Year of the Duck
Written by Israel Horovitz
Shows (Evenings at 7:30pm):
Thu. 8/11 - Sat. 8/13, Wed. 8/17 - Sat. 8/20, Wed. 8/24 - Sat. 8/27
Please Note: This show is NOT recommended for young audiences due to language and mature content.
The members of a small-town community theater are assembling to begin
rehearsals of Ibsen's "The Wild Duck." Harry Budd, a local photographer,
is to play Hjalmar Ekdahl (also a photographer); Budd's real-life daughter,
Sophie, plays daughter Hedvig; and Rosie Norris will portray his wife in
the play. Maragret, his real wife, is sitting this one out and has strong
suspicions about Harry's relationship with Rosie. The pompously manipulative
director of the play, John Sharp, is interpreting "The Wild Duck" for his
own less-than-ethical purposes. This show explores the purity of truth,
and how society can often use it to its own benefit, as well as they way life can take
paths that seem so simple and reasonable at the time, but lead to places
we never could have imagined ourselves going.
The Cast |
Sophie Budd | Devin Kiernan |
Harry Budd | Adam Cunningham |
Margaret Budd | Raquel Aronhime |
Nathan Budd | Mike Desanto |
John Sharp | Ethan Alsrhue |
Rosie Norris | Kathleen Loftus |
The Crew |
Director | George & Ginger Pierce |
Asst. Director | Katherine Bernhard |
Set Construction & Design | Rick Loya |
Lighting/Sound Operator | Tim Schein |
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Raquel Aronhime
is pleased to be returning for her third show with the Waterbury Festival Playhouse, after
being seen as a gullible actress wannabe in "Leading Ladies," and then a schizophrenic,
stripping nymphomaniac in "Murder's Bad but Monday Can Kill You" last year. She has
also performed with the Stowe Theatre Guild over the years. Raquel lives in Burlington
with her husband, Scott, and their two children, Eva (8) and Sammy (5).
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Ethan Alsrhue
begins his first outing at the Waterbury Festival Playhouse, but he's been drawn
to the footlights all his life. His most recent performance was in Shaw's
"Mrs. Warren's Profession" at Off Center, and less recently as Jamie in
Quarrywork's "Long Day's Journey Into Night," and as Aaronow in Classic Theatre's
"Glengarry Glen Ross". Ethan went to an all male private school in Baltimore
and didn't seriously start dating till attending Connecticut College which
might explain why he was cast as the relationship- challenged John. He
enjoys Kubrick films, Bukowski's poetry and works at Hannafords.
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Katherine Bernhard
is thrilled to be working at the Waterbury Festival Playhouse this summer. Kat
studied theatre arts at Castleton State College, managing 10 main
stage productions as well as being company stage manager for the Rutland Youth
Theatre. After Castleton, she was a Stage Management Intern at
The Juilliard School. Locally, Kat Co-Produced and
Stage Managed Moon Over Buffalo with LCP. Kat would like
to thank the Waterbury Festival Playhouse for this opportunity.
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Adam Cunningham
is making his fourth appearance with the WFP. He was last seen in the Shelburne Players'
spring production of Beyond Therapy. WFP appearances include Harry in last summer's Murder
is Bad, But Monday Can Kill You, Lawrence Garfinkle in WFP's Other
People's Money, and Mike Talman in Wait Until Dark. He also played Saul Kimmer in Vermont Stage's production
of True West. He has also appeared in several local TV commercials. Favorite roles from his New York
days include the title role in Richard III, Claudius in Hamlet, Tony Raft in Beautiful City, Bradley
in Buried Child, Jake in A Lie of the Mind, King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons and Jack Worthing
in The Importance of Being Earnest. Adam has a BFA in acting from the University
of Illinois and an MFA in acting from Brandeis University.
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Mike DeSanto
has performed in many plays, in both professional and community theater,
as well as in film including in “Yuri Nosenko KGB” acting opposite Tommy
Lee Jones for an entire 5 minute scene. Mike's day jobs include owning
Phoenix Books&Cafe at the Essex Shoppes, and coaching runners as a
certified ChiRunning Coach. He shares this life with a partner of many years,
Renee Reiner, Roma and Beckett the dogs, and his two daughters.
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Devin Kiernan
has loved the theater since her first role as Nancy in a 5th grade production of
Oliver! She has studied at Stowe Dance Academy for 9 years and has had roles with
the Valley Players, Lyric Theater, Flynn Arts Teen Theater camps and Show Choir,
and Stowe Middle School. She recently performed with the Broadway National Tour of
the Wizard of Oz in Burlington. Devin is thrilled to be playing the role of Sophie,
her first dramatic role. She will be a freshman at Stowe High School this fall.
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Kathleen Loftus
is enjoying her tenth summer in Morrisville, Vermont and is glad to be back at the
Waterbury Festival Playhouse having last played a crazy doc in The Clean House.
Kathleen performed in many theaters in the Boston area and currently teaches
reading to dyslexic students at The Kildonan School during the academic year.
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Rick Loya
had worked with George and Ginger on many productions in the past but, this is
second session with the Waterbury Festival Playhouse.
Set Design and decoration has been passion of Rick’s for over 20 years now.
Also enjoying the opportunity to take the audience to another time and place
and regarding the set as another character in the performance.
His professional career has been in the custom sign business as a designer
sculptor and pictorial artist . Currently he runs his own business offering
a "broad brush" line of artistic services including fine art and graphic works to faux finishes.
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George Pierce
continues to enjoy working with some of the most creative and talented artists
in the area, not the least of which is his wife Ginger. He especially enjoys
the regular patrons who have begun to make the Waterbury Festival Playhouse
one of their regular theater destinations. You can find him most nights in the
Lobby sharing stories of past show with the regulars, and meeting the new people
who may join the regular ranks.
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