We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kate Duffy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kate below.

Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on to date has been Clerical Error Production’s presentation of Samuel Beckett’s play Happy Days at the end of February, 2023. It was a significant step forward in my journey in Irish drama, which began in 2016 when I co-wrote, with MaryAnne Mathews, a three part historical musical drama called Mother Ireland. The show marked the 100th anniversary of the Rising, dramatized the roles played by women in Ireland’s fight for independence, and was performed at Indianapolis’ DivaFest. I started our company, Clerical Error, with partner David Molloy, five years ago. We began by parodying a cult Irish sit com, Father Ted, with our version called Father Ned. Since our first performance (a show I wrote) at the 2018 IndyFringe Festival, I have written and we have presented three other Ned comedies, including a musical, with a rotating cast of regulars broadly playing Irish characters. We have also produced two vaudeville shows in which we figured an Irish priest in a standup comedy team, and a twist on drag where I played an old Irish stage manager in our Christmas show. Our niche in Indianapolis community theatre is Irish comedy, and on S.t Patrick’s Day 2023 the IndyFringe Theatre recognized us on social media as an Irish presence in the city.
A year ago, David and I brought Jon Lindley and my husband Charles Sim into Clerical Error and we incorporated as a not-for-profit in the state of Indiana. At that point, Jon approached me about playing Winnie, the protagonist in Beckett’s Happy Days, and playing her Irish.
This was a bucket list show for both Jon and me. He had directed the play in college, and had always wanted to put on a remount. The role of Winnie is considered the “Hamlet” role for women, and has been played by theatrical greats both in Europe and the US, including Diane Wiest and Fiona Shaw. It’s considered a demanding role both physically and mentally. Winnie is the primary character; the only other character, her husband Willie, appears only periodically and has only 12 lines. The rest of the dialogue (70 pages) is carried soley by Winnie as she is, in Act I, buried up to her waist in a mound of earth, and, in Act II, buried up to her neck. I was honored that Jon felt I could handle the role and bring an Irish twist to it, as Beckett is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed playwright.
This is just the backstory. I could write volumes about the actual experience!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always had an interest in theatre. My father, a high school English and drama teacher, fostered that in me. My first performance was as the baby John Thomas in his production of The Noble Savage. As a child I wrote plays that my teachers let me and my friends perform for the class. I was active in high school choir and repertory theatre. I ended up majoring in education and taught high school journalism and college literature and creative writing from 1978 to 2012. I then took early retirement and looked for something else to do.
My daughter told me about auditions for the Rocky Horror Show at Footlite Musicals in Indianapolis. We auditioned together and were both cast in the chorus. At age 57 I was by far the oldest member of the cast strutting my stuff in fishnets! But I caught the bug again and went from there to performing in local cabarets, small shows in character or cross cast roles (playing males again), and ended up in a playwrighting class at the Indiana Writers Center. It was in that class that I created the first draft of Mother Ireland, and through that class I was cast in another show playing a different Irish character. Through this process I met David Molloy, and Clerical Error came into being.
I think I gave a pretty precise rundown on our brand and organization in the previous question.
What I’m proudest of is that every member of Clerical Error Productions is over 60. Even more so, I’m proud of the fact that I am creating and performing in roles for female presenting actors over 60. Those roles are few and far between and talented actors are finding themselves with less and less to do of any substantial nature. Age discrimination is very real in performing arts, and I’m doing everything I can to break that barrier.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

As I stated earlier, my goal is to break age barriers and stereotypes and demonstrate that women’s lives and experiences don’t become less valid as they age.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think my recent experience performing as Winnie in Happy Days demonstrated my resilience. I had to memorize 70 pages of dialogue, present them convincingly in an Irish accent, and spend two acts rooted to the stage surrounded by a confining wooden framework decorated as an earth mound. We did five shows in five nights. That would have been challenging enough, but in December, immediately following a strenuous vaudeville show, I came down with COVID. We began rehearsal for Happy Days in January when I was still feeling the effects of the virus. From COVID I went into two bouts of bronchitis, each with violent coughing. That was followed by a stomach virus. We debuted Happy Days, the first time on record that it has been performed in Indianapolis, on February 22. I was just days past a violent cough, I had a sore throat, and my voice came and went. When I wasn’t rehearsing or performing, I was sleeping because the fatigue was so severe.
But I went on. My performance wasn’t perfect, but more than one audience member told me it was a “tour de force.”
In retrospect, I’m shocked that I was able to pull off the performance, let alone give a convincing delivery that led to standing ovations and cheers. But the show must go on, and I did it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.clericalerrorproductions.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClericalErrorProductions/
• Linkedin: clericalerrorproductions
• Youtube: clerical_error_productions