July 17, 2025 • 29 mins
Today we are highlighting Premiere Stages' twentieth season as they introduce their most recent production, “The Mallard,” written by Vincent Delaney and directed by John Wooten.
--Freya and Gillian are teachers who have offended their school board and lost their jobs. Davis and Reagan are yard sale fanatics in search of a priceless antique duck decoy, the Horace Crandall Mallard. What follows is a fierce, funny and escalating battle over a symbol that has wildly different meanings – intersecting the couples in a journey that far surpasses the quest for treasure.--
With a synopsis like that, humor and intrigue are sure to follow.
Jersey Arts speaks with both author Vincent Delaney, and cast members Susan Ferrara and Woodrow Proctor about what this show means to them and what audiences can look forward to.
Thanks for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (00:03):
This is Gina Marie Rodriguez and you're
listening to the Jersey ArtsPodcast.
Today we're highlightingPremiere Stage's 20th season as
they introduce their latestproduction, the Mallard, written
by Vincent Delaney and directedby John Wooten.
Freya and Gillian are teacherswho have offended their school
board and lost their jobs.
(00:24):
Freya and Gillian are teacherswho have offended their school
board and lost their jobs.
Davis and Reagan are yard salefanatics in search of a
priceless antique duck decoy theHorace Crandall Mallard.
What follows is a fierce, funnyand escalating battle over a
symbol that has wildly differentmeanings, intersecting the
couples in a journey that farsurpasses the quest for treasure
.
Now, with a synopsis like that,humor and intrigue are sure to
(00:48):
follow.
I had the chance to speak withboth author Vincent Delaney and
cast members Susan Ferrara andWoodrow Proctor about what this
show means to them and whataudiences can look forward to.
Let's focus on the author'sperspective first, before we
meet the actors.
Hello, how are you today?
Vincent Delaney (01:08):
Hey, it's great , really good, thank you.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (01:10):
Great, I'm glad to hear it.
I'm very excited to meet youand to talk to you about the
Mallard.
I'm intrigued by the nameitself.
Where did this come from?
You know?
Where was the inspiration?
How did a duck decoy become thefocal point, or rather the
goalpost for a play?
Vincent Delaney (01:30):
How did that happen?
I'm still asking myself,because it happened really
quickly.
I feel like I was just reallyintrigued with telling a story
that would center on somethingthat was kind of meaningless,
like it didn't really meananything to anybody, and yet it
could be imbued with meaning,really radically different
meaning for different people.
(01:50):
So I'll give you an examplethis duck decoy, it's something
that my uncle, my small-townuncle, would have used, would
have kept it in his pickup truck, would have gone hunting, would
have gone fishing, becausethat's kind of where I come from
culturally.
But these things are alsoprized by big time collectors,
the kind of people my unclewould have called, you know, the
(02:12):
coastal elite.
So I thought how interesting totake an object that could cross
over, cross over for thecharacters and maybe cross over,
you know, for the audience aswell.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:23):
Yeah, I think that's.
I mean that's fantastic.
I don't know anything aboutthat.
And you said this is where youcome from culturally.
But what does that mean when?
Where do you come from?
Vincent Delaney (02:32):
Well, I come from a small town, a group in a
small town.
My family kind of hail from atown of 200 people and I get
teased a lot for that.
But I think of that as a secretstrength, because that's that's
the audience that I personallyhave to answer to, and so I have
to write things that can crossover if I want my family to go
(02:52):
and see them.
That's literally how I see it.
So there you go.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:57):
That makes perfect sense to me.
At least you know who youraudience is right, you know who
you're writing for Well.
Vincent Delaney (03:02):
so that's my personal audience.
My professional audience,that's everybody else.
But when I ask myself, what amI going to write and who's it
going to reach?
I mean, if I can't reach thosepeople, then I just not doing my
job.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:14):
Yeah, yeah , no, I understand that.
I I kind of want to talk to youabout premiere stages, because
you've worked with them in thepast and you've had what
multiple plays come throughtheir new play festival.
So I think it was.
Las Cruces, right had its worldpremiere in 2016, and then the
Mallard was selected in 2024,but now this is their 20th
(03:37):
season that you are opening, sohow does it feel to be?
Well, I'll say the chosen one,right?
Vincent Delaney (03:44):
Yeah.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:45):
Their 20th season.
Vincent Delaney (03:47):
I'll tell you what it feels like.
It feels like coming home.
You know, I feel likeplaywrights are itinerant.
We get what we get.
You might end up in Fargo, youmight end up in Florida, you
just don't know.
You get what you get,particularly for me I live in
Seattle, I got to go everywhereComing back here.
(04:07):
I mean, my first time workingwith this company, with John
Wooten, was like 11 years ago.
It's just such a collaborativeenvironment.
It's a place where you feelsafe.
It's a place where people trythings.
I feel like, you know, he and Iwe share excuse me, an
aesthetic, like we both havesort of a similar sense of taste
and I think it's.
It's just led to some.
It's led to some really goodcollaborations over the years.
(04:28):
And again, I feel like thatshared aesthetic, like the mix
of funny but also pathos, theheartache and the humor.
I think that that really iskind of what they are about here
and, of course, things that aretopical, things that are
topical.
End of the moment.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (04:44):
Absolutely .
I'm curious to know how youwould summarize, or you know,
what's your elevator pitch forsomebody who is on the fence
about seeing this show.
How do you describe it tosomeone who's wondering if they
should see it or not?
Vincent Delaney (04:58):
Okay, so it is a political play, but it's funny
, it's absolutely funny and Ipromise you you will laugh.
You will laugh, you will come,you will laugh, you will enjoy
it.
It's surprising, it's all, andwe haven't talked about this yet
at all.
It's actually about my otherprofession I teach.
I've worked with elementary kidsfor 15 years and, without
(05:18):
giving too much away, you know,I wanted to write a play that
would counter this vilificationof my profession, just the way
teachers are treated.
I mean, there are districts allaround this country where you
can find yourself suspended orlosing your job if you've read
the wrong book and I'm notexaggerating, look it up, it
absolutely is happening.
(05:40):
So I wanted to push backagainst that.
I wanted to show you knowteachers how they really are.
I mean, they're heroes in myopinion.
Of course, I'm one of them,thank you.
But I mean and I think this isa question you had for me as
well you know why keep it funny?
Because you'll lose half youraudience if you don't.
And I think the way to avoidbeing polemical, the way to like
(06:02):
really make a point, is to doit through humor.
It's my opinion.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:07):
Absolutely , I do agree with that.
But you know, obviously artistshave their different ways of
approaching things, that a lotof people do like to focus on
the heavy right, they like tofocus on the drama of it all.
I happen to be a comedy fan, soI love that that's the vehicle
you've chosen.
But yeah, I do understand,unfortunately, that teachers and
(06:30):
education right now in thiscountry are under attack, have
been under attack for a while.
So art is political, right, allart is political in one
direction or another.
That's just how it works.
This is how we talk to oneanother.
Vincent Delaney (06:46):
So I'll just tell you, I mean, the setup of
this play.
It sounds really grim.
It's two teachers.
They've been fired, They'velost their jobs for being too
open about themselves and theyare moving, they're leaving.
That does not sound like acomedy, but it is a comedy, I
mean, in my opinion.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:04):
Yeah, well , I think that's kind of where
humor steps in, when you're atyour lowest Because other people
.
I'm going to butcher it, butthere is a quote, I think it's
maybe Mel Brooks.
It's like comedy is when I cutmy finger and no, no, tragedy is
when I cut my finger and comedyis when you fall in a sewer
grate and die or something.
(07:25):
Yeah, yeah, tragedy is when Icut my finger, and comedy is
when you fall in a sewer grateand die.
I'm not sharing the quote, butI feel exactly where you're
coming from.
It sounds like it might be grim, but it's a great time to poke
fun at what's actually happeningaround us.
Vincent Delaney (07:37):
I think there is a little.
I mean to really dig deep.
I think there is something thathappens to you when you laugh,
when you laugh at a situation onstage and you invariably, first
of all, you cannot help but seeyourself in that situation.
That's probably why you'relaughing, but it leaves you with
a little bit of extraidentification with the
character, and I think more sothan I mean.
(07:57):
It's obvious, right, if acharacter is on stage telling
you how you should think aboutsomething, yeah, that's great if
you already agree with it.
But if you're in that 51% ofAmerica or 49% of America that
don't agree with that, that'snot going to work and it's not
going to bring the otheraudience into the theater.
So yeah, humor.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:16):
Absolutely .
I mean, who wants to bepreached to, right?
If you want a sermon, there areplaces where you can find that,
but it's the theater.
You should be able to putyourself in someone else's shoes
and I like that.
Did you tell me what you taught?
Vincent Delaney (08:34):
No, but I'll give it up.
I teach elementary physicaleducation, so I'm your PE
teacher.
If you ever need to work out,I'm the guy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:41):
That's fantastic.
I mean, I always need somebodyto teach me how to work out.
I can barely do a crunchcorrectly, so Okay, I'm your guy
for that.
Vincent Delaney (08:48):
I'll take care of that.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:49):
Great Thank you.
Virtually, we can have a have asession, but thank you for all
that you do as a teacher.
Thank you to all of yourcolleagues and everyone in the
profession, because I do thinkit's important to shout out the
fact that teachers are heroesand the work that is done in our
school systems is incrediblyimportant, as is the work that
(09:11):
you're doing outside of that, inthe theater.
Vincent Delaney (09:14):
Thank you.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (09:15):
My last question for you is and some
people hate this question, butI'm going to ask anyway what is
it that you hope audiences willtake away from the show, if you
have that hope.
Vincent Delaney (09:27):
Well, so for this play, I guess I would say
it just really goes back to thewhole thing about being a
teacher and what teachers aredoing and how they, how they are
not integrated into theircommunities in a way that I
think is healthy.
That's the thing for me, andthat's not true everywhere, but
that is what this story is aboutand how we need to do a better
(09:47):
job and how we need to do abetter job, and maybe not just
really for a particularprofession.
But I mean, don't you feel likeour society has been frayed
down, has been kind of tornapart, like we're being pitted
against each other?
I mean, this play goes right atthat right Left, right,
republican, democratic.
That's the problem.
Right, that is the problem.
(10:08):
It's that friction right now.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (10:09):
And I mean I don't know, I guess I hope
that people will come out ofthis thinking in a really tiny
way about that, I hope.
And now we'll take a moment toswitch gears and see what cast
members Susan Ferrara andWoodrow Proctor have to say
about the Mallard.
I'd love to hear a little bitabout your characters, who
(10:30):
you're playing and who they are.
Tell me about them.
Susan Ferrara (10:36):
So I play Freya and I am a teacher in a small
town and I have been teachingfor a lot of years and I love my
students and I'm incrediblystubborn, incredibly stubborn
and also gosh.
(10:58):
It's such a great questionbecause she's a myriad of things
to me.
I am protective of the people Ilove and very much interested
in living my life as fullymyself, and I think I'll stop
there because I was about to saya thing and I was like don't
say the thing, that the thing,and it's gonna be a thing, so
(11:20):
I'm gonna stop.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (11:21):
Okay, so we're saving our audience from
spoilers.
I like it.
Widjo, we'll keep that in mindas you go.
Woodrow Proctor (11:26):
Yes, yes, don't wanna spoil too much.
I'm playing a character nameddavis.
I think, I guess one thing thatI would say, you know, in the
interest of not spoiling toomuch, but sort of like lending,
lending a potential audiencemember.
Something interesting to holdon to about these characters is
(11:47):
the thing that brings thesecharacters together is that they
all have a different butarguably equally strong reason
to be chasing this item themallard.
Susan Ferrara (12:02):
Yes, the mallard.
Woodrow Proctor (12:06):
And Davis comes at it from, I guess, the
perspective of being like whathe wants is the thrill of the
hunt.
Right, he's an antiquecollector and he's there with
his wife, reagan, and Davis andReagan differ somewhat in the
way that they approach antiquecollecting and their sort of
(12:28):
goals there.
But I actually really relate tomy character, davis, because he
just loves the activity of itand finding the joy in the sort
of chase of these random kind of, you know, arguably meaningless
little things, right, andreally I think what makes kind
(12:50):
of seeing these differentcharacters collide in the show
interesting is that they're allchasing the same thing but they
all have completely differentreasons for it and over the
course of the show they end upkind of learning about each
other's reasons for chasing.
And that's kind of where thecharacter growth comes in.
Susan Ferrara (13:09):
Perfectly said, With no spoilers.
Well done you.
Woodrow Proctor (13:12):
Boom no spoilers Success.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (13:16):
You touched on my next question a
little bit.
I wanted to ask you, as actors,how do you connect to your
characters and is there acertain aspect of them that you
most enjoy playing?
And I know that, woodrow, yousaid that you relate to your
character, but if you can expandon that a little bit, yeah,
yeah, um, yeah.
Woodrow Proctor (13:36):
So what I was saying about Davis and that he,
he's, he's just there for thethrill of the hunt, right, it's
not.
I guess Davis is living the.
It's not about the destination,it's about the journey we have
along the way, right, but umjourney we have along the way,
(13:57):
right, but um, I think in inlike a real uh sense of of kind
of why he's there, like whatbrings him to this kind of weird
lifestyle with with his wife,is that he just, uh, he loves
being on the road with his, withhis wife, and just um the
excitement of potentiallyfinding one of these things.
I'm not an antique collector,but I really relate to that
feeling of finding joy andexcitement in things that aren't
(14:24):
sort of, objectively, you know,the coolest, hottest thing on
the block right, the coolesthottest thing on the block right
, um, uh, you know, I love, uhlike road trips and like the
sort of silly stuff you see inin the middle of nowhere on the
side of the road.
And also one of my favoritethings is, you know, going to a
new place I've never been beforeand then just choosing a
(14:45):
direction and then just walkingfor as long as I can walk,
because I find you just end upseeing stuff and you just end up
getting the sort of personalityof the area and I think that I
see an element of myself and theway that I try and find things
(15:06):
to get excited about, in the waythat Davis, you know, has this
enthusiasm for antique hunting.
Susie, do you want to talkabout your character?
Susan Ferrara (15:17):
Yeah, although I could listen to you all day, I
think and I do, I love it.
I think that the thing that Ilove most about Freya is her
sense of purpose.
I love most about Freya is hersense of purpose.
You know, you know the factthat that she is so.
She so identifies herself assomebody who can be of service
(15:42):
to her students and their, theirbabies, their you know, their
little peanuts, and the way inwhich she cares for them and
nurtures them.
And it is her focus, it is herpurpose, it's why she's there.
She is there to help theseyoung students in this small
town become the adults thatshe'll continue to know and
continue to see and continue towatch grow.
(16:05):
And I think that what I lovemost about her is the surprise
in her, because I don't thinkyou would, upon meeting her for
the first time, imagine that sheis a teacher who makes a
difference, that she is someonewho is so in tune with why she
is where she is, and howimportant it is to her to be
(16:28):
there, to be in front of aclassroom and nurture these
young minds and encourage theseyoung minds and watch them grow
and develop.
And I think that you know,coming from you know a long line
of teachers, so many of myfamily are teachers, teachers
and coal miners.
It's a nice mix, I think Ireally you know, through Freya
(16:52):
I've come to appreciate myfamily even more, because if you
think about, if I think about,you know who was your favorite
teacher growing up.
I think everybody who getsasked that question has an
answer.
For me it's Mrs Robertson,right, she was our history
teacher.
So it makes me think about that, that lineage, that the way in
(17:13):
which you know I as a third I, Iwas a third grader once and
what that was like to be in thatroom with somebody who used
colored chalk on the chalkboardand how fancy that was and how
fun it was and and I don't knowjust how delightful.
So for me purpose, I think, iswhat I enjoy most about Freya
(17:38):
and what connects me to her.
Her world, ultimately, isreally small and becomes a
little larger, and I thinkthat's a beautiful thing.
It's kind of jumping offWoodrow what you're saying about
the growth, the growth that weall go through, you know, as the
as the story progresses, whichis a fun thing to play.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (17:57):
I love that so much and I'm I'm glad
that you brought it up.
If I have to, I will shout outmy favorite teachers as well,
because three came to mind asyou were talking Mrs Giordano,
mrs Placco and Mrs Brown.
I had talked about this withVincent a little bit too about.
You know just how importantteachers are to our society, but
it also ties into the politicalnature of the piece and I'm
(18:21):
wondering as actors, do you haveto consider the political
nature of a piece when you'repreparing for a role, or does
that knowledge influence you inany way?
Or do you actively try to setthat aside when you're prepping
Boy?
Susan Ferrara (18:36):
that's such a great question.
I'm going to say that I thinkit's in the ether, but I think,
as we sit down and we understandwhat story we're trying to tell
, I think it's natural to thinkabout who I am, what I want and
what my challenges are, and howmy story, as this particular
(18:58):
character, fits into the largerstory.
So, while politics are alwaysimportant and are ever-present,
really it's the relationships,it's the way in which we move in
the world, it's what we wantand what's we're afraid of.
I mean, it's basic human, it'sbasic humanity why we are in the
(19:20):
rooms we are and why we'reinteracting with the people
we're interacting with.
Woodrow Proctor (19:25):
Yeah, yeah, I think there's this interesting I
guess you could say like aninteresting balance that
sometimes comes up, where, as anactor, there are really only
certain things that you can play.
And by what you can play, I mean, you're on stage, you're in the
scene and that's what you are,what your character is
(19:46):
expressing and what the audienceis seeing of you, right, but
you have to have thisunderstanding that what you can
play is only part of the story,right, but you have to have this
understanding that what you canplay is only part of the story,
right.
So, although I wouldn't say that, you know, normally, or in this
show in particular, you go onstage and you play like advocacy
(20:07):
or politics in some way, youhave to have this understanding
that, just in terms of thesubject matter, you are
addressing it just by it beingpresent, right, affecting these
people's lives.
So I guess my specific answerto the question is that it's not
(20:28):
really that it has a directimpact on your performance.
It's not that we are, you know,acting politics, but it's not
really that it has a directimpact on your performance.
It's not that it it we are, youknow, acting politics, but it's
that amidst these characters,you know, and their emotions and
their actions and their desires, which is what we play.
We just have to have anunderstanding that there is a
world that they live in and theyare connected to those
(20:50):
political themes.
Yeah, so it's kind of like it'sa nuanced relationship.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (20:58):
I think both of you explained that
extremely well, so thank you.
I don't really know what I wasexpecting from that question,
but I'm so glad that I asked itbecause you gave me really
brilliant answers.
Thank you for that.
But it also, of course, ittouches on the direction of the
show too, because obviously youare not acting in a vacuum.
(21:18):
You have a director who isworking with you on this show,
and that director happens to beJohn Wooten, who is also the
producing artistic director ofPremiere Stages.
And I'm curious what has itbeen like working with John as
your director, and what has itbeen like working with John as
your director, and what has itbeen like working at Premiere?
Woodrow Proctor (21:35):
Well, it's been great easy one word, answer
great wonderful yeah, yeah, Iwould say one.
One thing that's been reallyinteresting for me, uh, is that
I'm I'm sort of new to the newplay experience um, done a lot
of work on, you know,shakespeare not a new play, that
stuff's been around for a longtime, so I've been able to
(21:58):
observe some really interestingstuff with the way that John, as
a director, interfaces with youknow, working on a new play,
because he's an expert at it.
That's what Premier Stagesspecializes in, and so we had
vince, the, the author there and, um, I thought that the two of
them, uh, as director and author, uh understood their, their
(22:22):
sort of boundaries of controlwithin the experience in a
really interesting way.
Because, as an author, yes, youwrote the play, but you are,
you're not the director, so youdon't.
You know an author, yes, youwrote the play, but you are,
you're not the director, so youdon't, you know, necessarily
guide the actors on the pacingof this scene or the way that
it's going to be laid out, orwhere you should stand or
whatever.
And, as the director, althoughyou're, you're controlling, you
(22:43):
know that kind of stuff andbuilding this arc for the actors
to sort of slot into, um,you're not the author, right,
you, you can't then go changelines willy-nilly and stuff, and
it was interesting to watchthem as they would come up with.
Vince would come up with an ideaof, maybe, how the scene could
be staged.
He would run it by John, likehey, I know that this isn't my
(23:05):
place, but I saw it this way.
And then, in the same way, inthe in the other direction, john
would consider a line and belike you know, if we just had
like one little change here,that might tell the story in a
more clear way.
And then they would run it byVince and Vince would think it
over, you know, so it's.
(23:26):
It's interesting having thislike new character in in the
room that I have not had in myprevious rehearsal experiences.
Where the author is there, wecan like ask him what he
intended.
Susie, do you want to touch onthis?
Susan Ferrara (23:41):
I think everything that you just said
Woodrow times a hundred and thenyou know also too it's that
there's something so joyfulabout being in a room where
everybody's new to the storyNobody knows really what it's
going to look like on stage,nobody has seen a previous
performance and I think thebeauty and the fun and the joy
of working on something that isbrand new and I think what I
(24:02):
love most about working withJohn, with Vince Vincent and
with this amazing group ofpeople, including Woodrow, this
amazing group of people,including Woodrow, who God help
me if I please, please, please,please, don't let me laugh.
While he's on stage it's veryhard to keep a straight face.
(24:24):
He's amazing.
But I think what I love reallyis that it's collaborative, and
I know a lot of people say that,but I actually do come from the
development of new work, bothas a playwright and as an actor,
and I come from Chicago where alot of new stuff is like new
plays come from everywhere, butmy most of my training
post-college was here's a newplay, how do we make it work, et
(24:46):
cetera, et cetera.
And what John does sobeautifully is he really listens
, you know.
What John does so beautifullyis he really listens.
You know, there's such a hugeamount of respect for everybody
in the room and it's a very kindroom and a very open room and
there's time for conversationand there's also time for ideas
(25:07):
and imagination.
So it feels like we all have ahand, we're all in service to
both the vision of the directorand the ideas and the story of
the playwright, and that is areal unique, that's a unique
situation to be in.
So, you know, if anybody'slistening, uh, everybody, please
, you know, shout out to premierstages, because it's a
(25:29):
beautiful place to create newwork.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (25:33):
I'm so glad to hear that.
And what is it that you hopeaudiences will take away from
this show?
Susan Ferrara (25:39):
Oh gosh, I'm just going to jump in and say
remember your teachers, rememberthe teachers that made a
difference in your life.
Maybe, if they're still with us, write them a note and thank
them.
And also bring a plate ofcookies to your neighbors, if
your neighbors look like any oneof the five people you meet on
stage.
Woodrow Proctor (26:00):
It's an interesting question, because
you don't want to send someoneinto a play with an assignment.
You got to learn like this,this is, this is a piece that
you got to take in and youyou're going to be different
afterwards.
You know that that's, that's asort of hope that we, that we
(26:21):
have, like that's ultimatelykind of like you know the dream,
if you're making a piece oftheater, that someone comes in
and they do take something fromit and then they'll, they'll
remember it.
I I totally agree with with the, the things that suzy was
saying about like there are likereally nice ideas in this show
(26:41):
that I I do think if we were allable to internalize you and
might it might help us.
At the beginning of the showthere are some kind of
assumptions that the charactersmake about each other, and over
the course of the show thoseassumptions break down.
And so one thing that I guess Iwould love for people to just
think about, maybe, or I don'tknow have some sort of
(27:05):
realization on, is that it'seasy, right, it's easy when
people don't live where you live, or they behave differently or
or some some aspect of some newplace you're in is scary to you.
It's easy to kind of dismiss itas like oh this, this is, this
(27:25):
is just something weird that Idon't understand and it's a
danger to me, right.
But when you get to know peoplegenerally like, you'll find the
good in them, right.
So I think that's one idea thatI'm trying to kind of hold on
to.
Is that, like, by the end of it, I think they do understand
each other more and I think thatwith time, with connection with
(27:49):
exposure, we can all kind ofunderstand each other more.
Susan Ferrara (27:52):
The only other thing I want to add, too, is
that we hope people enjoy it.
We hope people have a laugh andmaybe have a moment where
they're like, oh, that was sweet, whatever.
But you know, at the risk ofsounding corny, really our job
is to entertain people.
We hope they walk out with abetter I don't know, with a
(28:16):
little bit of lightness asopposed to whatever they walked
into.
We hope they walk out with alittle bit of lightness.
It's a fun show.
It's fun.
It's a fun show.
So fun is what we want them towalk out with.
Yeah, a sense of fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (28:32):
If you're looking for a show that will
make you laugh and maybe learn athing or two.
The Mallard runs July 17ththrough August 3rd at Premiere
Stages at Kean University inUnion, and, in honor of Premiere
Stages' 20th season openingnight on July 18th, will feature
a pre-show cocktail party withlive music and a 7.30
(28:52):
performance of the Mallard, tobe followed by a 9 pm champagne
and dessert reception.
For tickets and moreinformation, be sure to visit
premierstagesatcainecom.
If you liked this episode, besure to review, subscribe and
tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,links relevant to the story and
more about the arts in NewJersey can be found at
(29:14):
JerseyArts.
com.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show was co-founded by andis currently supported by funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,edited, and produced by me, Gina
Marie Rodriguez.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez,
(29:37):
and my thanks, of course, toVincent Delaney, Susan Ferrara
and Woodrow Proctor for speakingwith me today.
I'm Gina Marie Rodriguez forthe Jersey Arts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
This is Gina Marie Rodriguez and you're
listening to the Jersey ArtsPodcast.
Today we're highlightingPremiere Stage's 20th season as
they introduce their latestproduction, the Mallard, written
by Vincent Delaney and directedby John Wooten.
Freya and Gillian are teacherswho have offended their school
board and lost their jobs.
(00:24):
Freya and Gillian are teacherswho have offended their school
board and lost their jobs.
Davis and Reagan are yard salefanatics in search of a
priceless antique duck decoy theHorace Crandall Mallard.
What follows is a fierce, funnyand escalating battle over a
symbol that has wildly differentmeanings, intersecting the
couples in a journey that farsurpasses the quest for treasure
.
Now, with a synopsis like that,humor and intrigue are sure to
(00:48):
follow.
I had the chance to speak withboth author Vincent Delaney and
cast members Susan Ferrara andWoodrow Proctor about what this
show means to them and whataudiences can look forward to.
Let's focus on the author'sperspective first, before we
meet the actors.
Hello, how are you today?
Vincent Delaney (01:08):
Hey, it's great , really good, thank you.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (01:10):
Great, I'm glad to hear it.
I'm very excited to meet youand to talk to you about the
Mallard.
I'm intrigued by the nameitself.
Where did this come from?
You know?
Where was the inspiration?
How did a duck decoy become thefocal point, or rather the
goalpost for a play?
Vincent Delaney (01:30):
How did that happen?
I'm still asking myself,because it happened really
quickly.
I feel like I was just reallyintrigued with telling a story
that would center on somethingthat was kind of meaningless,
like it didn't really meananything to anybody, and yet it
could be imbued with meaning,really radically different
meaning for different people.
(01:50):
So I'll give you an examplethis duck decoy, it's something
that my uncle, my small-townuncle, would have used, would
have kept it in his pickup truck, would have gone hunting, would
have gone fishing, becausethat's kind of where I come from
culturally.
But these things are alsoprized by big time collectors,
the kind of people my unclewould have called, you know, the
(02:12):
coastal elite.
So I thought how interesting totake an object that could cross
over, cross over for thecharacters and maybe cross over,
you know, for the audience aswell.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:23):
Yeah, I think that's.
I mean that's fantastic.
I don't know anything aboutthat.
And you said this is where youcome from culturally.
But what does that mean when?
Where do you come from?
Vincent Delaney (02:32):
Well, I come from a small town, a group in a
small town.
My family kind of hail from atown of 200 people and I get
teased a lot for that.
But I think of that as a secretstrength, because that's that's
the audience that I personallyhave to answer to, and so I have
to write things that can crossover if I want my family to go
(02:52):
and see them.
That's literally how I see it.
So there you go.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (02:57):
That makes perfect sense to me.
At least you know who youraudience is right, you know who
you're writing for Well.
Vincent Delaney (03:02):
so that's my personal audience.
My professional audience,that's everybody else.
But when I ask myself, what amI going to write and who's it
going to reach?
I mean, if I can't reach thosepeople, then I just not doing my
job.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:14):
Yeah, yeah , no, I understand that.
I I kind of want to talk to youabout premiere stages, because
you've worked with them in thepast and you've had what
multiple plays come throughtheir new play festival.
So I think it was.
Las Cruces, right had its worldpremiere in 2016, and then the
Mallard was selected in 2024,but now this is their 20th
(03:37):
season that you are opening, sohow does it feel to be?
Well, I'll say the chosen one,right?
Vincent Delaney (03:44):
Yeah.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (03:45):
Their 20th season.
Vincent Delaney (03:47):
I'll tell you what it feels like.
It feels like coming home.
You know, I feel likeplaywrights are itinerant.
We get what we get.
You might end up in Fargo, youmight end up in Florida, you
just don't know.
You get what you get,particularly for me I live in
Seattle, I got to go everywhereComing back here.
(04:07):
I mean, my first time workingwith this company, with John
Wooten, was like 11 years ago.
It's just such a collaborativeenvironment.
It's a place where you feelsafe.
It's a place where people trythings.
I feel like, you know, he and Iwe share excuse me, an
aesthetic, like we both havesort of a similar sense of taste
and I think it's.
It's just led to some.
It's led to some really goodcollaborations over the years.
(04:28):
And again, I feel like thatshared aesthetic, like the mix
of funny but also pathos, theheartache and the humor.
I think that that really iskind of what they are about here
and, of course, things that aretopical, things that are
topical.
End of the moment.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (04:44):
Absolutely .
I'm curious to know how youwould summarize, or you know,
what's your elevator pitch forsomebody who is on the fence
about seeing this show.
How do you describe it tosomeone who's wondering if they
should see it or not?
Vincent Delaney (04:58):
Okay, so it is a political play, but it's funny
, it's absolutely funny and Ipromise you you will laugh.
You will laugh, you will come,you will laugh, you will enjoy
it.
It's surprising, it's all, andwe haven't talked about this yet
at all.
It's actually about my otherprofession I teach.
I've worked with elementary kidsfor 15 years and, without
(05:18):
giving too much away, you know,I wanted to write a play that
would counter this vilificationof my profession, just the way
teachers are treated.
I mean, there are districts allaround this country where you
can find yourself suspended orlosing your job if you've read
the wrong book and I'm notexaggerating, look it up, it
absolutely is happening.
(05:40):
So I wanted to push backagainst that.
I wanted to show you knowteachers how they really are.
I mean, they're heroes in myopinion.
Of course, I'm one of them,thank you.
But I mean and I think this isa question you had for me as
well you know why keep it funny?
Because you'll lose half youraudience if you don't.
And I think the way to avoidbeing polemical, the way to like
(06:02):
really make a point, is to doit through humor.
It's my opinion.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (06:07):
Absolutely , I do agree with that.
But you know, obviously artistshave their different ways of
approaching things, that a lotof people do like to focus on
the heavy right, they like tofocus on the drama of it all.
I happen to be a comedy fan, soI love that that's the vehicle
you've chosen.
But yeah, I do understand,unfortunately, that teachers and
(06:30):
education right now in thiscountry are under attack, have
been under attack for a while.
So art is political, right, allart is political in one
direction or another.
That's just how it works.
This is how we talk to oneanother.
Vincent Delaney (06:46):
So I'll just tell you, I mean, the setup of
this play.
It sounds really grim.
It's two teachers.
They've been fired, They'velost their jobs for being too
open about themselves and theyare moving, they're leaving.
That does not sound like acomedy, but it is a comedy, I
mean, in my opinion.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (07:04):
Yeah, well , I think that's kind of where
humor steps in, when you're atyour lowest Because other people
.
I'm going to butcher it, butthere is a quote, I think it's
maybe Mel Brooks.
It's like comedy is when I cutmy finger and no, no, tragedy is
when I cut my finger and comedyis when you fall in a sewer
grate and die or something.
(07:25):
Yeah, yeah, tragedy is when Icut my finger, and comedy is
when you fall in a sewer grateand die.
I'm not sharing the quote, butI feel exactly where you're
coming from.
It sounds like it might be grim, but it's a great time to poke
fun at what's actually happeningaround us.
Vincent Delaney (07:37):
I think there is a little.
I mean to really dig deep.
I think there is something thathappens to you when you laugh,
when you laugh at a situation onstage and you invariably, first
of all, you cannot help but seeyourself in that situation.
That's probably why you'relaughing, but it leaves you with
a little bit of extraidentification with the
character, and I think more sothan I mean.
(07:57):
It's obvious, right, if acharacter is on stage telling
you how you should think aboutsomething, yeah, that's great if
you already agree with it.
But if you're in that 51% ofAmerica or 49% of America that
don't agree with that, that'snot going to work and it's not
going to bring the otheraudience into the theater.
So yeah, humor.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:16):
Absolutely .
I mean, who wants to bepreached to, right?
If you want a sermon, there areplaces where you can find that,
but it's the theater.
You should be able to putyourself in someone else's shoes
and I like that.
Did you tell me what you taught?
Vincent Delaney (08:34):
No, but I'll give it up.
I teach elementary physicaleducation, so I'm your PE
teacher.
If you ever need to work out,I'm the guy.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:41):
That's fantastic.
I mean, I always need somebodyto teach me how to work out.
I can barely do a crunchcorrectly, so Okay, I'm your guy
for that.
Vincent Delaney (08:48):
I'll take care of that.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (08:49):
Great Thank you.
Virtually, we can have a have asession, but thank you for all
that you do as a teacher.
Thank you to all of yourcolleagues and everyone in the
profession, because I do thinkit's important to shout out the
fact that teachers are heroesand the work that is done in our
school systems is incrediblyimportant, as is the work that
(09:11):
you're doing outside of that, inthe theater.
Vincent Delaney (09:14):
Thank you.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (09:15):
My last question for you is and some
people hate this question, butI'm going to ask anyway what is
it that you hope audiences willtake away from the show, if you
have that hope.
Vincent Delaney (09:27):
Well, so for this play, I guess I would say
it just really goes back to thewhole thing about being a
teacher and what teachers aredoing and how they, how they are
not integrated into theircommunities in a way that I
think is healthy.
That's the thing for me, andthat's not true everywhere, but
that is what this story is aboutand how we need to do a better
(09:47):
job and how we need to do abetter job, and maybe not just
really for a particularprofession.
But I mean, don't you feel likeour society has been frayed
down, has been kind of tornapart, like we're being pitted
against each other?
I mean, this play goes right atthat right Left, right,
republican, democratic.
That's the problem.
Right, that is the problem.
(10:08):
It's that friction right now.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (10:09):
And I mean I don't know, I guess I hope
that people will come out ofthis thinking in a really tiny
way about that, I hope.
And now we'll take a moment toswitch gears and see what cast
members Susan Ferrara andWoodrow Proctor have to say
about the Mallard.
I'd love to hear a little bitabout your characters, who
(10:30):
you're playing and who they are.
Tell me about them.
Susan Ferrara (10:36):
So I play Freya and I am a teacher in a small
town and I have been teachingfor a lot of years and I love my
students and I'm incrediblystubborn, incredibly stubborn
and also gosh.
(10:58):
It's such a great questionbecause she's a myriad of things
to me.
I am protective of the people Ilove and very much interested
in living my life as fullymyself, and I think I'll stop
there because I was about to saya thing and I was like don't
say the thing, that the thing,and it's gonna be a thing, so
(11:20):
I'm gonna stop.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (11:21):
Okay, so we're saving our audience from
spoilers.
I like it.
Widjo, we'll keep that in mindas you go.
Woodrow Proctor (11:26):
Yes, yes, don't wanna spoil too much.
I'm playing a character nameddavis.
I think, I guess one thing thatI would say, you know, in the
interest of not spoiling toomuch, but sort of like lending,
lending a potential audiencemember.
Something interesting to holdon to about these characters is
(11:47):
the thing that brings thesecharacters together is that they
all have a different butarguably equally strong reason
to be chasing this item themallard.
Susan Ferrara (12:02):
Yes, the mallard.
Woodrow Proctor (12:06):
And Davis comes at it from, I guess, the
perspective of being like whathe wants is the thrill of the
hunt.
Right, he's an antiquecollector and he's there with
his wife, reagan, and Davis andReagan differ somewhat in the
way that they approach antiquecollecting and their sort of
(12:28):
goals there.
But I actually really relate tomy character, davis, because he
just loves the activity of itand finding the joy in the sort
of chase of these random kind of, you know, arguably meaningless
little things, right, andreally I think what makes kind
(12:50):
of seeing these differentcharacters collide in the show
interesting is that they're allchasing the same thing but they
all have completely differentreasons for it and over the
course of the show they end upkind of learning about each
other's reasons for chasing.
And that's kind of where thecharacter growth comes in.
Susan Ferrara (13:09):
Perfectly said, With no spoilers.
Well done you.
Woodrow Proctor (13:12):
Boom no spoilers Success.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (13:16):
You touched on my next question a
little bit.
I wanted to ask you, as actors,how do you connect to your
characters and is there acertain aspect of them that you
most enjoy playing?
And I know that, woodrow, yousaid that you relate to your
character, but if you can expandon that a little bit, yeah,
yeah, um, yeah.
Woodrow Proctor (13:36):
So what I was saying about Davis and that he,
he's, he's just there for thethrill of the hunt, right, it's
not.
I guess Davis is living the.
It's not about the destination,it's about the journey we have
along the way, right, but umjourney we have along the way,
(13:57):
right, but um, I think in inlike a real uh sense of of kind
of why he's there, like whatbrings him to this kind of weird
lifestyle with with his wife,is that he just, uh, he loves
being on the road with his, withhis wife, and just um the
excitement of potentiallyfinding one of these things.
I'm not an antique collector,but I really relate to that
feeling of finding joy andexcitement in things that aren't
(14:24):
sort of, objectively, you know,the coolest, hottest thing on
the block right, the coolesthottest thing on the block right
, um, uh, you know, I love, uhlike road trips and like the
sort of silly stuff you see inin the middle of nowhere on the
side of the road.
And also one of my favoritethings is, you know, going to a
new place I've never been beforeand then just choosing a
(14:45):
direction and then just walkingfor as long as I can walk,
because I find you just end upseeing stuff and you just end up
getting the sort of personalityof the area and I think that I
see an element of myself and theway that I try and find things
(15:06):
to get excited about, in the waythat Davis, you know, has this
enthusiasm for antique hunting.
Susie, do you want to talkabout your character?
Susan Ferrara (15:17):
Yeah, although I could listen to you all day, I
think and I do, I love it.
I think that the thing that Ilove most about Freya is her
sense of purpose.
I love most about Freya is hersense of purpose.
You know, you know the factthat that she is so.
She so identifies herself assomebody who can be of service
(15:42):
to her students and their, theirbabies, their you know, their
little peanuts, and the way inwhich she cares for them and
nurtures them.
And it is her focus, it is herpurpose, it's why she's there.
She is there to help theseyoung students in this small
town become the adults thatshe'll continue to know and
continue to see and continue towatch grow.
(16:05):
And I think that what I lovemost about her is the surprise
in her, because I don't thinkyou would, upon meeting her for
the first time, imagine that sheis a teacher who makes a
difference, that she is someonewho is so in tune with why she
is where she is, and howimportant it is to her to be
(16:28):
there, to be in front of aclassroom and nurture these
young minds and encourage theseyoung minds and watch them grow
and develop.
And I think that you know,coming from you know a long line
of teachers, so many of myfamily are teachers, teachers
and coal miners.
It's a nice mix, I think Ireally you know, through Freya
(16:52):
I've come to appreciate myfamily even more, because if you
think about, if I think about,you know who was your favorite
teacher growing up.
I think everybody who getsasked that question has an
answer.
For me it's Mrs Robertson,right, she was our history
teacher.
So it makes me think about that, that lineage, that the way in
(17:13):
which you know I as a third I, Iwas a third grader once and
what that was like to be in thatroom with somebody who used
colored chalk on the chalkboardand how fancy that was and how
fun it was and and I don't knowjust how delightful.
So for me purpose, I think, iswhat I enjoy most about Freya
(17:38):
and what connects me to her.
Her world, ultimately, isreally small and becomes a
little larger, and I thinkthat's a beautiful thing.
It's kind of jumping offWoodrow what you're saying about
the growth, the growth that weall go through, you know, as the
as the story progresses, whichis a fun thing to play.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (17:57):
I love that so much and I'm I'm glad
that you brought it up.
If I have to, I will shout outmy favorite teachers as well,
because three came to mind asyou were talking Mrs Giordano,
mrs Placco and Mrs Brown.
I had talked about this withVincent a little bit too about.
You know just how importantteachers are to our society, but
it also ties into the politicalnature of the piece and I'm
(18:21):
wondering as actors, do you haveto consider the political
nature of a piece when you'repreparing for a role, or does
that knowledge influence you inany way?
Or do you actively try to setthat aside when you're prepping
Boy?
Susan Ferrara (18:36):
that's such a great question.
I'm going to say that I thinkit's in the ether, but I think,
as we sit down and we understandwhat story we're trying to tell
, I think it's natural to thinkabout who I am, what I want and
what my challenges are, and howmy story, as this particular
(18:58):
character, fits into the largerstory.
So, while politics are alwaysimportant and are ever-present,
really it's the relationships,it's the way in which we move in
the world, it's what we wantand what's we're afraid of.
I mean, it's basic human, it'sbasic humanity why we are in the
(19:20):
rooms we are and why we'reinteracting with the people
we're interacting with.
Woodrow Proctor (19:25):
Yeah, yeah, I think there's this interesting I
guess you could say like aninteresting balance that
sometimes comes up, where, as anactor, there are really only
certain things that you can play.
And by what you can play, I mean, you're on stage, you're in the
scene and that's what you are,what your character is
(19:46):
expressing and what the audienceis seeing of you, right, but
you have to have thisunderstanding that what you can
play is only part of the story,right, but you have to have this
understanding that what you canplay is only part of the story,
right.
So, although I wouldn't say that, you know, normally, or in this
show in particular, you go onstage and you play like advocacy
(20:07):
or politics in some way, youhave to have this understanding
that, just in terms of thesubject matter, you are
addressing it just by it beingpresent, right, affecting these
people's lives.
So I guess my specific answerto the question is that it's not
(20:28):
really that it has a directimpact on your performance.
It's not that we are, you know,acting politics, but it's not
really that it has a directimpact on your performance.
It's not that it it we are, youknow, acting politics, but it's
that amidst these characters,you know, and their emotions and
their actions and their desires, which is what we play.
We just have to have anunderstanding that there is a
world that they live in and theyare connected to those
(20:50):
political themes.
Yeah, so it's kind of like it'sa nuanced relationship.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (20:58):
I think both of you explained that
extremely well, so thank you.
I don't really know what I wasexpecting from that question,
but I'm so glad that I asked itbecause you gave me really
brilliant answers.
Thank you for that.
But it also, of course, ittouches on the direction of the
show too, because obviously youare not acting in a vacuum.
(21:18):
You have a director who isworking with you on this show,
and that director happens to beJohn Wooten, who is also the
producing artistic director ofPremiere Stages.
And I'm curious what has itbeen like working with John as
your director, and what has itbeen like working with John as
your director, and what has itbeen like working at Premiere?
Woodrow Proctor (21:35):
Well, it's been great easy one word, answer
great wonderful yeah, yeah, Iwould say one.
One thing that's been reallyinteresting for me, uh, is that
I'm I'm sort of new to the newplay experience um, done a lot
of work on, you know,shakespeare not a new play, that
stuff's been around for a longtime, so I've been able to
(21:58):
observe some really interestingstuff with the way that John, as
a director, interfaces with youknow, working on a new play,
because he's an expert at it.
That's what Premier Stagesspecializes in, and so we had
vince, the, the author there and, um, I thought that the two of
them, uh, as director and author, uh understood their, their
(22:22):
sort of boundaries of controlwithin the experience in a
really interesting way.
Because, as an author, yes, youwrote the play, but you are,
you're not the director, so youdon't.
You know an author, yes, youwrote the play, but you are,
you're not the director, so youdon't, you know, necessarily
guide the actors on the pacingof this scene or the way that
it's going to be laid out, orwhere you should stand or
whatever.
And, as the director, althoughyou're, you're controlling, you
(22:43):
know that kind of stuff andbuilding this arc for the actors
to sort of slot into, um,you're not the author, right,
you, you can't then go changelines willy-nilly and stuff, and
it was interesting to watchthem as they would come up with.
Vince would come up with an ideaof, maybe, how the scene could
be staged.
He would run it by John, likehey, I know that this isn't my
(23:05):
place, but I saw it this way.
And then, in the same way, inthe in the other direction, john
would consider a line and belike you know, if we just had
like one little change here,that might tell the story in a
more clear way.
And then they would run it byVince and Vince would think it
over, you know, so it's.
(23:26):
It's interesting having thislike new character in in the
room that I have not had in myprevious rehearsal experiences.
Where the author is there, wecan like ask him what he
intended.
Susie, do you want to touch onthis?
Susan Ferrara (23:41):
I think everything that you just said
Woodrow times a hundred and thenyou know also too it's that
there's something so joyfulabout being in a room where
everybody's new to the storyNobody knows really what it's
going to look like on stage,nobody has seen a previous
performance and I think thebeauty and the fun and the joy
of working on something that isbrand new and I think what I
(24:02):
love most about working withJohn, with Vince Vincent and
with this amazing group ofpeople, including Woodrow, this
amazing group of people,including Woodrow, who God help
me if I please, please, please,please, don't let me laugh.
While he's on stage it's veryhard to keep a straight face.
(24:24):
He's amazing.
But I think what I love reallyis that it's collaborative, and
I know a lot of people say that,but I actually do come from the
development of new work, bothas a playwright and as an actor,
and I come from Chicago where alot of new stuff is like new
plays come from everywhere, butmy most of my training
post-college was here's a newplay, how do we make it work, et
(24:46):
cetera, et cetera.
And what John does sobeautifully is he really listens
, you know.
What John does so beautifullyis he really listens.
You know, there's such a hugeamount of respect for everybody
in the room and it's a very kindroom and a very open room and
there's time for conversationand there's also time for ideas
(25:07):
and imagination.
So it feels like we all have ahand, we're all in service to
both the vision of the directorand the ideas and the story of
the playwright, and that is areal unique, that's a unique
situation to be in.
So, you know, if anybody'slistening, uh, everybody, please
, you know, shout out to premierstages, because it's a
(25:29):
beautiful place to create newwork.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (25:33):
I'm so glad to hear that.
And what is it that you hopeaudiences will take away from
this show?
Susan Ferrara (25:39):
Oh gosh, I'm just going to jump in and say
remember your teachers, rememberthe teachers that made a
difference in your life.
Maybe, if they're still with us, write them a note and thank
them.
And also bring a plate ofcookies to your neighbors, if
your neighbors look like any oneof the five people you meet on
stage.
Woodrow Proctor (26:00):
It's an interesting question, because
you don't want to send someoneinto a play with an assignment.
You got to learn like this,this is, this is a piece that
you got to take in and youyou're going to be different
afterwards.
You know that that's, that's asort of hope that we, that we
(26:21):
have, like that's ultimatelykind of like you know the dream,
if you're making a piece oftheater, that someone comes in
and they do take something fromit and then they'll, they'll
remember it.
I I totally agree with with the, the things that suzy was
saying about like there are likereally nice ideas in this show
(26:41):
that I I do think if we were allable to internalize you and
might it might help us.
At the beginning of the showthere are some kind of
assumptions that the charactersmake about each other, and over
the course of the show thoseassumptions break down.
And so one thing that I guess Iwould love for people to just
think about, maybe, or I don'tknow have some sort of
(27:05):
realization on, is that it'seasy, right, it's easy when
people don't live where you live, or they behave differently or
or some some aspect of some newplace you're in is scary to you.
It's easy to kind of dismiss itas like oh this, this is, this
(27:25):
is just something weird that Idon't understand and it's a
danger to me, right.
But when you get to know peoplegenerally like, you'll find the
good in them, right.
So I think that's one idea thatI'm trying to kind of hold on
to.
Is that, like, by the end of it, I think they do understand
each other more and I think thatwith time, with connection with
(27:49):
exposure, we can all kind ofunderstand each other more.
Susan Ferrara (27:52):
The only other thing I want to add, too, is
that we hope people enjoy it.
We hope people have a laugh andmaybe have a moment where
they're like, oh, that was sweet, whatever.
But you know, at the risk ofsounding corny, really our job
is to entertain people.
We hope they walk out with abetter I don't know, with a
(28:16):
little bit of lightness asopposed to whatever they walked
into.
We hope they walk out with alittle bit of lightness.
It's a fun show.
It's fun.
It's a fun show.
So fun is what we want them towalk out with.
Yeah, a sense of fun.
Gina Marie Rodriguez (28:32):
If you're looking for a show that will
make you laugh and maybe learn athing or two.
The Mallard runs July 17ththrough August 3rd at Premiere
Stages at Kean University inUnion, and, in honor of Premiere
Stages' 20th season openingnight on July 18th, will feature
a pre-show cocktail party withlive music and a 7.30
(28:52):
performance of the Mallard, tobe followed by a 9 pm champagne
and dessert reception.
For tickets and moreinformation, be sure to visit
premierstagesatcainecom.
If you liked this episode, besure to review, subscribe and
tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,links relevant to the story and
more about the arts in NewJersey can be found at
(29:14):
JerseyArts.
com.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show was co-founded by andis currently supported by funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts.
This episode was hosted,edited, and produced by me, Gina
Marie Rodriguez.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez,
(29:37):
and my thanks, of course, toVincent Delaney, Susan Ferrara
and Woodrow Proctor for speakingwith me today.
I'm Gina Marie Rodriguez forthe Jersey Arts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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