Matula among first Americans to perform at famed Smock Alley Theatre in Ireland

Courtney Matula, a Hastings native, is headed for Ireland this month with the Carthage College Theatre Department to perform an original play — one she helped create — on Ireland’s oldest stage. Matula will perform in “A Clamour of Rooks” by Irish playwright Martin Maguire on the stage of the Smock Alley Theatre, the oldest theatre in Ireland. The project is part of Carthage’s January Term and Visiting Artist Program. The students, along with Carthage Theatre Professor Neil Scharnick, will be in Ireland Jan. 21 through Feb. 2. The Smock Alley Theatre is one of Europe’s landmark theatres. Believed to be lost to history, a full archaeological excavation in 2009 uncovered the theatre’s original foundation. Over the past decade, efforts were undertaken to restore the theatre that was originally commissioned by King Charles II. The Carthage students will be the first Americans to perform on the Smock Alley stage.

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