History
The origin of the company dates back to the 1940s, when students of Betty Mitchell, a drama teacher at Calgary's Western Canada High School, established an amateur group known as "Workshop 14." In the 1960s, they merged with a second amateur group, the "Musicians' and Actors' Club" (MAC), to become "MAC 14" under the direction of Kenneth Dyba. On July 1, 1968, MAC 14 became Theatre Calgary, a fully professional theatre company, and Christopher Newton was appointed the first Artistic Director, quickly establishing a reputation for artistic excellence.
Newton was succeed in 1971 by Clark Rogers, who was swiftly followed by Harold G. Baldbridge in 1972, and in 1979 by Rick McNair. Under McNair, Theatre Calgary became an important venue for new Canadian drama, presenting premieres by John Murrell, W.O. Mitchell, and Sharon Pollock, who would become Artistic Director in 1984, but as with Rogers, for one year only. Martin Kinch succeeded as Artistic Director in 1985. During this time Theatre Calgary became the resident company of a state-of-the-art theatre in the Calgary Centre for Performing Arts. Designed in conjunction with Theatre Calgary, the Max Bell Theatre came to completion as a striking performance space. Every seat is within 60 feet of the stage so audiences can enjoy the kind of intimate rapport with the actors that serves to enhance the magical experience of live theatre.
In 1991 Brian Rintoul came to Theatre Calgary as Executive Producer. Rintoul directed plays including ON GOLDEN POND and BETRAYAL for Theatre Calgary in the QR Centre prior to his appointment. In 1996, James Brewer was appointed Acting Artistic Director, and Richard C. Dennison, the company’s Founding Administrator, was appointed Interim General Manager. On June 18, 1997, Ian Prinsloo was named Artistic Director after working as an Assistant Director at the Shaw Festival under Christopher Newton. On July 10, 1997, Tom C. McCabe was named President. Following the competition of the 2004-05 season, Dennis Garnhum is named the 10th Artistic Director in Theatre Calgary’s history on July 27, 2005.
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