She is infectious, unpretentious, uncompromising and probably mad. Who else would start up a new theatre group in Galway without knowing a soul? And stage the first production during the city's arts festival?
But then it is probably not the first time Denise McNamara has leaped at life, grabbed it by the throat and demanded more. Originally from Clare, her interest in drama was nurtured at amateur level. One day she left the Scarriff theatre group and sought out Deirdre O'Connell in Dublin's Focus. She wanted to study the Stanislavski technique.
It was when she found herself in Moscow she realised the acting method, with its emphasis on developing and exploring the senses, was a commitment for life "and that you are continually learning." It's a message she conveys to her colleagues in Bloodstone, the company which is staging its debut, Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, in Galway's Columban Hall this week.
Even the choice of Friel makes a statement about the commitment of those involved. For McNamara, the play which was first performed at the Abbey in 1990, is "ideal for women".
"Every line in it is vital," she says, which may be why some of her actors wonder if rehearsals will ever finish. "It has humour, pathos, conflict . . . for a man of his age to write about five women in this way is just extraordinary."
Bloodstone is a twofold company, committed to both production and training, and owes its origins to workshops given by Denise in the Taidhbhearc two years ago.
She staged a production in Irish of Catherine Snodgrass's Haiku in the same venue during last year's festival. Some of the actors came through Taidhbhearc, whereas others are graduates of Macnas, Punchbag, the Flying Pigs . . . "and they are all taking part in the Macnas parade next Sunday!"
Much of the preparation for this week's production is physical: not just on stage, but in, on and around it. The set had to be built from scratch.
Following this week's performances, the play will be staged in the Town Hall Theatre in August and the troupe then moves straight into workshops. McNamara is bringing in two of the leading Russian masters in the Stanisklavski method in September.
"Of course, positive reviews are an encouragement," she says. "But what matters is the ordinary punter who walks out afterward and looks at his or her watch, wonders where the two hours have gone to, remembers the smell of hay and the click of knitting needles and the way that people lived and breathed in 1936. And who is occasionally pinched by us, moved to respond."
Dancing at Lughnasa will run in the Columban Hall, Sea Road, Galway, from July 15th to 25th, with low-priced previews today and tomorrow. Bookings can be made at the Galway Arts Festival box office or by dialling 1 890 566 577.
Arts doesn't begin and end in Galway over the coming weeks. Ballina celebrates its salmon festival next week - though it now has a new title - while the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Seamus Heaney are billed for the George Moore Arts Festival in Claremorris from July 15th to 20th. Further details about the latter from the Claremorris Tourist Office at (094) 71830.