alumni work @ Speaking to one another, showing and telling our stories, exploring each otherβs histories and livesβthese give us a solid grounding in being part of a community.
Even when heβs travelling, heβs working. But after forty odd years in the business, Colm Feore β77 will tell you itβs the key to his success. With Stephen Greenblattβs Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics at one elbow, and a thick history of the Bard at his other, we spoke with Colm recently when he was visiting his wifeβacclaimed director, Donna Feoreβwhile she brought Bernhardt/Hamlet to life at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. βShe promised me a birthday dinner,β laughs the Stratford-based actor, who just turned 61. βSo, I came to collect.β These days, Colm is delving into the ways in which Shakespeare explores the lust for power in his playsβ and how society suffers at the hands of his βfictionalβ kings. One of Canadaβs most celebrated actors, the proud Old Ridleian has played many of Shakespeareβs leading characters at the Stratford Festival, and will soon be taking on the role of Richard III this upcoming season. For artistic director Antoni Cimolino, choosing Colm to utter the powerful first words at the new Tom Patterson Theatre was easy, touting the thespian as βpart of the Festivalβs DNAβ in a recent press release. And, though rehearsals are still months away, for Stratfordβs latest king thereβs plenty of reading to be done. But if you havenβt seen him on the stage, youβll know him from the screen. βTo make a living in Canada as an actor, you have to be able to do everything,β Colm wisely impartsβand over the years heβs proved he has the chops. His career has taken him from stage to film, television and Netflix, where youβll catch outstanding 52
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performances in everything from Chicago, Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Thor; to the critically acclaimed ThirtyTwo Short Films About Glenn Gould; to his awardwinning performance as Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Youβll also find him capturing small screen audiences in a number of popular series: think The Borgias, The West Wing, House of Cards, 24, The Umbrella Academy, and more. Itβs an impressive body of work that reflects his mantraβjust keep showing upβin many ways developed here at Ridley. βThat was always the lesson: youβve got to be here to play,β he reflects. βAnd it became a very simple mantra. If you show up, youβll learn; if you learn youβll get better.β Though Colm enjoyed a diverse career on campusβ becoming a Prefect, taking an active role in public speaking and debate, participating in a range of athletics, and becoming editor of the Actaβs sports and literary sectionsβit was the acting bug that got him. Colm credits Ridleyβs teachers with instilling in him a genuine love for words and the stage. βWe werenβt just doing the standard production of West Side Story, or whatever was making the rounds at school gymnasium plays,β he remembers. βFaculty [like David Cosgrove, Victor Bohlmann and Richard B. Wright] engaged us in a serious commitment to drama, and to the idea that there might be a life in the arts. And when you have masters and fellow students, above and below you, all into the same thingβ¦β Colm trails off. βWell, a guy could dream.β And as his parents returned to Ridley to see him act, they were learning just how talented their son was.