“When I was doing my first ‘real’ play at age 12 in South Dakota, my family was being evicted from our home. I didn’t always know where we would sleep at night, but I knew that after school, I would be in the theater rehearsing with other people.”
Actor Anne Gridley talks to Totally Dublin ahead of Exit Pursued By a Bear, an incredible new production by Pan Pan that sees The Winter’s Tale retold from the perspective of the Bear as part of this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Who is Anne Gridley?
I grew up in South Dakota. My theatrical experience began with school shows and plays at the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse. I knew that I wanted to pursue theater, and since there weren’t tremendous opportunities in that big square state in the middle of the country, I moved to New York for college, double majoring in theater and literature. In college, I developed a great love for Samuel Beckett; my literature thesis was on his short prose. I then studied dramaturgy in graduate school (I wasn’t accepted into the acting program!), and met several people who would become instrumental to my career.
We formed a company called Nature Theater of Oklahoma (it’s a Kafka reference). Since 2005, I performed with them, creating experimental pieces that toured nationally and internationally. I’ve also worked with The Wooster Group, Jerome Bel, Big Dance, Chameckilerner, and a host of other downtown/experimental artists and companies. I’m currently creating my first one person play, “Watch Me Walk”: a meditation on disability, legacy, and resilience, to premier at the end of 2025 at SoHo Rep in New York. I have worked a bit of my favorite Irish author into the show, of course.
What excites you about working in the arts?
When I was doing my first “real” play at age 12 in South Dakota, my family was being evicted from our home. I didn’t always know where we would sleep at night, but I knew that after school, I would be in the theater rehearsing with other people. Theater became a home for me then, and it remains one today, no matter where I find myself in the world.
I love the community created by working towards a common project. I love the fragility of it, that it could descend into chaos or be “ruined” at any moment. I love that no performance is ever the same. I love dumb theater trickery, where things are hung by fishing line and appear as if they’re floating by magic. The fact that human beings get together in a room and look at one another, and listen, and breathe together, fascinates me. Maybe it can change the world, or at least a small part of it.
How did you get involved with working with Pan Pan?
One of my favorite actresses, Kate Valk of The Wooster Group, mentioned Pan Pan and Nature Theater in the same breath for an interview with Bomb Magazine as companies she was excited about. This sparked an instant curiosity in me: who are these people? Though we often toured the same places and festivals, I only managed to see one of their shows in 2022, when they brought “The Patient Gloria” to St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. This spring, Pan Pan came to NY for three weeks to do a residency/artistic exchange with Nature Theater, and I had the opportunity to meet and work with Gavin, Aedin, Emma, Faith, and Mish. We got along instantly, and it seemed as though we’d already been working together for years. I’m honored to be invited to create with them in their home. We’ve had just over a week of rehearsals so far, and it’s been a dream.
Can you tell us more about the show as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival?
While I can’t speak to the curatorial process of DTF, I do think that Pan Pan’s re-imagining of Shakespeare’s “Winter’s Tale” is relevant, particularly in this post(?) pandemic climate. Pan Pan’s approach to this late Shakespearean work is fresh and vibrant, teasing out the human frailties and triumphs, without the modern trappings meant to isolate us. I can assure you that the bears you will see on stage are not generated by AI. In the spirit of fostering cultural understanding, the cast includes myself (an American), a German, Palestinian, and three Irish performers. It’s incredible to be part of Europe’s oldest theater festival, and I hope to be able to see other works (I don’t know if there’s time for that!) and meet other artists throughout the festival.
What are you looking forward to most about working in Ireland for the first time?
I joked with friends before coming to Dublin that I intended to only eat dairy products and oysters in Dublin. So far, I’ve enjoyed Murphy’s ice cream, and there’s a large amount of butter in the fridge. No oysters as of yet, but there’s still time. I’ve strolled through Trinity College campus, and saw the cricket field where I imagine Beckett spent a great deal of time. I nearly wept when I saw the Samuel Beckett Theatre. Mostly, though, I am curious about the Dublin audience. I’ve never performed in Ireland before, and cannot wait to see how they react to our show. Sometimes as a performer, it can seem like I just breeze in to a place, do the show, and go on to the next gig, without ever feeling like I’ve “been” there. I am grateful to be able to spend time in this city, to get a sense of its rhythms, and to investigate the people.
Exit Pursued By a Bear by William Shakespeare and Pan Pan – The Winter’s Tale retold from the perspective of the Bear runs as part of Dublin Theatre Festival at Whyte Recital Hall, Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) from October 3rd to 13th. Book Tickets here.
Dates:
5, 8-11 Oct, 7:30pm
6 & 13 Oct, 6pm
12 Oct, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Previews:
3-4 Oct, 7:30pm
Dublin Theatre Festival runs from September 26th until Sunday October 13th. Further information: dublintheatrefestival.com
Image Credit: Ros Kavanagh
