Meet Oonagh

Oonagh Kelly is an actor, playwright, and director currently based in Chicago. She grew up in her hometown of Rock Hill, South Carolina with her three older brothers and enough animals that her friends fondly referred to her house as “the petting zoo” through most of her childhood. This was largely thanks to the three llamas she and her family raised despite living in a suburban neighborhood. For as long as she can remember, she has loved the arts. Her parents love to say that they knew she was going to go into theatre the moment that they found two-year-old Oonagh singing “Where Are You, Christmas?” in front of the Christmas tree - and looking over her shoulder to make sure they were watching. Some of her fondest memories are of her father singing opera while cooking dinner for her and her siblings. (She’s still not sure if he was singing the right words because they were all in Italian, but she is skeptical, to say the least.)

As an actress, Oonagh has been fortunate enough to play a variety of roles that have both challenged her and allowed her to connect back with that girl singing in front of the Christmas tree. One of her favorite roles to date is playing Chris Gorman in Neil Simon’s Rumors, largely because she aspires to be Christine Baranski when she grows up.

In college, her repertoire and her love of theatre only grew, with her passions extending to playwriting, directing, and screen acting. In the summer of 2019, Oonagh had the opportunity to intern with Jim Carnahan Casting at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City, where she assisted in casting cycles for numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, as well as John Mulaney’s comedy special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix. Following this exciting experience, she jetsetted off to London for the fall of 2019, taking courses in playwriting, Shakespeare, and devised theatre with industry professionals while seeing as much theatre as she possibly could and becoming certified in multiple weapons by the British Academy of Dramatic Combat. Once she returned to Elon’s campus at the beginning of 2020, she made her mainstage principle cast debut in Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves as #11.

Oonagh’s heart lies in the works of Shakespeare, as well as the development of new contemporary works. Her goal is to be a working actress in the theatre while writing her own plays and pursuing independent film and television projects. In the future, she hopes to be a founding member of a theatre company that produces plays written, directed, and performed by women and members of the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.