How Do You Get To the Wild Goose?

On the picture, where it says Communipaw, right there by the sign for Route 495, aka the New Jersey Turnpike, that is the place. In the 1600s, when the Dutch first landed here, high tide brought the bay waters to this point. It was a good place, where canoes heavy with fish landed, and waiting women carried basketsful into the village.

Right at that place stood The Wild Goose, the public house that is the main location of Irving's story. The Wild Goose became the haven of our two main characters, their hideaway, their Roost.

In fall of 2006, a friend introduced me to this story. Its thirty-seven paragraphs captured my imagination and sent me on a path of historical research, cultural explorations, theatrical arts education and character development.

Guests From Gibbet Island represents to me almost a distillation of the story of not only the New York area, but the country itself.

The path has led me here. This blog is born late in the process - the script is close to finished in form and plenty of scenes are finished, whatever that means. But the process has been extraordinary and continues to unfold. So, the story of Roost has become a story worth telling, all by itself.

Hold on to your britches, and keep both oars in the water.