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Determed Women: Mary Tierney
Mary Tierney started her professional acting career in 1971 in Dublin at Ireland’s National Theater, The Abbey’s experimental wing, The Peacock and from that continued to work for five years in Ireland; culminating in Dublin’s first rock musical, Stephanie by Emerson college graduate, Russell Mason. Upon returning to New York, her role as Josie, in Walter Macken’s Home is the Hero which ran for six months as the Irish Arts Center. The success of that play has a ripple effect; Moss Cooney, Cork city immigrant restaurant entrepreneur, built a theater above his BillyMunk restaurant on 45th Street just off Second Avenue for the play; redirected by Barbara Loden, thus starting the BillyMunk, non-for-profit
resident company.
At the suggestion of Barbara, Mary started directing there; a Sean O’Casey One Act Play Festival. From there she branded out to create New York’s first Lunchtime Series at the Quaigh with The Sea Plays of Eugene O’Neill starring William Hickey, Brian Dennehy and Jim DeMarse. Lunchtime continued until 1982 with the highlight being Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape with Billy Hickey. Also at the Quaigh, Mary earned her Actor’s Equity Association membership with British author David Pownall’s Livingston & Sechele in 1983.
On a personal note marriage to Dublin born UN peacekeeper in 1985 created a nearly 20 year hiatus in theater as Life became visiting war zones and having the privilege of being in the historic dismantling of apartheid in South Africa; where she lived on and off for two years while the UN sponsored elections made Nelson Mandela President 1994. To witness the effect of post war and democratic elections; 1989 -1990 in Namibia, then South Africa and finally in 1999, East Timor’s struggles and a dramatic defeat, by the UN election team, of Indonesia’s attempt at total sabotage was well worth intermittent acting/directing work. The UN world & the theater world happily collided with her husband’s final mission, UNFICYP, in Cyprus. There, Mufflon Bookshop and The Weaving Mill, brought the newly discovered and published Tennessee Williams collection of short plays, Mister Paradise; a series of one act plays handwritten by a young author, found in the Greek section of a library in Virginia by a Cypriot scholar. A performance of several plays by the British Young Vic Shakespearean touring company in Nicosia 2005. Returning to NYC full time and working with the City of New York’s Department for the Aging Time Banks NYC brought theater work full circle. Theater for the New City (TNC) produced the artistic side of Time Banks NYC and led to today’s Tierney TNC Theater Workshop sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2013. Unencumbered by war zones; theater life has been abundant with TNC Workshop as a base she’s been able to work in independent films and showcase productions of new plays these last half a dozen years.
NEW YORK, NY
resident company.
At the suggestion of Barbara, Mary started directing there; a Sean O’Casey One Act Play Festival. From there she branded out to create New York’s first Lunchtime Series at the Quaigh with The Sea Plays of Eugene O’Neill starring William Hickey, Brian Dennehy and Jim DeMarse. Lunchtime continued until 1982 with the highlight being Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape with Billy Hickey. Also at the Quaigh, Mary earned her Actor’s Equity Association membership with British author David Pownall’s Livingston & Sechele in 1983.
On a personal note marriage to Dublin born UN peacekeeper in 1985 created a nearly 20 year hiatus in theater as Life became visiting war zones and having the privilege of being in the historic dismantling of apartheid in South Africa; where she lived on and off for two years while the UN sponsored elections made Nelson Mandela President 1994. To witness the effect of post war and democratic elections; 1989 -1990 in Namibia, then South Africa and finally in 1999, East Timor’s struggles and a dramatic defeat, by the UN election team, of Indonesia’s attempt at total sabotage was well worth intermittent acting/directing work. The UN world & the theater world happily collided with her husband’s final mission, UNFICYP, in Cyprus. There, Mufflon Bookshop and The Weaving Mill, brought the newly discovered and published Tennessee Williams collection of short plays, Mister Paradise; a series of one act plays handwritten by a young author, found in the Greek section of a library in Virginia by a Cypriot scholar. A performance of several plays by the British Young Vic Shakespearean touring company in Nicosia 2005. Returning to NYC full time and working with the City of New York’s Department for the Aging Time Banks NYC brought theater work full circle. Theater for the New City (TNC) produced the artistic side of Time Banks NYC and led to today’s Tierney TNC Theater Workshop sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2013. Unencumbered by war zones; theater life has been abundant with TNC Workshop as a base she’s been able to work in independent films and showcase productions of new plays these last half a dozen years.
NEW YORK, NY
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By Rachel LoveMary Tierney started her professional acting career in 1971 in Dublin at Ireland’s National Theater, The Abbey’s experimental wing, The Peacock and from that continued to work for five years in Ireland; culminating in Dublin’s first rock musical, Stephanie by Emerson college graduate, Russell Mason. Upon returning to New York, her role as Josie, in Walter Macken’s Home is the Hero which ran for six months as the Irish Arts Center. The success of that play has a ripple effect; Moss Cooney, Cork city immigrant restaurant entrepreneur, built a theater above his BillyMunk restaurant on 45th Street just off Second Avenue for the play; redirected by Barbara Loden, thus starting the BillyMunk, non-for-profit
resident company.
At the suggestion of Barbara, Mary started directing there; a Sean O’Casey One Act Play Festival. From there she branded out to create New York’s first Lunchtime Series at the Quaigh with The Sea Plays of Eugene O’Neill starring William Hickey, Brian Dennehy and Jim DeMarse. Lunchtime continued until 1982 with the highlight being Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape with Billy Hickey. Also at the Quaigh, Mary earned her Actor’s Equity Association membership with British author David Pownall’s Livingston & Sechele in 1983.
On a personal note marriage to Dublin born UN peacekeeper in 1985 created a nearly 20 year hiatus in theater as Life became visiting war zones and having the privilege of being in the historic dismantling of apartheid in South Africa; where she lived on and off for two years while the UN sponsored elections made Nelson Mandela President 1994. To witness the effect of post war and democratic elections; 1989 -1990 in Namibia, then South Africa and finally in 1999, East Timor’s struggles and a dramatic defeat, by the UN election team, of Indonesia’s attempt at total sabotage was well worth intermittent acting/directing work. The UN world & the theater world happily collided with her husband’s final mission, UNFICYP, in Cyprus. There, Mufflon Bookshop and The Weaving Mill, brought the newly discovered and published Tennessee Williams collection of short plays, Mister Paradise; a series of one act plays handwritten by a young author, found in the Greek section of a library in Virginia by a Cypriot scholar. A performance of several plays by the British Young Vic Shakespearean touring company in Nicosia 2005. Returning to NYC full time and working with the City of New York’s Department for the Aging Time Banks NYC brought theater work full circle. Theater for the New City (TNC) produced the artistic side of Time Banks NYC and led to today’s Tierney TNC Theater Workshop sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2013. Unencumbered by war zones; theater life has been abundant with TNC Workshop as a base she’s been able to work in independent films and showcase productions of new plays these last half a dozen years.
NEW YORK, NY
resident company.
At the suggestion of Barbara, Mary started directing there; a Sean O’Casey One Act Play Festival. From there she branded out to create New York’s first Lunchtime Series at the Quaigh with The Sea Plays of Eugene O’Neill starring William Hickey, Brian Dennehy and Jim DeMarse. Lunchtime continued until 1982 with the highlight being Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape with Billy Hickey. Also at the Quaigh, Mary earned her Actor’s Equity Association membership with British author David Pownall’s Livingston & Sechele in 1983.
On a personal note marriage to Dublin born UN peacekeeper in 1985 created a nearly 20 year hiatus in theater as Life became visiting war zones and having the privilege of being in the historic dismantling of apartheid in South Africa; where she lived on and off for two years while the UN sponsored elections made Nelson Mandela President 1994. To witness the effect of post war and democratic elections; 1989 -1990 in Namibia, then South Africa and finally in 1999, East Timor’s struggles and a dramatic defeat, by the UN election team, of Indonesia’s attempt at total sabotage was well worth intermittent acting/directing work. The UN world & the theater world happily collided with her husband’s final mission, UNFICYP, in Cyprus. There, Mufflon Bookshop and The Weaving Mill, brought the newly discovered and published Tennessee Williams collection of short plays, Mister Paradise; a series of one act plays handwritten by a young author, found in the Greek section of a library in Virginia by a Cypriot scholar. A performance of several plays by the British Young Vic Shakespearean touring company in Nicosia 2005. Returning to NYC full time and working with the City of New York’s Department for the Aging Time Banks NYC brought theater work full circle. Theater for the New City (TNC) produced the artistic side of Time Banks NYC and led to today’s Tierney TNC Theater Workshop sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2013. Unencumbered by war zones; theater life has been abundant with TNC Workshop as a base she’s been able to work in independent films and showcase productions of new plays these last half a dozen years.
NEW YORK, NY