FRESH on the steam of directing a fun and funny play by Magic Roundabout partner Darren Maher in Dolan’s, Zeb Moore has another dozen irons in the fire.
In ‘real’ life he runs a plastics engineering business with wife Sylvia Moore; is a father of three. He also directs, produces and acts in and tours (three times this year) with Magic Roundabout theatre shows and there are episodic others.
Zeb packs in a parallel lifetime of work – parts in six films over the past two years, TV commercials, is a founder of Elemental Arts and Culture Festival, is co-founder of December’s inaugural Richard Harris Festival, has acted and more with Quarry Players, Orchard Theatre Company and has worked with just about every group in town.
It is sensible to make the point Zeb Moore’s career is on the cusp of change. The Meelick based family man is off in November to Los Angeles to work with cinematographer Mark Salter on a script being shaped for Zeb “that will show up some of my better qualities and nature”, he laughs. “In my last three films I have played a wife beater and I was a nasty piece of work in Peter Delaney’s film ‘My Passenger’. In ’Sinners’, which you can see on Youtube, my character is someone who is a seer, has visions of evil in people”.
The irony is that Mr Moore is a beaming friendly to meet, a generous man who references colleagues and credits his wife’s support diligence and “intelligent insight” with being a vital enabler in their shared companies.
Acting is the transformative alchemy that takes the boy out of the backwoods. Two agents got in touch about representation and showbiz DNA is in his blood, His uncle is Butch Moore, Ireland’s first rep in the Eurovision; brother Paul is Van Morrison’s base player; their father Des Moore an internationally renowned session musician.
On to the December 6-8 Richard Harris Festival “for which we have the backing of the Harris family. Jared Harris (‘Mad Men’, ‘Lincoln’) is coming, Damien Harris is coming, maybe Jamie. The idea is to screen an exclusive pick of five to six movies, originating in Ireland or from the Irish diaspora so it really opens up internationally.
“We have the backing of the Irish Film Board and the film institute, and for us to show any of Harris’ work we would need the approval of the Harris family legal people and they have agreed to back this.
“Kudos to Limerick, we hope. Jim Sheridan has said he will be there and hopefully, some more Hollywood will come.”
The festival is Rob Gill’s brainchild and Eleanor McSherry of Behind the Scenes Film Network is co-partner.
How does he keep it all together: auditions overseas, directing, touring, a couple of horses outside, the Environ Plastics firm, and then festival runs such as Electric Picnic and Dublin’s 10 Days fest?
Zeb harks back to the play Darren Maher wrote for him, ‘Spinal Krapp’, an intense and sometimes comic torrent of monologue that is in Friar’s Gate September 20 and Savoy Hotel September 30 and 31. The answer is 5am rehearsal starts, a day’s engineering and then going at the script again at 7pm for hours.
Americans are going to love his commitment and diversity. Here’s hoping that LA work and networking will in time consolidate into major film casting for the Meelick based Mr Moore.
