Ann-Marie’s Hectic Schedule

A relatively late starter in the drama game, Ann-Marie Byrnes has crammed an enormous amount of stage work into the last five years. Initially prominent in a number of striking lead roles in Fun Company musicals, she has found a deeper niche as a straight actress in more recent times, and takes another giant step on that particular route when she opens in Sligo Drama Circle’s production of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” at the Hawk’s Well on Tuesday next. This will be her ninth major show since she first took to the boards in the Fun Company’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 1988, and during that time she has also been actively involved behind the scenes with the Fun Company, both on shows and as a member of the committee; and she has been a prominent member of the Sligo Madrigal Singers under the direction of Kathleen O’Hara.

No wonder, the Donegal-born schoolteacher is contemplating a well-earned rest with some relish. “It will be nice to relax after Blithe Spirit finishes its run, but that’s not to say that I intend to be inactive for very long. I would be reluctant to rush into so many different things as I have done in the past – I’ve sometimes been involved with three different projects at the one time – but, on the other hand, I couldn’t imagine life without the drama at this stage. I’m not the sort of person who could sit down for very long anyway, and this is the perfect outlet for me. I’m totally hooked”, she concedes.

Ann-Marie has vivid memories of her only childhood stage appearance as a “very ugly wooden soldier” in a play called “The Doll’s Wedding” when she was about ten years old, and she didn’t venture onto the boards again until her teenage years in a school production of “Joseph”, which, ironically, was produced by none other than Joan Fitzpatrick, who renews her association with Ann-Marie as Director of “Blithe Spirit”. Despite the lack of stage work, there was always music in her formative years. Her late father was a noted traditional musician, and Ann-Marie recalls that she was “always a bit of a singer”, a permanent fixture in school and community choirs. At Carysfort College, during her teacher training years, she was a member of the Dublin Jazz Verse Choir.

Four years after coming to live in Sligo, she responded to an advertisement in the Social and Personal columns of The Sligo Champion for auditions for a Fun Company show. Her husband, local auctioneer, Declan Byrne, was heavily involved in triathlon sports, their two children, Andrea and Raymond, were at an age where “the stay up all night” phase had passed, and Ann-Marie saw the possibility of a hobby of her own. “When I saw the advert, it struck me that here’s an outley which might be of interest, but I don’t think I ever suspected it was to become such a major part of my life”, she recalls. Although she had a small part in “Superstar”, it was sufficient to get the adrenalin going. “I was truly amazed at the level of professionalism involved in the Fun Company. The singing part was easy for me, but I hadn’t an earthly about the dancing, and nobody was more amazed than myself when I discovered that I could actually get up on the stage and sing and dance in that way. In that regard, all the credit is due to Mary Mc Donagh, whose own confidence radiates confidence in those who work with her”, she recalls.

The other equally important aspect of her involvement in the drama movement was the path it provided to lasting friendships. “I have to admit that I found it difficult to make friends when I first came to Sligo, but since my involvement in the local drama scene I have met fantastic friends. That’s one of the great values of local drama groups”, she says. Her first big part was in the Fun Company’s “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in which she played the female lead. She was offered the part shortly before going on holidays, which meant she missed the early rehearsals, and had only twelve days with the rest of the cast before opening. “I took the script on holiday with me and read it every day. In those circumstances, I was very apprehensive about doing it, but to my own amazement, I got through it and it went very well”. No sooner had “Seven Brides” finished its run when she was back in rehearsal for “Calamity Jane”, and this was followed some months later by the Fun Company’s Extension One production of “Tomfoolery”.

Her first stab at straight acting, albeit in a musical context, was in the Half Door production of “Playboy of the Western World”, in which she played the Widow Quinn. “This was something different to anything I had done before, and I had to work very hard at developing the character. It was my first taste of a really meaty role, and it was a great challenge. I enjoyed it so much that I decided I would like to do more of this type of work”, Ann-Marie recalls. But it was back to the more familiar type-casting for one of her all-time favourite roles as Sandy in the Fun Company’s “Grease” last year. “Physically, this was one of the most demanding of all the Fun Company shows, but we had a great time doing it. I had been a teenager in the 70’s myself, and I remember the wild excitement that the Grease movie generated, and doing the show brought all that back for me. It was terrific fun, and we all got a great kick out of it”.

Her first part in a production without music was in the Drama Circle’s “On the Inside / On the Outside” by Tom Murphy, in which she played a “neurotic, spinster schoolteacher”. This was acting with a capital A. “Although it was a relatively small part in terms of lines, it was integral to the story, and there was a continuous stage presence. Not only was it my first pure acting role, but the part was so different. This person was totally alien to my own personality, and I had to really work hard to find the character. All through rehearsal, I felt uncomfortable about it and there were many times when I wanted to forget about it. It wasn’t until dress rehearsal that I finally began to feel the part, and thankfully, it worked well on stage”.

This summer’s Half Door production, “Inish”, in which she played a middle-aged hotelier, further broadened the acting experience, and she’s now back with the Drama Circle, busily putting the finishing touches to preparations for next week’s opening of “Blithe Spirit”. “It’s an upper class English farce, in which I play a rather charming, mischievous spirit. It’s a very funny play, and with Joan Fitzpatrick directing a cast which includes people such as John Gaffney, Denise Burns, John Legge, Maureen Barry and Ann Brady, it should be well worth seeing.

An interview with Ann-Marie Byrne by Jim Gray in The Sligo Champion, Showstopper Series, November 12th, 1993