EQUIFLASH [SAD NEWS: STAGE MANAGEMENT PIONEER JACK MERIGOLD DIES AT 91]

[CAEA e-drive]

----------------------------------------------------------------
SAD NEWS: STAGE MANAGEMENT PIONEER JACK MERIGOLD DIES AT 91
----------------------------------------------------------------

>From Stratford Festival: 

http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/uploadedFiles/Stratford/media/2013_Press
_Releases/Press%20Release%20Jack%20Merigold.pdf

December 12, 2013... Jack Merigold, part of the Stratford Festival's
first stage management team, died Wednesday, December 11, at age 91 from
pancreatic cancer. Jack was well loved by many generations of his
Festival family and will be greatly missed.

"Jack was the dean of Canadian stage managers," says Artistic Director
Antoni Cimolino. "He worked with the Stratford Festival's founding
Artistic Director, Tyrone Guthrie, in Stratford, New York and London.
Jack's skill and precision were equaled only by his energy and so he was
an asset to any theatre company. But for a new and growing theatre scene
in Canada he was a pioneer.

"Jack attended Stratford productions, play readings and Birmingham
Conservatory presentations faithfully to his last days. He will be
missed by the entire Canadian theatre family but nowhere more than here
at the Stratford Festival where his journey started."

Mr. Merigold was born in Hamilton on November 7, 1922. He served in the
RCAF during the Second World War and helped produce the Sky's the Limit
Air Force comedy shows. When Mr. Merigold returned to Canada in 1946, he
was accepted into the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, where he completed
a two-year program in voice and acting. There were virtually no
professional opportunities for actors in the country at that time, so
upon graduation, he and some fellow graduates of the program formed a
touring group called the People's Repertory Company, which toured from
1948 to '49 with a converted war-time dental truck carrying eight people
and four theatrical sets to town halls and city auditoriums across
Ontario. It was with this group that he first stage managed a
production.

Mr. Merigold quickly made a name for himself and was hired as an
assistant stage manager by Tyrone Guthrie for the Festival's inaugural
season in 1953. He soon became Dr. Guthrie's stage manager and their
working relationship stretched beyond Stratford to include 12
productions in New York and four in London.

Mr. Merigold was with the Festival for 16 seasons between 1953 and 1976,
in a variety of roles. He was the production stage manager for the Avon
Theatre and for opera, and later served as the purchasing agent. He was
the assistant to the director on 1960's HMS Pinafore and 1961's The
Pirates of Penzance, a production in which he also appeared as an actor.
In 1974 he directed This Is the Rill Speaking at the Third Stage (now
the Tom Patterson Theatre). 

His acting career included a recurring role on CBC TV's Sunshine
Sketches of a Little Town and appearances on the Wayne and Shuster TV
specials. He worked with Lorne Greene at the Jupiter Theatre and
performed at the Eaton Auditorium, the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the
Belmont Theatre. He was the co-creator of a program called Theatre in
the Home, which brought professional performances into retirement homes.


As a stage manager he also travelled coast to coast with Spring Thaw.
Later in his career, after leaving the Stratford Festival, he served as
the chief administrator of the Bayview Playhouse in Toronto. Mr.
Merigold was a longtime member of ACTRA and was awarded Life Membership
in Canadian Actor's Equity for his outstanding contribution to the arts.

Mr. Merigold was always happy to share a story or two about his life in
the theatre. He recounted tales of working with the greatest performers
in the world and of meeting Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, but he
said his greatest pleasure was giving young people a start in the
theatre. Indeed many remember Jack as a great mentor, who gave them
guidance that served them throughout their careers - as well as some
very good laughs.

The Stratford Festival is dedicating the 2014 production of A Midsummer
Night's Dream to Mr. Merigold, who played Puck at the beginning of his
acting career. Details of a memorial will follow at a later date.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Canadian Actors' Equity Association
44 Victoria St., 12th floor
Toronto, ON M5C 3C4
communications at caea.com
http://www.caea.com


The foregoing communication is intended only for the use of the individual or individuals named above and should not be read by or delivered to any other person. Such communication may contain information which is privileged, confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure. Any collection, use, disclosure, forwarding or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please accept our apology and immediately return the communication to the sender by electronic mail and destroy the message. See also Equity's Privacy Policy available at www.caea.com.