OBITUARY: June Faulkner
6 Mar'10

Toronto theatre loses influential figure

JOHN COULBOURN -QMI AGENCY

June Faulkner, a theatrical administrator who played a major role in shaping Toronto theatre, died late Friday night. She was 84.

Born in Wales, Faulkner immigrated to Canada in 1952, the wife of the late John Faulkner and mother of three children, which quickly became four.

After trying her hand at journalism and amateur theatre in Northern Ontario, Faulkner and her family moved in 1967 to Toronto, where she joined forces professionally with theatrical visionary George Luscombe.

From that union was born a golden era for Toronto Workshop Productions, with Luscombe supplying the artistic vision, while Faulkner ran the business end of things. A theatre (now Buddies In Bad Times) was built, then rebuilt after a suspicious blaze.

Faulkner left TWP and Luscombe in 1979 to join the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake and its new artistic director Christopher Newton. It was a brief stint, as she soon returned to Toronto. "She needed the big city around her, and the idea that really interesting things could pop up from nowhere," Newton said in remembering Faulkner, adding that she still managed to make a significant contribution at the Shaw fest. "She set us up, or began to set us up. She did all the right things here — all the things I needed," he said. "I just have to thank her, in a sense, for that first year of beginning to put us on the map."

Faulkner moved on to Young People's Theatre (now the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People), where she served as general manager until her retirement in 1992.

A confidante of artists, politicians and philanthropists, the glamourous but pragmatic Faulkner was widely recognized for her ability to get things done, whether it was raising money to build a theatre, or arranging an international tour for a show such as TEN LOST YEARS.

"She was the prototype for a great tradition of general managers in this country," said Maja Ardal, who was a member of the TWP company during Faulkner's tenure and went on to serve as YPT's artistic director during the latter part of Faulkner's time there. "She supported the artistic vision with absolute faith." Faulkner was also a fundraiser without parallel, Ardal said: "A borderline wizard about where to find money … She only ever wanted to see that the productions got done. She would do anything to see that those productions happened."

Peter Moss -- who, as YPT's artistic director before Ardal, served with Faulkner for 11 years – said she was more than merely a cracker-jack administrator. "She was an extraordinary human being — one of a kind," Moss said. "She was full of grace. She was caring. When you fell within the circle of her concern, you felt very well-protected. There were edges, but there were no sharp edges. "I think it's a testament to the way she was that the friends she made were lifelong friends. People didn't drift."

Her commitment to the arts didn't stop at the theatre door, either. The home she shared for years with life companion Calvin Butler (following the death of her husband) was always open to artists looking for a room to rent. Added Ardal: "I actually think that June made very little distinction between the family of theatre and her own family."

Faulkner is survived by Butler and Faulkner's sons and daughters — Peter, Christopher, Maureen and Kitty — and their extended families, and by a vibrant theatre community. "There's a generation of Toronto theatre that owes her for her ability to keep things afloat," Moss said.

But she never asked for payment. When she retired, we asked Faulkner how she'd like to be remembered.

"Only that I've always been a great support to the artist," she replied. "That really is enough."

The lady who called everybody “darling” will be remembered for her great support to the artist, and for so much more, at a celebration at Buddies In Bad Times on a date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, 60 St. Clair Ave., Toronto, M4T 1N5.