Rod Beattie (born 1948) is a Canadian actor who has been active in Canadian theatre for over 50 years. He is best known for performing the

Wingfield Series ''The Wingfield Cycle'' is a Canadian series of seven one-man plays - ''Letter from Wingfield Farm'', ''Wingfield's Progress'', ''Wingfield's Folly'', ''Wingfield Unbound'', ''Wingfield on Ice'', ''Wingfield's Inferno'' and ''Wingfield Lost and Fou ...

of plays by

Dan Needles Dan Needles is best known as the playwright behind the popular Wingfield Series, which has played across Canada for many years. It was performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, Mirvish Productions Toronto and was aired, in part, on the Cana ...

. In these plays Beattie plays all the characters, employing changes in voice or facial expression to denote which character he is playing. He has appeared in productions of these plays across Canada and on TV, and in 1991-1992 he won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for best actor in leading role for his performances in the first three Wingfield plays. The plays are directed by his brother Douglas Beattie. The Beatties and the Needles had cottages near each other in the area where the fictitious Wingfield Farm is located.

Career

Beattie has appeared at the Stratford Festival for 16 seasons over the course of 45 years. He has appeared in productions outside Stratford including: ''The Loveliest'' and ''Sylvia'' in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' and ''Blessings in Disguise'' in Manitoba, ''Oleanna'' at the National Arts Centre opposite

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005 ...

, and ''Love Letters'' opposite his then-wife

Martha Henry Martha Kathleen Henry (née Buhs; February 17, 1938October 21, 2021) was an American-born Canadian stage, film, and television actress. She was noted for her work at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Early life and training Martha ...

in an Ontario tour. Beattie has a flair for the comic and usually plays the antihero in the comic subplot in Shakespearean productions at Stratford. He is also cast often as the fop or the fool. In his younger days he played the protagonist in Shakespearean plays including ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' at Hart House. Beattie also appeared in the movie '' The Wars''. On January 14, 2010, the opening night performance of ''Wingfield Lost and Found'' at the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvatio ...

in Edmonton, Alberta was Beattie's 4,000th performance of a Wingfield play in a little over twenty-five years. From the Orange Hall in Rosemont, Ontario (August 1984) to Edmonton (January 2010), with opening nights in 1985 (''Letter from Wingfield Farm''), in 1987 (''Wingfield's Progress''), in 1990 (''Wingfield's Folly''), in 1997 (''Wingfield Unbound''), in 2001 (''Wingfield on Ice''), in 2005 (''Wingfield's Inferno'') and in 2009 (''Wingfield Lost and Found''), Beattie has performed across Canada in most major regional theatres, including Victoria's Belfry, the Vancouver Playhouse, Edmonton's

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 ...

, the Globe Theatre (Regina), the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, the Grand Theatre in London, the Stratford Festival,

Theatre Aquarius Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in Hamilton, the

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

and Canadian Stage Company in Toronto,

Theatre New Brunswick Theatre New Brunswick is the only English language professional theatre company in New Brunswick, Canada. It began operation in 1968, and has been successfully operating since that time. Artistic directors * Walter Learning (1968-1978) *Malcolm Bl ...

in Fredericton, and Neptune Theatre in Halifax, as well as hundreds of smaller venues. Beattie has also taken part in seasons at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

's Playhouse in the Park and the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Florida. The first three Wingfield plays were broadcast on CBC Radio's ''Morningside''; a TV version of ''Letter from Wingfield Farm'' (produced by Primedia Productions) won the 1991 Gemini (Canadian TV) Award for Best Performing Arts Program; and in November 1998, a series of thirty half-hour TV episodes, entitled ''Wingfield'', produced by Norflicks Productions, made its CBC debut. The series currently airs on Bravo! Canada.

Personal life

Beattie was raised in Toronto, attending

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

and later the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. He was married to

in 1990 although have since divorced.

Recognition

Beattie has won three best actor awards for his stage performances in the Wingfield plays: the "Sterling" in 1988 (Edmonton, Alberta), the "Dora" in 1992 (Toronto), and the "Critic's Award" in 1995 (Sarasota).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beattie, Rod Living people 1948 births Canadian male television actors Canadian male stage actors Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Members of the Order of Canada

Career

Personal life

Recognition

See also

References

External links