TESSA GILLARD
1930 – 1984
and the
THEATRE
She was
a wonderful actress, who could have gone anywhere, if she had been so
inclined. She won many awards for both her acting, and directing.
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My mum, Tessa Gillard, was born in Port Isaac, Cornwall, in
England, 1930. She lived most of her childhood, and young adulthood in
Seaton, Devon. She married my dad, Bill, the Jazz musician (skilly a wawa) in 1948.
They had three children, and in 1957, moved to Canada, where I was born. She became interested in Drama at an early
age, even being invited to join Stratford on Avon, in England, at
fifteen. My Irish Granny said, "Not before hell freezes
over!" In Canada, she was very active in K.W.
Little Theatre, from the moment she arrived, until a few years before her
death, in 1984. |
I will attempt to list as many plays as
I can that she was involved with...may take awhile.
Pictures below.
|
PLAY |
YEAR |
ROLE |
VENUE |
EXTRAS & AWARDS |
|
Life
With Father |
1957 |
|
Kitchener-Waterloo Little
Theatre (KWLT) |
Tessa’s first play with KWLT, first play in Canada. |
|
Time
out for Ginger |
1957 |
. |
KWLT |
. |
|
Life
With Mother |
1958 |
|
KWLT |
|
|
The
Diary of Anne Frank |
1959 |
|
KWLT |
Best
Actress in a studio production. W.O.D.L. W.O.D.L
= Western Ontario Drama League |
|
The
Great Sebastions |
1960 |
Essie |
KWLT |
Best
Actress in a major production. W.O.D.L. |
|
The
Ottawa Man |
1960-61 |
.
Director |
KWLT |
Best
Directed play in a studio production W.O.D.L. |
|
.Look
Homeward Angel |
1962 |
. |
KWLT |
|
|
This
Happy Breed |
1962 |
Director |
KWLT |
|
|
She
Stoops to Conquer |
.
1962. |
. |
KWLT |
. |
|
Antigone |
|
Antigone |
KWLT |
. |
|
Will
Any Gentleman? |
1965 |
Director |
KWLT |
. |
|
Take
Her She's Mine |
. |
. |
KWLT |
. |
|
Breakfast
of Diamonds |
1967 |
Director |
KWLT |
. |
|
No
Exit |
1969 |
Inez |
KWLT |
Best
actress in a major production W.O.D.L. |
|
The
Marquis |
. |
. |
University
of Waterloo (UofW) |
. |
|
Shadow
of a Pale Horse |
1970 |
. |
Tempo
Theatre (KWLT) |
Best
Supporting Actress W.O.D.L. |
|
A
Taste of Honey |
1973 |
Director |
U
of W |
|
|
The
Gingerbread Lady |
. |
. |
KWLT |
Best
Actress in a supporting role W.O.D.L.. |
|
The
Patrick Pearce Motel |
1975 |
|
KWLT |
|
|
And
Miss Reardon Drinks a Little |
1976 |
Helen |
KWLT |
Best
Director W.O.D.L |
|
Relatively
Speaking |
1977 |
Sheila |
KWLT |
|
Some plays, some pictures, some narrative by Ron
Bender.
LIFE WITH FATHER
1957
RON BENDER:_ Tessa is 4th from the right. I am 3rd from the
right. In this one, I'm a redhead! The girl playing Mother was Marguerite
Boardman (white dress, black handbag) is actually MY age...we were in the same
classes at St. Louis Separate School in Waterloo, and get this...I had a crush
on her for years but, I was too shy to pursue it…and she gets to play my
MOTHER!! Ironic...huh!! We all had to be redheads and have our hair
sprayed red for every performance...except for the boy at the right far
end...He actually WAS a redhead, but not the same colour, so...yup, they
sprayed him too!_ This was Tessa’s first play with
KWLT, and my 2nd._ I don't have any picturess of my first play which
was “The Petrified Forest"_ I played a black chauffeur (yup!)...and spent most of the play under the table wailing
"Holy Lord...oh Holy Lord.!!..
LIFE WITH MOTHER
1958
Tessa,
second from left, front row._ Ron Bender, far right,
back row.
THE GREAT SEBASTIANS
1960
Leo
Burns, Tessa Gillard (playing ESSIE SEBASTIAN), Ron Bender and the
actor whose name I don't know.
Again, The Great Sebastions,_ Tessa and Ron Bender.
An
actor whose name I don't know Leo Burns, my God Father, Ron Bender (devilishly
handsome isn't he?),
another
actor whose name I don’t know and Tessa Gillard.
TIME OUT FOR GINGER
RON
BENDER:_ You may not realize this but your mother was about two months pregnant
with you in this picture!
That's
me second from the left. And that's when it was decided that I would be your
godfather...Faerie or otherwise!
The
guy 3rd from the left believe it or not was mayor of Kitchener. I believe his
name was Harold Paiken.
_I
was sweet on the girl in the crown...Beverley Reeve AND your mother of course!!_ (4th from the left)
RON
BENDER
TESSA
GILLARD
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