Village Squire, 1978-05, Page 39THEATRE
Peter Moss says Third Stage gives an excellent chance for young talent to develop.
From Montreal to Stratford ... via England
Stratford Festival's Third Stage is back
in action this year and the man in charge is
a Canadian who came back.
Peter Moss, a Montrealer who spent five
years in English theatre took over the job of
director of the Third Stage, Stratford's
small budget, experimental theatre last
fall. There was a time when he wondered if
he'd ever come back to Canada. Things
had become very comfortable in Britain for
him and his family. His daughter was born
there and he was about to take out
citizenship papers when the opportunity to
come to Stratford came up. He had come
over for an interview with Festival Artistic
Director Robin Phillips and gone back to
Britain feeling that if anything was to come
of it it would be quite a while off. Then
suddenly he got a call telling him the job
was his and to come over in time for the
1977 season at Stratford. He gave up his
job in Britain and his plans for citizenship
and came home to Canada. Now he says. it
would be impossible for him to have just
walked into the job of directing the Third
Stage operations this year if he hadn't had
last year to get used to the Stratford
systems.
It's been a long way around from
Montreal to Stratford for Peter Moss. He
attended the National Theatre School in
Montreal and then went on to Michigan
State University where he studied for his
Master's degree in Theatre Directing,
Theory and Criticism. He had brief
experience in the actualities of theatre
before he left Canada serving as artistic
director for Theatre. Fifteen a Montreal
summer stock company after his studies at
the National Theatre School.
But in 1972 he was off to England where
he started the studio operation for the
Crewe Repertory Theatre and developed
studio tours. His work was so successful
that in 1974 he was named associate
director of the Crewe. Theatre. In 1975 he
moved on to the Phoenix Theatre in
Leicester, also an associate director. There
he worked at enlarging the scope of
community theatre through Roadworks, a
separate company which he founded to
come up with new ways of making plays
more relative to the local blue collar
workers. The shows were presented in
factory canteens and other places where
the workers were assembled. One such
show "History of the Sock" was put
together for employees of a hosiery factory.
He was also involved in children's theatre
work.
While in England he was awarded the
Arts Council of Great Britain Associate
Director's Award, the only Canadian ever
to win the prize.
His five years in Britain took him out of
Canada at one of the most exciting times of
growth in Canadian native theatre but he
says he feels he still has a pretty good feel
of what has been going on. He kept in close
touch with the Canadian scene while he
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1978.PG. 37.