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Dr. Prendergast continues to replenish her own creativity through exercising her artistic talents as director, actor, and theatre critic. Recently, as the mother in Dario Fo’s Peace Mum, we watched her respond in role to questions and comments in the postperformance talk backs, mediating content and context in ways that were “entertaining” in the full sense of Homer’s definition of theatre yet were absolutely nondidactic in their delivery. That ability to engage audiences is reflected in her ability to engage readers.
One of the great rewards of mentoring graduate students is that their research can open new doors of knowledge, new approaches, and new ways of envisioning innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship. Dr. Prendergast’s description of falling into poetry was a critical discovery in her search for a way to articulate her inquiry into audience in performance fully and authentically. Working with her has been an academic journey that has enriched us as learners, scholars, and mentors. Her perseverance has resulted in a meditation on the significance of the audience in performance. This text, illuminated through its poetry, supports and encourages all of us who recognize that the pedagogy of the spectator is an essential ingredient in the performance of pedagogy.
Juliana Saxton, Professor EmeritaCarole S. Miller, Associate Professor
University of VictoriaBritish Columbia, Canada