Roman Fee Theatre Award given out for first time!
The first-ever Roman Fee Theatre Award was handed out on Thursday, March 19, 2009, in the Grand Salon of Montreal’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Donor and Student Excellence Recognition Ceremony was presided over by Concordia University President Judith Woodsworth, who handed out various awards and bursaries to graduate and undergraduate students across all faculties and for various successes.
Ms. Woodsworth and Diane Slonosky, the aunt of the late Roman Fee, presented the Roman Fee Theatre Award on behalf of the Department Of Theatre to Deborah Forde, a hard-working and talented Theatre and Development student and youth worker. Recognized for her success in community-building and using theatre as a tool to empower youth, Deborah Forde embraces social justice and shares many of the ideals of the late Roman Fee.
The Roman Fee Theatre Award was established in 2007 in the memory of Roman Fee, a Montreal-born social worker, activist, and theatre artist. Known to use theatre as a tool for social empowerment and to challenge oppression, Roman was a passionate advocate for marginalized communities. In addition to his career as a social worker in Vermont, over the years he worked with various Montreal-based theatre organizations such the Wahoo Family Theatre Company, the Optative Theatrical Laboratories, and the Montreal infringement festival. Roman also appeared in Tetsuro Shigematsu’s film “Yellow Fellas”
He is remembered fondly by family, friends and colleagues as a talented performer who daily demonstrated optimism, integrity, friendliness, diplomacy, professionalism, humour, and commitment to others. He is especially missed by members of the Optative Theatrical Laboratories, the producers of this blog and a lot of theatre activism in Montreal.
The award was created to not only honour the late Mr. Roman Fee, but to keep his memory alive by empowering those who share his commitment to helping others, often through theatrical means. Awards of this nature can be very empoweriing as donors fondly remember their loved ones while recipients benefit both through financial support and by being recognized for their valuable work. Donors and recipients also share stories and anecdotes, keeping the memory alive while embodying remarkable legacies, such as that of the late Roman Fee.
The Roman Fee Theatre Award is currently non-renewable (it will be handed out for 3 years), but fundraising efforts are planned in the future to try and make the award permanent. Stay tuned to this blog for more details!
