Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Stratford Festival actor Colm Feore and former Festival general manager Mary Hofstetter have been appointed to the Order of Canada.
Feore was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada while Hofstetter, who was also the president and CEO of The Banff Centre for 12 years, was made a member of the Order of Canada.
The two Stratford residents were among 90 new recipients of the Order announced Monday by Rideau Hall.
“Obviously I'm honoured, that goes without saying,” said Feore in an interview. “But I am moved that this is happening while my parents, who were emigrants to this country, are still alive.”
His father, Dermot, 85, lives in Newfoundland with his wife of 25 years, while Feore’s mother Sally lives in Windsor.
“I'm hoping they will be absolutely thrilled and delighted, as I am,” said Feore, who had not yet spread the news when the interview took place a few days ago.
Feore learned of the award directly from Gov. Gen. David Johnston. On hearing the phone message that had been left by Johnston, he said, he first thought, “This can't be real.”
“It was a pretty good impersonation of him,” he quipped.
But having hosted a few Governor General Performing Arts Awards gatherings where he had spoken with Johnston, Feore decided “it wasn't Jimmy Carrey doing an impersonation.”
The Stratford-based actor, who was born in Boston in 1958, recalled his family arrived in Ottawa as landed emigrants back in the early 1960s and began investing in their future in Canada.
Feore is receiving the award for his contributions as an actor of stage and screen and for bridging Anglophone and Francophone cultures as a fluently bilingual performer.
“I'm not nearly fluent enough,” he modestly declared, when asked about his French- speaking ability.
His parents thought that because Canada was a bilingual population, he should know some French, he said. He was enrolled in French school in Windsor up to Grade 8 and then went off to Ridley College in St. Catharines.
Although he lost some of his French at secondary school, he rekindled his ability with the language when he later attended National Theatre School in Montreal.
Feore has been a prolific performer, with some 125 film and TV series credits, as well as numerous lead performances on stage, which began in Stratford in 1981. This coming season he takes on the title role in King Lear.
Feore is married to Stratford Festival choreographer and director Donna Feore, and the couple has two children together Tom,18, and Anna, 17. Feore has an older son Jack, 24, from a previous marriage.
Mary Hofstetter's career in arts education and administration included serving two years as general manager of the Stratford Festival in 1996-1998. She was president and CEO of Sheridan College from 1988 to 1996 and was also vice-president of Mohawk College over a period of four years.
As president and CEO of The Banff Centre ,she notably remodelled the facility into one of the leading arts, culture, training and educational institutions in Canada.
“It came as a surprise,” said Hofstetter, referring to the Order of Canada notice. “I am honoured, absolutely … deeply honoured and I feel that the honour is really one of many celebrations of the people in arts and culture in Canada.”
“I really like to think of this as a celebration of the many wonderful colleagues with whom I've had to privilege of working over the years because, to achieve your dreams in arts and culture, it very much involves working with other people, working with teams.”
Hofstetter has been credited with broadening the reach of The Banff Centre as an international hub for creativity, and strengthening its support for Canadian and other artists.
Under her leadership, the Alberta campus was physically transformed with a new dining centre, the Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation and the Shaw Amphitheatre.
One of Hofstetter's major accomplishments was building financial support for the centre and its mission. While she was at the helm, the Campaign for The Banff Centre raised $140 million – a record for the institution.
The funding for program endowment and capital projects allowed for the first phase of redevelopment of the campus based on a new strategic vision. The success of the fundraising campaign demonstrated the depth of support for the arts that Hofstetter was able to articulate and tap into.
The capital project involved working closely with Parks Canada and the Town of Banff, and it transformed the capacity of the Banff Centre to showcase its programming and new work.
So, what does it take to be a successful arts administrator?
“I'd say you need to have passion, because if you aren't passionate about it, the resonance isn't going to be there,” said Hofstetter. “Passion and creativity. You need to have a strong and compelling vision and you need to be able to engage others to share the vision.”
Following more than a dozen years in Alberta, Hofstetter and husband R. David Riggs returned to Stratford to live. Riggs is senior vice-president with an international consulting firm.
Over the past year, Hofstetter was retained by the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and given responsibility for the educational activities of the NAC Orchestra's tour of China this past October.
Her continuing involvement with the arts includes board membership with the Glenn Gould Foundation and working with Western University's advisory council for the School of Dance Studies.
The Order of Canada recipients announced in the New Year's list will be formally presented with their insignia at a later date at Rideau Hall.
By Donal O’Connor for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Colm Feore. ©2004 Steve Granitz.
2013-12-30
Stratford: Actor Colm Feore and former Stratford general manager Mary Hofstetter named to the Order of Canada