was very pleased because the show is about overcoming despair and redemption and that really helps people. It was heartening to see one night in Virginia in Cavan an entire family in the audience – the mammy and daddy and kids. It was very heart-warming to see it and it reminded me of seeing plays when I was little with my parents. When it clicks with an audience you just know it and it’s a great feeling to know you are putting it out properly. That’s the main focus.”

CAITRÍONA Ní MHURCHÚ

Played Masha in 16 Possible Glimpses

“Well, it’s not not nice to be nominated,” says Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, who combines her time as an actress with her work writing children’s fiction. “This is all a first for me and I think it’s a nice recognition of the amount of work that goes into it. When I stepped away from it, as a production it came together really well and was a very layered show. I know everyone says this, but as an actress you are really only part of that really.”

If there had been lead female roles she could have played in the production, I wonder does getting a nomination for a supporting role carry with it a message to the director? “I think if you went around thinking like that you would leave the gig. You’d turn into the most embittered bag walking. Look, Ireland is dripping with talented actors and it is a relief to get a part at all, not to mind a good part.”

In the production, Ní Mhurchú plays Masha, Anton Chekhov’s sister. She died in the 20th century, which meant that created an additional challenge for the actress. “I know she is dead, but she died not long ago and outlived many of the family. She is alive within living memory and so with that comes, I felt, a certain responsibility portraying someone who did actually live.”

Ní Mhurchú says she looks forward to the awards night. It’s a chance to meet casting agents and directors, although within the close-knit Irish theatre community many of them will be known to her already.

“I found out I’d been nominated from people texting me. That same weekend the child had a bug and I was changing sheets every two hours. It was very glamorous.”

So will it change things now? “No, not really. I’ll keep on my writing work and whatever else comes along. I think actors are remarkable at finding work and making work for themselves. One of our greatest skills is that we are like mini entrepreneurs.

“But if you’re asking me am I going to change anything now I have been nominated? Well, it’s not like I’m going to start walking around where I live in Ballybrack in a ball dress, now is it?”