Thea Borlase
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Thea Borlase, née Theodora May Mitchell (1921 - 2015) was a Canadian theatre administrator, who was a prominent figure in the arts community of Moncton, New Brunswick.[1]
Born in London, England, and raised on the Isle of Wight,[2] she served in the Women's Royal Naval Service during World War II, and moved to Canada after marrying Canadian soldier James Borlase in 1946.[1] The couple settled in Moncton, where she began her long association with the city's theatre scene by joining the amateur theatre company Stage Door '56 as an actor.[3]
She was later a cofounder of the Moncton District Drama Council, and served as president of the New Brunswick Drama League, the provincial chapter of the Dominion Drama Festival.[3] She also worked in radio as a book and theatre critic for the city's CBC Radio station.[3]
From 1982 to 1992 she served as Atlantic regional officer for the Canada Council.[4] Beginning in 1992 she became involved in the restoration of the city's historic Capitol Theatre, serving on its board of directors for many years thereafter.[3]
In 2001 she was a recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Arts from the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards,[5] and in 2007 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada.[6]