 Dramatist Pat Mulkeen shares one of her experiences of coming to America in I.G. Greer Auditorium Wednesday. Photo by Holt Menzies
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by EMILY MELTON
Lifestyles Editor
When Appalachian State University English lecturer Dennis J. Bohr and English professor Georgia B. Rhoades went to Derry, Northern Ireland in the late 90s, they were unaware they would leave with a newfound friendship.
On their trip, the pair met free-lance dramatist Pat Mulkeen.
Born in Derry, Mulkeen writes and directs plays for The Playhouse, a theater that allows community members to use its facilities to produce their shows.
Several years ago, she put on a play about a group of women who worked in a movie theater and were forced to resign after the ownership of the theater wanted to expand.
Since then,
the pair has gone back to Ireland whenever they have a chance,
sometimes receiving grants from Appalachian, sometimes using their own
resources.
They have kept in touch and have now worked together many times, Rhoades said.
“At least
twice we’ve stayed at Pat’s house,” Bohr said. “This year, after some
wrangling and cajoling, she finally came over here.”
Until recently, nearly everyone living in Northern Ireland claimed themselves either Protestant or Catholic.
Today, many organizations have been established to ease the tension between the two groups.
“People kind
of look at us funny because they’ve been to Derry and it’s a beautiful
city, but at the same time, there has been quite a bit of sectarian
violence,” Bohr said. “We primarily go back [to] visit the people,
people like Pat….”
Mulkeen gave
a presentation Wednesday at 5 p.m. in I.G. Greer Studio Theatre,
providing several stories and reflecting on her experiences in both
Ireland and America.
“Americans
always had prettier things, a little bit nicer than anything we had at
home,” Mulkeen said. “We Irish, in the 50s and 60s, we wore black and
white and Americans were technicolored. They had such colorful clothes.”
She believes
many people have an innate sense of storytelling, referencing parents
and teachers who use stories to communicate with children.
“I believe we are all story-tellers,” Mulkeen said. “There is some sort of child-like fun in it.”
Departing to
Ireland after attending a storytelling festival in Tennessee, Mulkeen
hopes to return to Boone to receive a master’s degree in Appalachian
Studies.
“As soon as I
got to Boone, it felt like I had stepped into a movie set,” she said.
“It hardly seemed real…It always fascinates me to think of how
difficult it was for people who came [to America] with no education, no
money, and they arrived and settled in these hills.”
Photo by Holt Menzies | Chief Photographer
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