Staff Spotlight: Savannah Irish

Visitor Engagement Associate Savannah Irish

When Visitor Engagement Associate Savannah Irish talks about her childhood plans to work in theatre, she says, “It was 100%. No doubt. When I was a kid, I told stories. I would find things, even a wooden spoon, around the house and make up stories. I would pretend to be a doctor who solved problems. I was just always drawn to capturing people’s attention.”

Although Savannah’s journey has taken her from Maine to Florida and back again, her path to starring in The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus in Maddy’s Theatre was a fairly direct one. Prophetically, her first role as a child actor was as a tree whose big moment was the drop of an acorn. Now she finds herself playing a powerful role as a rowdy, young girl who wants to protect the planet.

As a student majoring in the University of Southern Maine’s Theatre department, Savannah pursued an internship and post-graduation work at Walt Disney World in Florida. She focused on costuming for productions like “Finding Nemo, the Musical” and learned a lot about the fast pace of professional shows. When she returned to Maine, she started working at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.

“It has everything I wanted-art, kids, interacting with people. It is a wonderful fit and it makes me happy to go to work every day,” said Savannah.

The pandemic has been particularly difficult on those with passion in the performing arts. “But, when I saw that auditions were starting up, it was so exciting. The script for The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus really stood out. When I saw this character Sheila who is excited to find things and make things out of them, I said, oh, we’re going to get along just fine. I find childhood imagination that is sparked by a single, ordinary item, to be bewitching.”

The Museum & Theatre has everything I wanted-art, kids, interacting with people. It is a wonderful fit and it makes me happy to go to work every day. - Savannah Irish

Savannah said, “One of the more challenging scenes is the sequence involving the truck and the coyote. The pacing shifts from slow to an adrenaline-fueled rush to get all of the kids into the truck bed. That was a fun challenge, in particular, but the whole show is challenging. In the next scene, when the character Sheila gets out of the truck and sees the Junk Canyon for the first time, she sees broken metal bits and rotted stuff. I know it hits me hard. For the character, too. Sheila does a lot to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but she is still overwhelmed by the scale of the problem. Landfills. Oceans. There is a lot of habitat destruction. The play captures the truth of human impact. At first, it devastates her. But at the end, there’s a powerful call to action to save the planet. It motivates children to be kind to where you live.”

Savannah Irish in The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus. Photo: Katie Day.

There’s a powerful call to action to save the planet. It motivates children to be kind to where you live. -Savannah Irish

Savannah praises the teamwork that she has experienced at Maddy’s Theatre. “Show Director Tess Van Horn, Theatre Artistic Director Reba Askari, and Stage Manager Allison McCall have all been very supportive. I have never seen so much kindness in my entire life in a theatrical setting. I appreciate all of their hard work and support.”