The Young Offenders actor launches new organisation to support young people in filming and theatre

SELF-proclaimed Cork Rebel, Jennifer Barry, who has been acting most of her life, has set up a non-profit organisation to support Irish actors achieve their goal, and maintain their wellbeing throughout their careers.

With a mix of experience in both filming and theatre, Jennifer, from Kilbrittain, now believes she can use this to help others who are just starting out in their acting careers.

“I toured Lisa McGee’s play Girls And Dolls with Jamie Lee O’ Donnell all over Ireland,” said Jennifer, detailing her CV. “I did a play here in Cork for children with Graffitti Theatre Company called Robots which I absolutely loved. All my closest friends in the industry were made through that play. And I made a really powerful short film about human trafficking called Every Five Miles, which has just been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.”

Now she has been catapulted back into the world of The Young Offenders where she plays Siobhán - filming for Season 4 starts soon. This coincides perfectly with Jennifer’s upcoming plans to not only help herself in the industry, but more importantly to help young actors by using her experience in the industry so far.

Over the last few months, Jennifer has put in a lot of work to set up a non-profit organisation called Cothú, to help Irish actors achieve their goals while maintaining their mental wellbeing throughout their careers.

“Cothú is an Irish word, meaning the process of nurturing. And what it is for me is a community that allows actors to feel supported and feel like they have a place where they belong. It’s there to help and for us to help each other to develop as actors,” she said.

For Jennifer, Cothú is a passion project that came about through her own experience and struggles in the world of acting.

“After filming Season 3 of The Young Offenders, I had just finished school and I wanted to take a gap year. My plan was to move to London. I knew I needed a break after filming for six months and doing my Leaving Cert. It really took its toll on me. Every day I didn’t have an exam, I was filming. It was very intense and there was no balance there,” said Jennifer.

“When you finish a big job like that, you think you’ll stay with those people forever, but you don’t. It was then I realised I had no-one else I could share my passion with when I came home. My school friends had all made new friends in college and I felt really lonely. That’s when the initial idea for Cothú came from,” said Jennifer.

“Cothú is slightly more geared towards young people earlier in their careers that didn’t go to drama school, or people who are trying to get into the industry. Especially people who just feel a little bit lost in pursuing their passion,” she added.

“My plan would be for Cothú to grow and get together a team of people to help it grow even more, to bring it up a level. For now, it’s a personal project, but I feel there is so much potential. I think with something like Cothú there, I can definitely continue to follow my dream and pursue my passion as much as I can,” said Jennifer.

She also shared some advice for actors starting out in their careers, which seems to encapsulate the message of Cothú overall.

“I think if you want to get started as an actor, you need to seek out every single opportunity that becomes available to you. Don’t wait around for something to come to you. Go out and pursue it. And if you can’t find those opportunities, create those opportunities,” said Jennifer.

“Write. Perform. Read. Observe. When I interviewed Mario Rosenstock, he told me that watching life is like watching a David Attenborough documentary. You have to examine people and examine the way they live and the way they talk, how they move and feel. Create stories from that. You never know what’s going on really, but you can create something that can be really meaningful, just be observant.

“And get into drama classes or join a local theatre. Join a community,” said Jennifer.

She emphasised that being an actor is unique in the sense of how isolating the business can be. And that having a sense of community and having that support is indispensable.

“It’s such a lonely business. You are your own product and you are your own team. It can be really disheartening when you don’t get the results you want and that’s why community is so important,” said Jennifer.

Cothú currently has 45 members from all over Ireland, which is growing every week. Anyone that wants to get involved can go to their website, cothuactors.com, where they can fill out a form. From this, you will be added to relevant online chats where monthly online meetings are held.

Jennifer has plans for in-person meet-ups to happen soon in both Cork and Dublin. She also has plans to set up wellness workshops both online and in person to emphasise the importance of looking after yourself in a career that may otherwise be isolating, and to find a sense of community within the industry.

See https://cothuactors.com/