9th Annual Origin’s 1st Irish Festival Nominations Announced

Nominations have been announced for the ninth annual Origin’s 1st Irish Festival, in advance of an October 3 ceremony where awards will be handed out. The event will take place at 7pm at the American Irish Historical Society, with actress Carey Van Driest cohosting.

A total of eight productions from Dublin, Toronto, and New York were seen in competition during the monthlong festival that began on September 6. Four special productions were seen out-of-competition. New York’s the Cell earned the most nominations, a total of five, for Crackskull Row, and two productions from Ireland, Bears in Space and Quietly, each scored four nominations.

The list of nominees is as follows:

Best Actress

Sonya Kelly (How to Keep an Alien)

Antoinette LaVecchia (The Birds)

Helen McMillan (Dorothy of Nowhere)

Dearbhla Molloy (Afterplay)

Best Actor

Dermot Crowley (Afterplay)

Colin Lane (Crackskull Row)

Patrick O’Kane (Quietly)

Tim Ruddy (Appendage)

Best Director

Dan Colley (Bears in Space)

Stefan Dzeparoski (The Birds)

Jimmy Fay (Quietly)

Kira Simring (Crackskull Row)

Best Playwright

Sonya Kelly (How to Keep an Alien)

Honor Molloy (Crackskull Row)

Owen McCafferty (Quietly)

Eoghan Quinn (Bears in Space)

Best Design

Bears in Space

The Birds

Crackskull Row

Best Production

Bears in Space

Crackskull Row

How to Keep an Alien

Quietly

In addition to the creative awards, a special jury prize and Origin Theatre’s Special Appreciation Award will also be handed out on Monday.

This year's panel of judges includes Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch cultural observer Quentin Fottrell, Irish America Magazine editor and cofounder Patricia Harty, TheaterMania.com editor in chief Andy Lefkowitz, fashion executive Laurianne Listo, and Doug Reside, curator of the Theater Division at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.