John Hirsch
John Hirsch | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | August 1, 1989 | (aged 59)
Known for | Theater directing, artistic direction, co-founding Theatre 77, musicals, and plays |
Parent(s) | József and Ilona Hirsch |
John Stephen Hirsch,
In 1957, Hirsch and Tom Hendry co-founded Theatre 77, which they combined with the Winnipeg Little Theatre in 1958 to form the Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) with Hirsch as artistic director and Hendry as manager. MTC became an influential model for regional theatres across Canada and the United States, and is one of Hirsch's most important contributions to Canadian theatre.[4] He directed many plays and musicals at MTC, which he left in 1965.
Over the years, he directed at many Canadian theatres such as Toronto's Crest Theatre, the National Arts Centre, Young People's Theatre, and the Shaw Festival. His 1976 production of Three Sisters at the Stratford Festival, with Maggie Smith, Martha Henry and Marti Maraden in the title roles, won great acclaim.[5][6][7]
He was co-artistic director at the
In the United States, Hirsch won the Outer Circle Critics' Award for
In 1967, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contribution to the performing Arts".[9]
In 1977, he was asked to be the artistic director for the first Canada Day extravaganza on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Hirsch died of
In 1989, the Manitoba Foundation for the Arts established the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. An endowment from the Hirsch estate provides a cash prize to the most promising Manitoba writer selected by a jury of senior members of the Manitoba writing and publishing community. Some of the past recipients include: David Bergen, Miriam Toews, and Chandra Mayor.
John Hirsch is commemorated by John Hirsch Place, a woonerf in Winnipeg's Exchange District that passes behind the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.[10][11]
See also
- Stratford Festival of Canada
- The Time of Your Life
References
- Véhicule Press, 2011
- ^ Fraidie Martz, Open Your Hearts: The Story of the Jewish War Orphans in Canada, Montreal: Véhicule Press, 1996
- ^ a b HIRSCH, John, The Globe and Mail. August 3, 1989.
- ^ Robert Cushman, "John Hirsch biography remembers Canada’s greatest director," National Post, Nov 30, 2011 "John Hirsch biography remembers Canada's greatest director | Afterword | Arts | National Post". Archived from the original on 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
- ^ Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
- ^ Mallet, Gina (2 September 1976), "Three Sisters hums with emotion in a superb Stratford production", The Toronto Star, p. E11
- ^ Fraser, John (2 September 1976), "Three Sisters a carefully crafted masterpiece", The Globe and Mail, p. 11
- ^ "1969 - 1979 Awards". Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Archived from the original on 2010-10-08.
- ^ Order of Canada Archived 2007-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sinclair’s Creek (John Hirsch Place, Winnipeg). Manitoba Historical Society. Accessed 7 October 2021.
- ^ John Hirsch Place: Winnipeg's Wonderful Woonerf. Heritage Winnipeg. Accessed 7 October 2021.