Geraldine Hughes

Currently: Playing over 20 different characters in the one-woman off-Broadway show Belfast Blues, which she wrote about her childhood in Ireland.

Hometown: Belfast, Ireland

New York, New York: After taking Belfast Blues to Los Angeles, London and Chicago, Hughes has finally landed in New York. Her Irish accent is soft, and she's sincere when talking about the city. "It's an honor and a privilege to act," says Hughes. "But to be in New York and to have people respond and to say the things that they've said and to stay after and say hello is just lovely."

America the Beautiful: Hughes started performing on stage during grade school in shows like Oliver Twist. "I was always cast as the male lead. That probably helped me play the men in my show, which I never thought about,” Hughes laughs. But at 13 she was chosen out of 2,500 girls by an American director to star in the 1984 TV-movie The Children in the Crossfire, which offered her the opportunity to leave troubled Ireland for a short time. "It was an opportunity to see another way of life," Hughes says. "It introduced me to America, which I fell in love with from the first minute I arrived." After graduating high school, she decided to attend UCLA's School of Theatre, Film & Television.

Such a Character: In Belfast Blues, Hughes transform herself into 24 characters based on the people of Belfast during the 1970s and ‘80s, a period called "The Troubles." "Their gestures are always the same, but their spirit is different every night," says Hughes of her onstage counterparts, which include family members as well as comedic characters like a chain-smoking neighbor. "Shifting from character to character is not a difficult thing for me, but I have to be sure to honor them all," she says.

Troubled World: Bringing this piece to the stage today was very important to Hughes. The relevance of "The Troubles" as compared to the weighty issues of living in a post-9/11 world with a war in Iraq hit home for her. "I was encouraged that people really responded to it as a story about the human condition, which is what it is and what I want it to be in addition to a wee girl's story," says Hughes. She knows what it is like to live in times of violence as a child dealing with religion and family and that is evident at the heart of the show.

Contributing Stars: Not all off-Broadway shows have famous names attached to them, but Belfast Blues has two. In addition to contributing director Carol Kane, Hollywood star Angelica Huston came on board to produce the show with The Culture Project: "It's sort of like this wonderful gesture, to put her name on my show, which says to the world, 'I love this and I love this artist--come and see it.'"