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::THEATRE NEWS::
LE Newsletter - March 11, 2010
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June Faulkner, 84: Quiet Force Behind TWP
Source:
www.thestar.com
- Martin Knelman
(March 09, 2010)
June Faulkner
— a major force behind the scenes of Toronto theatre who died on
Friday at
age 84 — hated the idea of becoming a celebrity.
“Darling,” she would say with a husky laugh when asked for
interviews, “write about the theatre — not me.”
That’s why she was a powerful cultural player loved and revered
by insiders — whom the public rarely heard about.
Her greatest legacy is the golden era of Toronto Workshop
Productions, where in partnership with George Luscombe she set
high standards, created a climate of excitement and earned
international recognition.
Growing up in Wales, she fell under the spell of her father, who
liked to read aloud — poetry and the Bible. He introduced her to
theatre, and as a kid she worked backstage for a touring
Shakespeare company.
Faulkner arrived in Canada in 1952, along with her husband John
Faulkner and his three children. Shortly after arriving, she
gave birth to their son, Christopher. While living in
northwestern Ontario, she worked as a newspaper reporter and
earned awards for amateur acting. And she met Luscombe, starting
a friendship that eventually turned into a professional
partnership in 1967, when she became business manager of TWP.
After a divorce, she met Calvin Butler, an actor from England
who came to Toronto to make a movie and wound up working at TWP.
They were together for 40 years.
At TWP, Faulkner did much more than her title of general manager
might suggest. She told Luscombe the company needed a new
theatre downtown. As a centennial project, without any
government support, Faulkner raised the money and spearheaded
the building of a small theatre on Alexander St. known
originally as TWP and now as the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
The result: a sensational decade for TWP including hits such as
Ten Lost Years and Les Canadiens. In 1976 she
persuaded Luscome to take a sabbatical, leaving Faulkner to
program what turned out to be a hugely successful season of
theatre and dance. Two years later, she resigned.
After a brief stint at the Shaw Festival, Faulkner spent 12
years as general manager of Young People’s Theatre,
collaborating with Peter Moss among others, before retiring in
1992.
Since then she has served on the boards of many organizations,
including the Dora Awards and the Theatre Museum, while also
travelling extensively and providing advice and know-how to many
friends and colleagues in Toronto’s world of live performance.
Now for the first time in decades, the best answer to a
theatrical problem will no longer be: “Ask June.” A public
memorial will be held on Sunday, March 28, at the Young Centre
in the Distillery District. |
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::LANGFIELD
ENTERTAINMENT:: ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WITH A CANADIAN TWIST::
