Megan and Shannon Haly are the perfect example of why taking that leap of faith can work out.
The Cork sisters are the latest of Irish talent making their mark in the film and stage industry.
From a young age, all the two sisters can remember is acting and performing – which led to them studying acting and filmmaking in college.
When Covid hit, Megan and Shannon decided to work together and write their first play called Cortisol – a queer coming of age rollercoaster ride through growing up in Ireland.
The play was dubbed a major success when its first fully staged production began – making a mark on the industry.
Goss.ie spoke to Megan and Shannon for our latest Up and Coming feature, in which they opened up about imposter syndrome, dealing with a creative rut, and what’s next for them.
Find out more about Megan and Shannon in our exclusive chat below:
How did you get into acting and writing, was it something you always did?
Megan: We’re two of four girls in our family. Even recently we were looking back on childhood videos and we’re just performing for our family, putting on shows.
I think my mom said it used to be a good way to keep us busy for a few hours. And then we started drama and dance with the Performers Academy, with Irene Warren in Cork. I think that was like just acting though, it wasn’t making our own work and stuff. I think Shannon was first when we were like 18, that’s when you started writing.
Shannon: I went into filmmaking before I thought that I wanted to pursue acting so, I was making my own shorts and when I was 17/18, then I started working as a training AD in Dublin on a few things. While I was working on set, Megan was already in college acting and I was like: ‘oh, maybe I’ll also do that. I ended up moving to New York the year after to study acting.’
How did it come about, you two working together?
Shannon: We lived apart. I was in New York and Megan was in college in Cork, then moved straight to London. So we were apart, but always doing the same things. Then COVID happened and we were both at home. We were like: ‘okay now we finally want to do something together, like, what is it that we can do?’
There’s only a year and a half between us, so we were just trying to think: ‘Okay, if we’re gonna work in a project together, what’s like the diagram of likes of that like we if they’re passionate about right there and stuff that we wanna talk about it or that we want to create.’ It was both of us in our 20s and that’s when we started quite to solve the play. We both feel like we’re feeling all these things.
What was the first play or short film that you can remember writing or creating?
Megan: I suppose we I worked on CailÃn and I think that was something that I always will remember because I feel that was like the first thing that we did. We had no budget and nobody. We had gathered a group of friends together and there was a scene where we used our granny’s house to film.
We got our community, our neighbours and to come in and be extras. I think like that’s what started both of our love for it, in the sense of that people just coming together and helping and wanting to be part of something. That hasn’t changed even as we’ve gotten funding for other projects.
Shannon: Me and my friend started this Facebook page when we were 15. She’s a musician so she’d write a song and we would make a film in like 24 hours. But it’s so funny, we always talk about looking back because we’re like ‘God love us.’
We were tackling all the issues. One of them was on dangers of like video games and all these topics. People must have been like: ‘What are you doing?’ It’s always funny looking back because that was the first one that was like a thing.
Cortisol was your first try at writing for stage after previously writing a number of short films – what made you decide to make that change?
Megan: I suppose we had done films together and I think we were just like we should just do a play. I think it was as simple as that. We wanted to be in a in a show and we started writing it. It was so funny we thought that we might put it on the following year when actually it takes a lot longer than that.
We were three years in the making of it. When we first started, it was during COVID as well. So mostly that set us back. But it was a good lesson in not waiting too long, but taking the time necessary to make something the best it can be.
Shannon: Just on that because we always talk about it right now with social media. It’s so product orientated. People only really think you’re working with the stuff that’s done and finished and polished. I feel like there’s a pressure to have finished stuff ready to show people all the time to sort of prove that you’re actively working. It’s okay it’s to take a break and actually work on the work and then there’s no rush of this.
The play sold out during its run at the Cork Arts Theatre and Dublin Fringe Fest and overall received a huge amount of praise. How was it navigating that success?
Megan: I think it was kind of crazy because we it was our first show. So there was so many new things that we hadn’t faced before. We had an amazing producer on board Sadhbh Barrett Coakley with Once Off Productions and she was just so experienced in all of the stuff that we mightn’t have been aware of.
But we started a TikTok for the show. It was a year before the show was started. We just I said to ourselves, let’s just post every day, twice a day, even if we were sick. It just shows how you can really create an audience before you even put the show on. We were just like ‘oh gosh, we hope it’s good now’ because it had sold out so quickly. Which was amazing. I think it was just such a nice thing to be able to see, it was like an experiment.
We set our sights to see if that works and it did work and it was great to se. I think its cool because so much of this stuff in this industry as out of your control. So if we can just control connecting to an audience and we have an audience, that’s something within our control.
You are sisters, how is it working with your family?
Megan: I think we’re so used to it now that it feels like I can’t really imagine not working together on something now. But it’s nice because like, I don’t know, I feel like because you know each other so well. Especially if you’re on set and things are moving fast, there’s a short hand between family that you can just communicate quickly and you get each other. You’re like: ‘No, okay, I actually know what you mean by this.’
Shannon: There’s been so many moments these past like even two years where we’re like: ‘Why are we doing this?’ It’s so hard, you know. It just feels like sometimes it’s just like why would you do this to yourself and having Megan there always is great. Just a support system that’s like: ‘Okay, no, it’s gonna be fine, and it is worth it.’ It’s just like getting through that.
Do you ever find you get imposter syndrome? How do you deal with it?
Megan: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think it’s crazy when people are like: ‘Oh, would you like to do this thing?’ I remember when we were talking to our director for Cortisol. She’d read our script and she loved it and she was really wanted to come on board.
It was one of the first times we haven’t had to push and try and convince we’re worthy of that. I think when that happens, which it does continuously, just taking a moment before a meeting or before an event to be like: ‘We are worthy of this.’ We’re busy at the moment, but like, it’s been years of work that people haven’t seen.
I think that’s a misconception as well. We’ve had like years of rejection and just continuously working. So I think it’s just reminding ourselves that like you are worthy of this. Most people just don’t know what they’re doing, no one knows. So you just have to do it. I think everyone had to start somewhere.
Shannon: The thing is like women creating things. If there’s a pattern of women sometimes feeling like we have to wait until things are perfect before we can do something. We’re really hard on ourselves. Whereas it’s just like: ‘F*ck it.’ If I think I can do it or at least just try doing it, then we should be able to do that for ourselves.
Do you ever find yourself falling into a creative rut? If so, how do you pull yourself out of it?
Megan: I think for like for me it’s about not always having to be product focused. To know you’re an artist. How creatives work is to spend time with themselves and something I want to really work on the year is taking time to write or think even without the idea that it’s going to be something in the future.
To just be in the moment and allow myself the time and space to be creative without the idea that something has to be product based. I think that’s what puts me in a rut is something that needs to be ready in a few months time. I think that if you just take that pressure off yourself, which is hard especially in this industry. That helps me and something I’m still working on. I haven’t mastered it.
Shannon: For me it’s more like a little spiral because I have ADHD. I always will try to work on seven different things at the same time. I feel like then time can go and I’m pushing all of them and I’m not sitting back and taking a moment.
Like what Megan said, just look at what I actually want to be seeing with projects or reality is like with most projects you’re looking at spending like two or three years on the minimum. So it’s like they want to be things that you are entirely passionate about and not doing it because you’re like, I don’t know, just doing it for the sake of it or like doing it people basically thinking that you should be doing something or should be talking about a particular thing.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced in this industry?Â
Shannon: I feel like as as actors the ideal scenario is if you’re if you do end up going the root of drama school, then you get an agents and you get cast on something. That’s the dream scenario. Whereas I think it’s not a reality of how things go. What’s been nice, though is the challenge.
I’ve been auditioning for like six years and I’ve been acting. After six years of auditioning and trying things, it’s pushed us to make own work, discovering that that’s where our passion is. So I feel like it’s interesting to step back and be like the things that we struggled with the most are actually what pushed us to be doing to be what we actually really want to be now.
Whereas if we came out of school and got cast in a big thing, we wouldn’t have had the need to go back and make things or to figure out who we are as writers or as directors.
Do you get nervous before your shows?
Shannon: I think the week of Cortisol I couldn’t even eat. We were sick with nerves.
Megan: But it’s so funny because it’s like it’s such a weird mentality because you’re so nervous before you do it. When we were in Smock Ally with Cortisol for Dublin Frindge, you can hear the audience come in and everyone’s chatting. We were just doing some voice warmups and then we like hug each other and take a moment together. We were so nervous.
Then you do it when you come off and you’ve the best feeling in the world. So the emotions are so up and down. Like it’s mad. It can’t be good for you. With both short films we did this year, Dollar Baby’s and Breakfast Roll, beforehand, I was like crying being like: ‘ I hope it’s good enough.’ So nervous. Then we got to set and I was like: ‘Oh, this is the best thing in the whole entire world. I love it.’
I think it’s just being aware that those feelings are going to happen regardless. I was listening to Florence Pugh talk about the night before she has a big job on set and she doesn’t sleep because she’s so nervous. So that happens even at that level.
Shannon: It’s knowing that that’s not bad sometimes. I’m always like: ‘Is this anxiety or is it my intuition that I shouldn’t be doing something. Most of the time is just my anxiety being like, run this is not a nice feeling.’ But actually working through it and saying you just gotta jump in.
What has been your favourite part about following your dream so far?
Shannon: I think the people that we’ve met. Especially over the past year we’ve just met people where you think, hopefully you’re gonna be in my life forever type of friendship. Particularly the women that we’ve met this year that have been so helpful to us and like our Cortisol director is one of those people and our friends that we did the short films.
It just such good people, and we all just in the same boat of just wanting to make good work or work that’s just coming from us, like a deep place. So much of it is like your control or it’s so up and down and what keeps you in it has to be the people, because we’re not enjoying it and if you’re not connecting with you, you working with, then actually what is the point? Like there’s there’s no point.
Megan: There’s also such a joy of getting to make your own stuff because at the moment we’re in preproduction for another film and we’re working with a new team of a lot of women as well. It’s just meeting new people or people that we might have admired for a while. That’s such a special part of it as well as well, getting to continuously meet and connect with like-minded people.
Are there any writers or actors in Ireland that you look up to?
Megan: I love the director Claire Francis Byrne. I think she’s amazing. I’ve been following her work for a while. Jeda de Brà who directed our play, Cortisol. I’d love to work with her again. We love her and admire her film work as well, she’s amazing.
Sharon Horgan is a huge inspiration as well. I think Sharon’s career trajectory is something that we both really admire and something that we would love to hopefully someday follow. I think as well, I feel Sharon Horgan has created such a bad ass like female story with Bad Sisters. I think we’re really passionate by telling female led stories. She’s definitely a huge inspiration
What about the rest of the world, what writers or actors do you look up to the most?
Megan: Molly Manning Walker wrote and directed How to Have Sex which was a British film and Charlotte Regan wrote and directed Scrappers. They were two independent films that came out last year that I loved.
Shannon: There’s also a director Emma Seligman. She’s from America but she directed Shiva Baby and Bottoms and I just feel like she’s making queer work that’s exciting and new.
Megan: I love Sean Baker.
Shannon: And Greta Gerwig, not to be so basic but it’s a classic.
What’s been the biggest pinch-me moment of your career so far?
Megan: I think for me, there’s been so many. But our short film Breakfast Roll won Best Cork short at Cork International this year. I think that was like a massive moment for us because for us the most fun usually is in the making of the work but then when the work is like well received it’s just like a nice little moment. I remember we were both crying and being like: ‘What the hell.’Â I think that was something recent that happened that I was like oh that’s a great moment.
Shannon: I remember when we shot Dollar Baby’s in like March last year in LA. It was the first short that we filmed that we had funding for so just felt different . It was nice. We were in LA and we had rent this house to film. I was sitting at the back of the house we were all staying in.
I woke up and I was having coffee and over the house is the Hollywood Sign. I was like this just feels like so surreal and such a dream. Megan was there and our best friends were there. We got to cast some of our best friends and making it with them. I I was like: ‘If I could do this every day if the rest of my life, it would be perfect.’
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What advice would you give to others who want to start a career in acting or writing?
Megan: I would just say don’t waste for the perfect moment. You just have to do it and you learn by doing, you’re not going to learn by sitting at home waiting for someone to be like it’s your turn now. I think as well don’t be afraid to contact and ask people questions. Even people that you really admire, don’t be afraid to reach out to people because usually people are willing to help them. Everyone has to start somewhere and I hope that in time people can come to us advice and we’ll be there ready to give it.
Shannon: When we first starts making the shorts, we were acting and writing and directing. We had met a cinematography, met an editor. Enough people to make a film. The deal was that we all were at the same level in terms of wanting to make work and we all needed a short film for portfolio.
So we’re all gonna have like a collective and we’re gonna make work for each other so that it didn’t cost anything. We made two short films with zero money. We all got something out of it. I think like finding those people. I think there’s Facebook pages, there’s likely piece of various of places out there to meet these people. I think is such a like good help or was such a good help for us
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Megan: I hope that in five years time, we’ll have just shot our first feature film on something that we’re currently like in the in the mix with at the moment. I just think continuing to make our own work and doing more of it working with more people. Just pushing ourselves continuously outside of our comfort zone.
What is next for you in the coming year?
Megan:Â We’re hoping to do Cortisol again. We would love to do it again in Ireland. Also bring it to the UK and then hopefully America. The UK is our next stop. We’re also in the process of writing Cortisol into a feature length version. We’re also working on a project at the moment as well that’s really exciting that we’re like applying for funding for. exciting.
Shannon: I’m moving to London so at least then we’re going be the same place city and live the same city for the first time. It’s gonna be nice to be able to make work together in the same place.
