Artist Spotlight: Irene Molloy

Irene Molloy’s story is incredible.  She has been all over…emotionally, mentally, and physically…and she has absolutely come out on top.  Getting to hear her story was extremely interesting, and I felt really privileged to experience it.  Show Pony was a show that I think I could watch over and over again and still learn and gain more from it.  Irene is a strong woman in so many ways, and it made her show all the more interesting.

I think I was a lot more captivated by Show Pony than I thought I was going to be.  And a large part of that was Irene.  She absolutely sucked me into her story.  I loved everything she had to say.  Her show was simple, but it was absolutely beautiful.  Not everyone can do that, especially telling a story like hers in an hour.  We watched her grow up (really, she started telling her story beginning when she was very young).  We saw the ups, the downs, and everything in between.  This was a really intense and eye opening show, and that was all Irene.

Getting to ask Irene some questions was super exciting.  Honestly, I wish I could have asked more.  But what she had to say was amazing.  It really felt like a good supplement to the show, but I think we can all learn something from her insights, even if you hadn’t had the chance to see it.  What Irene has to say is so deep, and so intensely personal.  I loved the show, and I loved getting to ask some questions! 

You brought us all the way back to your childhood. What’s it like reliving those early times?

I had done a lot of inner child work in therapy before I felt ready to turn these stories into a show. That work helped me to process old pain and gave me space to look back with more perspective. 

Creating Show Pony has allowed me to reflect on not only painful memories, but also really joyful and funny ones. I tapped into the innocence of my childhood which softens me toward myself and my early mistakes. It also helped me to develop deep compassion for the other people in my story. Nobody is perfect. Most people are doing the best they can within their given circumstances. 

I felt like singing became something traumatic because of your mother. Was trying to give singing up connected to this?

Singing is sacred and as natural as breathing to me. Singing itself was not traumatic. In my experience, being visible was traumatic, especially without an infrastructure of real support. As an adult, I began to understand my attachment to my parent was too heavily reliant on performance and that caused challenges in my personal development. My mother and I shared a love of music and we still do. That is a gift. After uncovering my feelings about these old stories, I have much more understanding of the circumstances she was navigating. She was young, working full-time and had four other children, including a newborn baby at home, when my career launched. I am not carrying any blame. I am fortunate that we have a strong relationship today. 

Like all good people pleasers, I became very good at figuring out what other people wanted from me and delivering it. Eventually I had to detach from external approval and listen my own voice.

I never actually stopped singing. My songwriting practices have always been present in my life. But I did step away from offering performances to the public and pursuing a life filled with performing. When my daughter went to college, I allowed myself more space to explore a new version of myself as an artist.

Do you feel like you have all of your past inside of you still? How did you learn to balance it all out to give us this amazing show?

Yes, I definitely can tap into many past versions of myself. The little girl who loved to sing, the teenager who was incredibly ambitious, the young woman who chose to leave the business, the mother who wanted to commit to motherhood, and the person I am now. 

Writing the show was really about making meaning from all of that. Eventually I realized that I couldn’t move forward creatively without sorting out my past. Creating ‘Show Pony’ and performing the show has brought up trapped emotions and I consciously made space to feel them instead of repressing them. I’ve also had tremendous support from my family, therapist, director, collaborators and artistic community. There are so many gifts in my life that make this work possible.

Over the years, you made a lot of promises to yourself. How do you feel about the ones you kept and the ones you didn’t?

One of the most important promises I made was to be the best mother I could be. That promise was more important to me than the promises I had made about my career. Of course, along the way I learned that parents are flawed people who are learning on the job. Perfection is not possible. But with patience and devotion, I have continued to make this role a top priority in my life and that is very fulfilling.

There were also promises I made about coming back to music and performing that took much longer than I imagined. At one time, those promises could have been seen as ones I hadn’t kept. Life was happening and I didn’t want to miss any school assemblies, soccer games or family events. Somehow I did come back and that feels satisfying. It just wasn’t on the timetable that I had once imagined.

What was it like finding singing again after so long?

I always sing, but during this year, I have begun sharing it with wider audiences again. The biggest difference between then and now is that singing is no longer connected to playing a role determined by someone else. My entire approach to performance and my writing practice has transformed.

Now singing feels much more like offering and sharing. I do not need the audience to love me. I am not waiting for someone to hand me a prize.  I’m much less interested in having something to prove. I’m more interested in telling stories and connecting with people.

What’s up next?

Right now I’m continuing to perform Show Pony. I have another Philadelphia Fringe performance on September 25, then Newburgh Fringe Fest in October, and I’ll bring the show to Theatre Row in New York for United Solo Festival on November 11.

At the same time, I’m finishing my new album Melt the Bars. We’re mixing the record and planning the release for spring 2027. In a way, those two projects belong together. Show Pony is about finding my way back to my own voice, and now I’m using that voice to make the work I want to make.

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I think Irene is one of those people who just transcends the norm.  She’s smart and funny and intense, and she understands things that I think most people don’t.  She’s so many things rolled into one, and I’m so glad I got to experience all of that in Show Pony.  This was definitely a show that took me by surprise, and gave me a new perspective on a lot of things.  I really do thank Irene for doing that, whether she realized she was or not.