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Mazzoni Center feat. Dylan van Duyne · philly has heART

0:12
Bonjour. Hey Lucinda. Hey, how's it going Robert?
0:16
Pretty good, pretty good. We had an amazing weekend
0:19
again. What'd you get into? Oh, it started on
0:24
Thursday. Started with opening night of of Evening
0:28
of Horror with the Philadelphia Ballet, and wow.
0:33
I mean. I know. They have knocked it out of the
0:38
park again, and I mean, back -to -back weekends.
0:43
They have been able to just like transform. They
0:48
went from Sunday night shows, I don't even know
0:51
if they had off Monday or not, and right into
0:54
rehearsal for The Following. Okay, I don't. I
0:57
don't remember about all of the principal dancers,
1:00
but I know that Sydney Dolan went from dancing
1:04
Carmen, the lead role, to the lead role of the
1:08
accused in Fall River Legend. Yes. And as Russell
1:13
Ducker put it in an Instagram comment, he said,
1:17
that girl's got range. Oh, yes. Definitely. Having
1:19
range is so hot right now. Yes, it is. So good,
1:24
so good. The new piece at the end was absolutely
1:28
incredible. Valley of Death. Valley of Death.
1:32
It was the world premiere by Juliano Nunez. I
1:36
think it's Juliano Nunez. You know what, you
1:39
say that, but then I was corrected at the ballet.
1:42
I don't know. You try. Either one. Absolutely
1:45
amazing. The night that we were there, Jackie
1:49
Callahan was our main with... She played Beth?
1:54
Yes. With Ze Chen. So good. What an amazing pairing.
2:02
It was the whole place at the end of the night
2:04
stood up. I mean, it was a standing ovation performance.
2:10
So great. By the entire cast, too. Yeah. Can
2:14
we talk about the costumes being just fantastic?
2:16
And I loved the core costume for the opening
2:19
more than the lead, which doesn't really happen
2:21
with me. Yeah, no, I like that. The woman who
2:24
played Agatha for the Saturday night, her name
2:28
is Yuka Isida. She's been there for a really
2:32
long time, so much so that I feel like I usually
2:36
see her in the bright, beautiful, sunshiny roles.
2:41
Yes. And she was straight up deranged as the
2:47
antagonist. Oh, so good. So good. Again range
2:51
so hot right now. Yes Okay, let me go back real
2:55
quick. Do we want to unpack the generational
2:58
trauma a little bit for Fall River legend? Also
3:03
known as the Lizzie Borden ballet At first when
3:07
the townsperson went into the murder house and
3:10
grabbed the axe and the bloody lay shawl from
3:12
inside I thought they were going to help her
3:14
cover up the bodies. Help a girl out. Bury those
3:19
bitches. Right. Also, did the audience maybe
3:23
not clap for the dancer who played the stepmother
3:26
when she came out for curtain call? Ours got
3:28
booed. Yeah, there were a few boos and there
3:31
was definitely a moment of hesitation. Yeah.
3:34
I feel a little bit bad because she is actually
3:36
a dancer, I think, in the core. I think they
3:39
love it. I think they take it as, I did a really
3:43
good job to then bring additional emotion out
3:47
of the audience. Yeah, there was definitely just
3:50
a little bit of resistance there. Oh yeah. In
3:53
the news, are we gonna talk about the Louvre
3:55
heist? We have to. It's giving Ocean's eight.
3:58
I, you know Hollywood right now is already rewriting
4:02
a script. I think the script has already been
4:05
written, like literally it came out in 2018 and
4:08
Sandra Bullock was the lead. For those who don't
4:11
know or who have not read the details, two high
4:14
security display cases were targeted in the Apollo
4:18
room of the Louvre in Paris, and eight of the
4:22
nine items taken remain unaccounted for. And
4:25
these are priceless, priceless jewels. Oh, yeah.
4:28
Incredible works. The thieves actually dropped
4:31
or left behind one item, and that is the crown
4:33
of Empress Eugenie, who was the wife of Napoleon
4:36
III. You know those jewels have been like whittled
4:40
down by now. Oh, definitely. Definitely. If they
4:43
did it right. Mm -hmm. But... Again. Ocean's
4:46
eight. Yes. But at the same time, like, there's
4:49
cameras everywhere. Everywhere. All over the
4:51
city. How long do you think they've been planning
4:54
this? Is this something that started? During
4:57
the pandemic. Oh. I don't know. You think? People
5:03
had time on their hands. Well, that's true. That's
5:06
true. Yeah, but then you sat on it for that long.
5:09
Maybe they've been workshopping it. Maybe? Got
5:12
someone on the inside. Yeah. I mean, it was in
5:15
and it was out. It was very thought through.
5:17
Seven minutes. That's crazy. Robert. Yes? We
5:22
have two shout outs. Are you ready for it? Yeah.
5:26
Okay, last week, you and I mused about who we
5:29
would see getting promoted from the core and
5:32
the demi soloist level. And yet we had no idea
5:36
that at that very week, the Philadelphia Ballet
5:38
was about to announce a promotion. So congratulations
5:42
to Yuval Cohen, recently promoted to soloist
5:46
at Philadelphia Ballet. He joined PB2, which
5:49
is like the junior varsity of the ballet company,
5:52
in 2021 -2022. He was promoted to apprentice
5:57
for the next season, and most recently as a demi
6:01
soloist per the Evening of Horror printed program.
6:04
So this is really, really recent news. Really.
6:08
And a little behind the scenes, his mother flew
6:11
in from Israel to see the promotion. Did he know
6:15
it was coming? I don't believe so. Oh my God.
6:19
Yeah. That's so sweet. So sweet. Now Robert.
6:23
Do you see what I have here? Yes, I do. What
6:27
is it? Philadelphia Business Journal, Women of
6:31
Influence. Flip it to page 36. Oh. It's also
6:39
where the tab is. Who do we have there? Our very
6:44
own Shelly Power of Philadelphia Ballet. And
6:48
actually, I had the chance to be there for it.
6:51
Were you there? Yeah. You were there? Yep. What?
6:54
I saw Shelly get her a very well -deserved award
6:58
that evening from the Philadelphia Business Journal
7:01
along with an amazing array of powerful women
7:07
of Philadelphia. There was an amazing panel discussion
7:11
with three, one being the president of the Philadelphia
7:15
Zoo on what it took to get to where they are
7:19
and what they're doing now to mentor other young
7:22
women to get to the positions that they're in
7:25
today. It was an incredibly moving evening celebrating
7:31
some great Philadelphia citizens. Shall we get
7:37
on to the conversation? On to the conversation.
7:49
Greetings. This is Robert Marsh and you're listening
7:51
to Philly Has Hard Podcast. In this podcast,
7:54
we sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
7:58
curators, and other creatives who comprise the
8:00
Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
8:04
exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
8:07
are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
8:10
is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
8:13
this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
8:16
me always is my producer Lucinda Daggerlin. Hello,
8:20
hello. And today we have Dylan, a board member
8:23
at the Mazzoni Center. And we're so happy to
8:25
have you. So Dylan, can you take us through your
8:30
journey that brought you to your role as a board
8:33
member of the Mazzoni Center, as well as what
8:36
you're doing today in the life of Philadelphia?
8:39
Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I first
8:42
moved to Philadelphia in 2021. So I actually
8:44
have to kind of start before that in terms of
8:46
like what brought me to Mizoni. I started as
8:48
a high school teacher in Boston, Massachusetts.
8:50
And when I was a teacher, I founded and instructed
8:52
an LGBTQ elective course at the high school that
8:54
I taught at for three years. And that really
8:56
anchored me. I'm an out gay man and being an
8:59
out gay teacher was really important to me. What
9:01
I saw was that space was really transformative
9:03
for my students to be able to be themselves.
9:05
While I was teaching, I was also volunteering
9:07
for the Trevor Project. which is a suicide prevention
9:09
and crisis intervention nonprofit for LGBTQ young
9:12
people. So I say all that to say when I came
9:14
to Philly, I was looking for like, where can
9:16
I anchor myself and where will be the space to
9:19
focus my time and energy on my LGBTQ community
9:21
here in Philadelphia. And when I joined the School
9:24
District of Philadelphia, my career as an education,
9:27
the name that kept coming up was the Mazzoni
9:29
Center, right? People kept saying really positive
9:31
things about Mazzoni Center. One of many things
9:33
that the Mazzoni Center does is provide workshops
9:35
for School District of Philadelphia schools free
9:37
of charge. And I'll talk more about the other
9:40
things that Mizoni Center does later. But being
9:42
an education, that was a name that constantly
9:43
came up. They do workshops with schools and they
9:46
come into classrooms and they do after school
9:47
programming. So I ended up reaching out to the
9:50
Mizoni Center and then became a board member
9:52
in December of 2023. And I've been so grateful
9:54
to be a part of this organization for the last
9:56
couple of years. That's incredible. So let's
9:58
dive into Mizoni Center. We know what the Mizoni
10:01
Center is. But for those listeners who are unaware,
10:03
can you tell us more about it? Absolutely. The
10:07
Mazzoni Center has been the primary comprehensive
10:09
LGBTQ health and wellness center in Philadelphia
10:11
since 1979. So in 2005, we were renamed to be
10:16
the Mazzoni Center, which is known by today.
10:18
We're named after the late Dr. Peter Mazzoni.
10:21
He's one of our organization's founding board
10:22
members. He's a physician that would take blood
10:25
and transport blood samples to the hospital for
10:27
testing when everywhere else refused to do so.
10:30
And he ended up tragically passing away from
10:32
age to the age of 31. So we are proudly named
10:35
after Dr. Mazzoni, and we have the same mission
10:38
that we've had for the last 40 years, and that
10:40
is we offer gender -affirming care, medical care,
10:43
behavioral health, testing and prevention, food
10:45
bank services, education services, and many other
10:47
supportive services, importantly, in a safe,
10:50
competent, and affirming environment. Every year
10:53
we serve over 15 ,000 patients and clients, and
10:55
we have a staff of around 130 people that all
10:58
share that mission. Wow, that's incredible. We,
11:02
Lucinda and I, were first introduced to the Mazzoni
11:04
Center last year through your honors program,
11:07
Mazzoni Center Honors, through a friend of the
11:10
pod, Eli, had an absolutely amazing time, an
11:15
impactful time while we were there. And one of
11:19
the things that stood out while we were in the
11:21
room was hearing that no patient has to sit in
11:24
a waiting room. Can you speak a little bit more
11:26
to that? Absolutely. One of the challenges that
11:29
we're facing right now is that as more hospital
11:32
systems continue to pull back from providing
11:34
LGBTQ inclusive healthcare, we are seeing more
11:36
and more people come to us for services. So I
11:39
say that to say like at one point we didn't have
11:41
a waiting list. And currently we are now looking
11:44
at a waiting list. We have a couple of months
11:46
when you look out for like new appointments,
11:48
which is pretty standard for most primary care
11:49
practices. But a couple years ago we were able
11:52
to say like we don't have a waiting list at all.
11:54
Right. And now we're at a point where because
11:56
of the current conditions that we find ourselves
11:58
within, we are seeing more and more patients
12:00
reach out to us for services. So we're constantly
12:02
working on shortening that window, adding new
12:05
providers, expanding appointment slots, and improving
12:07
access so people can get the care that they need
12:09
as soon as possible. It seems every year that
12:11
Mizoni Center gets to ebb and flow with the need
12:14
as it presents itself in Philly, which is incredible.
12:18
So one of the... One of the things that the Mazzoni
12:21
Center does every year is run a major fundraiser
12:25
to continue to offset some of the growing expenses
12:28
that come with trying to run this center in the
12:31
city of Philadelphia. Could you tell us a little
12:33
bit about the Mazzoni Center Honors? Definitely.
12:37
I will say, so our chief development and communications
12:40
officer, David Weisberg, if he was here, he would
12:42
say, we start planning a year in advance. It
12:46
truly is a year long process. I mean, David's
12:50
already in conversation about our 2026 nominee.
12:53
Wow. And here we are. It's October 2025. Yes.
12:56
And we're gearing up for the 2025 event. So I
12:58
would just say, like, we start planning Mazzoni
13:00
Center Honors the moment the curtains close.
13:03
at Mizoni Center Honors for the following year.
13:06
So it is a whole team effort. David is our fearless
13:09
leader and executive producer. That's really
13:11
the spearheading leader behind that. But the
13:14
first step is always asking ourselves, like,
13:15
who's the honoree going to be? That's really
13:17
important. So the first year that we did it,
13:19
we had Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz. And
13:22
then last year we had legend George Takei from
13:25
Star Trek for all of the fans out there. And
13:27
this year we're really thrilled to help Melba
13:29
more. And I'll talk more about Melba later. But
13:31
from there, once we have our honoree, we think
13:33
about like, who else do we want to bring to the
13:35
show? And then once we have our lineup, we have
13:37
to start to think about sponsorships. To your
13:40
point from earlier, we're currently in a position
13:42
where all of the money that we can raise for
13:44
this event and for our organization, right, the
13:46
more people we're able to benefit in the city
13:48
of Philadelphia. So for us, as exciting of an
13:50
event it is to just be in a space and be around
13:52
really amazing artists, it's also a big philanthropy
13:55
moment for us. How much money can we raise to
13:57
be able to increase lifesaving support for LGBTQ
13:59
people? So that's where the sponsorship components
14:01
come in. And then of course, there's hundreds
14:03
of details that go into producing. an event like
14:06
this, right? I think it's one of the best nonprofit
14:08
benefits in Philly. I also think it's just one
14:10
of the most exciting shows in the city every
14:12
year, period. I think it's really unique in that
14:15
you're bringing together, right, dancers and
14:17
performers, right? And so many different types
14:20
of artists that have a common through line of
14:22
they showed up to support an LGBTQ health and
14:25
wellness organization. And I can't say enough
14:27
about a queer man myself, right? Seeing people
14:29
like Melba Moore who are outspoken allies and
14:31
activists. It's really an inspiring and hopeful.
14:34
is the word I would use, night, to be around
14:37
people who are there for a common cause. Yeah.
14:39
And I think one of the most moving moments of
14:41
the entire evening, you know, is the stories
14:44
that are being shared throughout the event, but
14:47
also the recognition of the staff that are there
14:49
every single day. It was so incredible to see
14:52
them stand in the back of the theater last year
14:55
and really take recognition of all their hard
14:58
work that had happened throughout the entire
15:00
year. It's an incredible moment. Thank you for
15:03
saying that. You already kind of mentioned what
15:07
goes into the curation of the Mazzoni Center
15:10
Honors lineup. Being that it's built around your
15:14
honoree of the evening, but I cannot get over
15:17
how stacked the guest and the presenter list
15:20
is. You know, last year, friend of the pod, Eli,
15:25
again, performed as part of the Ballet X Ensemble.
15:28
And for this year's program, 90s icon Savion
15:33
Glover is going to be there. And he was the person
15:36
who made me want to turn my back on ballet and
15:40
try on a pair of tap shoes. Not that I ever did,
15:42
but I just cannot get over how major the presenter
15:47
and the performer list is. Recently, the organization
15:52
teamed up with Friends of the Pod, Philadelphia
15:54
Chamber Music Society in a free community concert.
15:57
They also partnered with the Art in Theater.
16:00
How often do these partnerships come about and
16:04
are there any in the works? Yeah, I love that
16:06
question. I will say first, the partnerships
16:08
are growing every year. So in 2025, to your point,
16:12
we've had some really beautiful events recently.
16:14
The Falsettos event, the Jason Robert Brown event
16:16
at Rittenhouse Grill, the unfolding concert with
16:19
the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society on October
16:21
11th. I will say the more organizations and just
16:25
people we're able to partner with in the city
16:27
of Philadelphia, the more we see what often are
16:30
just organic collaborations start to happen.
16:32
They don't happen by chance. There is an intention.
16:35
both from our side of things at the Mazzoni Center,
16:37
of course, and then all of the organizations
16:38
we just named to grow relationships. I would
16:42
think about a lot of the organizations that are
16:44
sponsors for this year, they share values with
16:47
us. They share our belief that creating a more
16:49
beautiful, inclusive Philadelphia is not just
16:51
something to fight for, but it's a non -negotiable.
16:54
I think this is a city. When I think about Philly,
16:56
what makes me proud to live here, it includes
16:59
everyone. It includes all LGBTQ people from all
17:01
walks of life, and it doesn't leave anyone behind.
17:04
So it includes, right, we think about the Arden,
17:07
we think about Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus,
17:09
Transcendent Choir Philadelphia, St. Thomas Gospel
17:11
Choir, William Way, of course, the Independence
17:13
Business Alliance. These are all promotional
17:16
partners for this year's event. And I think that's
17:18
really powerful and a testament to how vibrant
17:20
and interconnected this city can be. It's absolutely
17:22
amazing. So how can our listeners get involved
17:25
into the Missouri Center? I will start with kind
17:28
of like four different pathways to be involved.
17:30
So the first is if you want to work with us,
17:32
of course, that's the website that we would post.
17:33
job opportunities. The second is if you would
17:36
like to intern with us, if there's a listener
17:38
to this podcast, that's a second year social
17:40
work, psychology, counseling, psychology student,
17:43
you can do our behavioral health internship program.
17:46
If you'd like to volunteer with us, you can sign
17:48
up for what's called the straight team. That
17:50
is the name of our volunteer group. And they
17:53
are kind of like the boots on the ground behind
17:55
the volunteer work that the organization does.
17:57
And then lastly, and certainly most importantly,
18:00
is we are looking always 365 days a year. for
18:03
donations. We find ourselves in a position right
18:05
now where any kind of donation matters right
18:08
no matter how small no matter how large. I'm
18:10
excited to share I'm the chair in my board position
18:13
of what's called the development committee and
18:15
we have a marathon team this year for the Philadelphia
18:17
Marathon. So if you're listening to the podcast
18:19
and you want to run there's an 8k distance a
18:21
half marathon distance and a full marathon distance
18:24
we have bibs available for all three distances
18:26
so you can raise money on behalf of the Mazzoni
18:29
Center while running in Philadelphia Marathon
18:31
weekend. Philadelphia Marathon Weekend is November
18:33
21st, November 22nd, and November 23rd. Those
18:36
are incredible opportunities for anyone to get
18:39
involved. And again, your involvement can be
18:42
large, can be small. Any of that assistance is
18:46
helping the Philadelphia community. The Mizoni
18:49
Center honors this year are taking place again
18:52
at the Kendall Center. Can you share with everybody
18:55
the date and time? It is Monday November 3rd
18:59
and it's 7 30 p .m. and tickets are live now.
19:01
Excellent and they can be found? If you go to
19:05
MizoniCenter .org there'll be a link right on
19:08
our front landing page that will take people
19:09
to the tickets. Absolutely amazing and so where
19:12
can people find the Mizoni Center both in real
19:14
life and online? Yeah, so in terms of real life,
19:17
our largest location is at the intersection of
19:20
Bainbridge and Broad. It's 1348 Bainbridge Street.
19:22
And that's where you'll find our primary care,
19:25
our behavioral health care, our food bank is
19:28
located there, right? And then we have a secondary
19:30
location called our Washington West location
19:32
at 1201 Locust Street. In terms of online, we
19:35
have MizoniCenter .org. That is where I talked
19:38
earlier about the work with us, volunteer with
19:40
us, donate. All of that information can be found
19:43
on our website. We are on Instagram. as well.
19:46
We are on Facebook, so you can find us on the
19:48
socials. Excellent. Dylan, thank you so much
19:50
for your time today and sharing your information
19:52
about the Mizoni Center Honors. I hope everyone
19:55
gets a ticket and includes themselves in an amazing,
19:59
worthwhile event. We're going to conclude with
20:02
a couple of rapid fire questions for you. Awesome.
20:05
So, cheesesteaks, with, whiz, or without? Without.
20:08
Your favorite Philadelphia neighborhood? South
20:11
Philly. South Philly is South of Washington,
20:14
not South of South. Nice, okay. I like it. It's
20:18
clear. Your favorite beverage at the moment?
20:21
Black coffee. I'm currently in a PhD program.
20:24
Yep. Gotta stay awake. Out of necessity, yes.
20:27
Artist you're most looking forward to seeing
20:29
during this year's Mizoni Center Honors. I'm
20:32
going to say two. So of course, Melba Moore,
20:34
I spoke earlier around just like her allyship
20:37
and activism for the LGBTQ community. 2024, my
20:40
Spotify rap, my top five song was My Days by
20:44
Joy Woods. So from Notebook the musical, Joy
20:47
Woods would be my second answer as well. That's
20:48
incredible. Are you a Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte,
20:51
or Samantha? I'm so embarrassed to say I don't
20:54
know what that means. Yes! Yes! Ha! Is this a
20:59
Housewives question? Oh my god, ouch! This is
21:04
a Sex and the City question. And so Lucinda has
21:08
died inside. And probably so is this question.
21:14
Okay, take us out Robert. Thank you everyone
21:18
for listening and check out the Mazzoni Center
21:21
Honors. Grab your tickets today. Be a part of
21:23
something greater for the city as a place that
21:26
needs it the most right now as we continue to
21:30
see changes in the healthcare industry. Dylan
21:45
a philanthropist but he is also the first person
21:50
that I took a Philadelphia Barry's class with.
21:53
I mean that's pretty special. That is still a
21:57
philanthropy. Get that on gear girl. Sweat it
22:06
out. Sweat it out. You have a half marathon coming.
22:12
So we have a lot to get into over the next couple
22:15
of weeks. It is art season We have some things
22:18
for this weekend and as always a bunch of things
22:20
for you to pencil into your calendar Ensemble
22:24
arts Broadway series Kimberly Akimbo at the Academy
22:28
of Music runs until November 2nd and Rie Rousseau
22:32
a painter secrets Recently opened up the barns
22:36
and runs through February 22nd Friend of the
22:39
Pod, Dominique Samarco, is hosting a plein air
22:43
landscape workshop on October 25th from 3 to
22:48
6 p .m. for a very palatable $28. All direction
22:54
and supplies are included. The BalletX's 20th
22:58
anniversary gala is on October 28th. But you
23:03
don't have to go to the gala to enjoy BalletX's
23:05
20th anniversary retrospective running from October
23:09
29th through November 9th. Mizoni Center Honors
23:14
is on November 3rd and I will be there just on
23:18
my edge of the seat waiting for Savion Glover
23:21
to come out to happen. Friend of the Pod Carolyn
23:25
Harper's exhibition Prison Portrait Project Faces
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of Despair Hope and Transformation is opening
23:33
on November 5th and will run through the 30th
23:36
at Mews Gallery. The next opening reception at
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Arthur Ross Gallery will be that of Basque photographer
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Fernando Postigo's photographs opening on November
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7th and running until January. Young Friends
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of the Philadelphia Ballet brunch at the bar
23:52
on November 9th from 11 to 1 p .m. Tickets are
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available now. And then the last thing get this
24:01
on your radar tickets for the traveling exhibition
24:03
dream world surrealism at 100 are available the
24:08
exhibit does not open until november 8th but
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it runs until february 16th and the pma is the
24:14
only united states venue getting a stop and with
24:17
that philly has heart and art I didn't know you
24:36
were a Sex and the City fan. Let's run that back.
25:23
I'm really going goth here. To which my husband
25:26
replied, you're ready to take Prince Charming
25:29
straight to hell.