William Adkins, CM (died March 28, 1982) was a Canadian noted for his 50 plus years service to amateur theatre. [1]
Adkins was born in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, [2] [3] circa 1889. [3] He left England for Canada circa 1911, [2] farming near Edmonton [2] [3] and working for the Hudson's Bay Company. [2] During World War I, he served with the Canadian Field Artillery in Europe. [2] [3] After the war, he returned to Canada, settled in Ottawa, and married Gertrude Helen Green, with whom he had two children. [3] He joined the Department of Indian Affairs, where he met Duncan Campbell Scott through whom he became involved in the theatre. [2] [3]
Adkins worked backstage on every production of the Ottawa Drama League (later the Ottawa Little Theatre) after 1920. [4] [5] Over many years, he worked as electrician, carpenter, scene shifter, [4] scene painter, [2] lighting operator, set designer, [6] [7] [8] set builder, [9] and, from 1927, stage manager. [2] [3] [4] [10] During World War II, Adkins arranged and stage managed shows for troops. [2] [11] Adkins continued as stage manager of the Ottawa Little Theatre after the war, travelling with it to the Dominion Drama Festival and other regional performances. [12] [13] He also supervised visiting stage managers when Ottawa hosted drama festivals, [11] and managed the stage and lighting for the outdoor theatre at a summer drama school for children. [14] Adkins was still stage manager at the time that the Ottawa Little Theatre burnt down in 1970, [15] and when it reopened after rebuilding in 1972, with improved stage facilities. [16] He retired from the theatre in 1979, [3] and died in Ottawa on 28 March 1982. [3]
Adkins received a 1960 Canadian Drama Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to Canadian theatre. [17] [18] [19] [20] In 1973, the first year it was awarded, he was invested with the Member of the Order of Canada, [21] [22] "for his 50 years' service to the amateur theatre movement in Ottawa and to the Dominion Drama Festival". [1] In 2013, during their 100th season celebrations, the Ottawa Little Theatre named him as a Cornerstone Inductee, an honor instituted for volunteers who made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the theatre. [23]
Above all there was Bill Adkins, the English-born stage manager and set-builder, who put it all together and made it happen on stage.
William Adkins, CM (died March 28, 1982) was a Canadian noted for his 50 plus years service to amateur theatre. [1]
Adkins was born in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, [2] [3] circa 1889. [3] He left England for Canada circa 1911, [2] farming near Edmonton [2] [3] and working for the Hudson's Bay Company. [2] During World War I, he served with the Canadian Field Artillery in Europe. [2] [3] After the war, he returned to Canada, settled in Ottawa, and married Gertrude Helen Green, with whom he had two children. [3] He joined the Department of Indian Affairs, where he met Duncan Campbell Scott through whom he became involved in the theatre. [2] [3]
Adkins worked backstage on every production of the Ottawa Drama League (later the Ottawa Little Theatre) after 1920. [4] [5] Over many years, he worked as electrician, carpenter, scene shifter, [4] scene painter, [2] lighting operator, set designer, [6] [7] [8] set builder, [9] and, from 1927, stage manager. [2] [3] [4] [10] During World War II, Adkins arranged and stage managed shows for troops. [2] [11] Adkins continued as stage manager of the Ottawa Little Theatre after the war, travelling with it to the Dominion Drama Festival and other regional performances. [12] [13] He also supervised visiting stage managers when Ottawa hosted drama festivals, [11] and managed the stage and lighting for the outdoor theatre at a summer drama school for children. [14] Adkins was still stage manager at the time that the Ottawa Little Theatre burnt down in 1970, [15] and when it reopened after rebuilding in 1972, with improved stage facilities. [16] He retired from the theatre in 1979, [3] and died in Ottawa on 28 March 1982. [3]
Adkins received a 1960 Canadian Drama Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to Canadian theatre. [17] [18] [19] [20] In 1973, the first year it was awarded, he was invested with the Member of the Order of Canada, [21] [22] "for his 50 years' service to the amateur theatre movement in Ottawa and to the Dominion Drama Festival". [1] In 2013, during their 100th season celebrations, the Ottawa Little Theatre named him as a Cornerstone Inductee, an honor instituted for volunteers who made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the theatre. [23]
Above all there was Bill Adkins, the English-born stage manager and set-builder, who put it all together and made it happen on stage.