WFT Member Mary Kate loves her day job as a story consultant and writer in the film and television industry but she comes alive at night when she tells her stories on stage to an audience. Now she has turned a number of her true-life stories into a piece of theatre, Making A Show of Myself. Back by popular demand, after a sell-out run and rave reviews in November/December last year, Mary Kate will next be performing at a bigger scale at Dublin’s historic Smock Alley Theatre.
Making a Show of Myself,
By Mary Kate O’Flanagan
Directed by Will O’Connell
Where: At the Smock Alley Theatre
When: Friday March 22nd and Saturday March 23rd at 19:30 / 7:30 p.m.
Matinee Show: Saturday March 23rd 14:30 / 2:30 p.m. with post-show discussion.
Mary Kate shares: “It’s safe to say that story is the central preoccupation of my life. It’s been the focus of my studies, at the heart of all my work and my deepest pleasure. Over the course of my life, it has become my religion. I believe that by shaping a story, we reclaim the narrative of our own experiences and change our lives. This is why I am out here making a show of myself, sharing my silliest, most painful and embarrassing as well as my happiest and proudest moments, to share my faith in stories with others and hopefully win a few converts to the holy magic and power of story.”
Mary Kate laid claim to the title of Ireland’s Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth, which she won after telling her story of being a fish out of water at The Abbey Theatre in 2015. She has since been a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at The Dublin StorySlam on several occasions. If you want a flavour of what she does, you can hear one of her stories on The Moth Radio Hour.