Joan Orenstein (December 4, 1923 – October 10, 2009) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actress, primarily on stage, although she performed in other media. One of her best-known roles was in the 1997 film '' The Hanging Garden'' as the dotty old grandmother, Grace.

Acting career

Joan Travell was born in 1923 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the 1940s after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Orenstein, Joan
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia''. She acted across Canada but mostly acted for Halifax's Neptune Theatre. She also performed lead roles on most of the major Canadian stages, including the Centaur Theatre, the National Arts Centre, the Belfry Theatre, the Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Calgary, the Shaw Festival, the

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

and the Manitoba Theatre Centre. She also performed on television, in film, on radio and in the recording industry.

Family

She was married to

Henry Orenstein Henry Orenstein (born Henryk Orenstein; October 13, 1923 – December 14, 2021) was a Polish-born Jewish-American toymaker, professional poker player, entrepreneur and Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor who resided in Verona, New Jersey, V ...

, an artist and CBC production designer. They had five daughters, including actress

Sarah Orenstein Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pi ...

, a

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

winner, dancer Cia Tweel , designer

Edie Orenstein Edie (pronounced ''EE-dee'') a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Edith, as well as a surname. It may refer to: People Given name * Edie Adams (1927–2008), American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian * Edie Boy ...

, flutist Ruth Orenstein

Awards

Atlantic Film Festival

*Atlantic Canadian Award Best Acting - Female (winner) for: ''The Hanging Garden'' (1997) *Atlantic Canadian Award Outstanding Performance by an Actress (winner) for: ''The Event'' (2003)

Genie Awards

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (nominated) for: ''The Hanging Garden'' (1997)

Theatre work

*Centaur Theatre **''Juno and the Paycock'' **''People Are Living There'' **''Stone Angel'' **''Road to Mecca'' **'' Albertine in Five Times'' **''

La Sagouine ''La Sagouine'' is a play written by New Brunswick author Antonine Maillet that tells the story of ''la Sagouine'', an Acadian cleaning lady from rural New Brunswick. The play is a collection of monologues, written in Acadian French. It has since ...

'' *

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...

**''Waiting for the Parade'' **''

Mother Courage Mother Courage (German ''Mutter Courage'') is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel ''Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche'' (''The Runagate Courage'') dating from around 1670. The character had played a cameo r ...

'' **''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' *Neptune Theatre **''Forever Yours'' **''Marie-Lou'' **''Memories of You'' *

**''Odd Jobs'' *Belfry Theatre **''The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr'' **''If We Are Women'' *

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

**''Mrs. Klein'' (with daughter Sarah Orenstein) *

Theatre Calgary Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...

**''Transit of Venus'' *

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...

**''

Mrs. Warren's Profession ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902. The play is about a former prostitute, now a madam (brothel proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving ...

'' **''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been can ...

'' *

Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by John ...

**''

night, Mother ''night, Mother'' is a play by American playwright Marsha Norman. The play won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. The play is about a daughter, Jessie, and her mother, Thelma. It begins with J ...

'' *Vancouver East Cultural Centre **''Song of this Place'' (with daughter Sarah Orenstein)

Filmography

*''

Charlie Grant's War ''Charlie Grant's War'' is a Canadian television film, directed by Martin Lavut and broadcast by CBC Television in 1985.Donald Martin, "A Canadian hero finally gets his due". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 26, 1985. Set during World War II, the f ...

'' - 1985 *'' Henry & Verlin'' - 1994 *'' Never Too Late'' - 1996 *'' The Hanging Garden'' - 1997 *''

Emily of New Moon ''Emily of New Moon'' is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about an orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island. Montgomery is also the author of ''Anne of Green Gables'' series. It was first published in 1923. Plot sum ...

: Eye of Heaven & Storms of the Heart'' - 1998 *''Emily of New Moon: Paradise Lost & The Enchanted Doll'' - 1998 *''Emily of New Moon: The Wild Rover, The Ghost of Whyther Grange & A Child Shall Lead Them'' - 1998 *''Emily of New Moon: A Winter's Tale & The Sound of Silence'' - 1998 *''Baba's House'' - 2002 *''Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion'' - 2003 *''

The Event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010 to May 23, 2011. T ...

'' - 2003 *''Hunger Point'' - 2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orenstein, Joan 1923 births 2009 deaths Canadian film actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses British emigrants to Canada Actresses from London