Ron Maslin

The Playhouse honours the memory of Ron Maslin, who taught, guided and inspired us during Kanata Theatre’s first quarter century.

He was born in Hove, United Kingdom, on April 3, 1933. At an early age he worked for a professional theatre company in Brighton and with the Credo Little Theatre at the Brighton Pavilion where he learned the art and skills of the stage. He trained with the Royal Air Force in Winnipeg before immigrating to Canada and settling in Alberta in 1956.

He moved to Kanata with his family and joined the newly founded “Kanata Theatre Group” in 1969. During the next 24 years he shared with us his knowledge and experience of all aspects of the theatre. He taught us how to design and build sets and how to light them. He taught us how to apply makeup and make props. He created our programs, posters and logos, including the logo that still identifies Kanata Theatre. He taught us the art and craft of the theatre.

He directed many memorable shows. His production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was a watershed in our early development and showed us that our reach should exceed our grasp. He acted with distinction in a variety of roles from Garry Essendine in the first season’s Present Laughter through Malvolio in Twelfth Night to Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion less than a year before his death.

 In 1980 he initiated the Kanata Theatre Clown Face Project and worked tirelessly for it during the following years. Clown Faces earned much of the money that made possible the construction of the Playhouse.

He gave his talents generously to the Kanata Skating Club, the Kanata Symphony Orchestra, the musical theatre program of the Earl of March Secondary School, Kanata Ballet School, and many other groups. For his work for the community the Kanata- Beaverbrook Community Association named him Man of the Year in 1982.