Actresses Speak at Skeptics
“The Challenges Facing Would-be Actors”

The October 20 Society of Skeptics program featured guest speakers and actresses Reiko Aylesworth (starring in TV shows 24, ER and Lost) and Emma O’Donnell of the Irish Repertory Theater. Their program focused on “the challenges facing would-be actors,” but also revealed the close friendship of these two women who have supported one another personally and professionally for many years. After a brief presentation on their work and “life” experiences, the speakers opened the program to questions from audience members, who also enjoyed clips of Aylesworth’s work.

Reiko Aylesworth is currently filming a recurring arc on ABC’s Lost. She is probably most recognized for playing Michelle Dessler, opposite Kiefer Sutherland on FOX’s 24, after which she joined the cast of ER in a recurring role, playing a Chaplain. From television, she jumped into the film world first as a femme fatale in The Killing Floor, then as a high powered lawyer in Mr. Brooks, and finally as a marine and female lead in Fox’s Alien vs Predator — Requiem.

The New York City-based actress got her start in Off-Broadway theater, working with such directors as John Patrick Shanley, Jo Bonney, Marshall Mason and Tom Bullard and at the renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival performed in Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls.

She entered the television world starring in such series as Fox’s American Embassy, Aaron Spelling’s All Souls and a recurring role on the hit NBC drama, Law & Order: SVU, as well as guest starring in such series as Ed, The West Wing and The Dead Zone.

Aylesworth’s earlier feature film credits include roles in Sydney Pollack’s Random Hearts, Fathers and Sons, and starred in the independent feature Crazy Love, which premiered at the 2004 Hollywood International Film Festival.

According to its Web site, the Irish Repertory Theatre was founded by Ciarán O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore and opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. The mission of the theatre was and remains:

• to bring works by Irish and Irish American masters and contemporary playwrights to American audiences,
• to provide a context for understanding the contemporary Irish American experience,
• and to encourage the development of new works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures.

The Irish Repertory Theatre is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing Irish and Irish American works to the stage. More than 32,000 audience members annually attend productions at this theatre in the heart of New York’s Off Broadway community.

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Updated 10/21/2009

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