Virginia Reh grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and studied dramatic arts in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, California. She joined the faculty of Dramatic Arts at Brock University from a professional career as an actor, director, dramaturg and coach, working in theatre, opera and film and television. For 13 years she taught part-time at Brock and officially became full-time in 2006, teaching acting, directing and voice. Her vocal work includes directing all the voices for the last 76 episodes of

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

that were dubbed into English. She has directed Ring Round the Moon,

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...

, A Little Night Music, Phedre, Orpheus Descending, and The Blue Room for mainstage DART productions. She has worked professionally with Opera In Concert,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Operetta Theatre and

Tapestry New Opera Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

. Reh was founding co-director of Script Lab, developing plays, musicals and film scripts. She was artistic director of the Gryphon Theatre. For many years Reh was acting coach and production manager to the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus. In 1994, Reh received the Theatre Ontario's Maggie Bassett award for outstanding contribution to theatre in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Reh organized a national conference, Lyric Canada 2010, bringing together the creators and scholars of Canadian music theatre and opera. Reh was an Ontario councillor for the Canadian Actors' Equity Association and secretary/treasurer of the executive through 2012. In the course of nine years at Brock she directed seven main stage.

Early life

Reh began acting at a young age with the Emerson Players, a community theatre company based out of the unitarian church which she participated in with her parents in New York. She attended the

University of Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

as a French major but soon transitioned to Dramatic Arts major after her first audition. In her studies at Berkeley, it was required for her to take directing courses for her masters, which then lead her to the Scholar Director PHD program. She dropped out of the PHD program so that she could pursue acting in a small theatre company in California. The company did not have enough directors, so she volunteered. She started directing seriously in the early 1980s, at a time when a movement of women playwrights and directors was beginning.

Selected Theatre Work: Acting

* ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'': Queen Margaret/Edward IV. Shakespeare in the Square (Director: Scott Lale) August, 2005 * '' The Foreigner'': Betty Meeks. Theatre on the Grand (Director: Virginia Reh) * '' The Last of the Red Hot Lovers'': Jeanette. Theatre on the Grand (Director: Joan Howell) * '' Chapter Two'': Jenny Malone. Gryphon Theatre (Director: Robert Buck) * '' Private Lives'': Amanda Prynne. Colonnade Theatre (Director: Peter Peroff) * ''Lady Windermere's Fan'': Lady Windermere. Colonnade Theatre (Director: Peter Peroff) * ''

The Apple Cart ''The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza'' is a 1928 play by George Bernard Shaw. It is a satirical comedy about several political philosophies which are expounded by the characters, often in lengthy monologues. The plot follows the fictional ...

'': Princess Royal. Shaw Festival (Director: Noel Williams) * '' The Admirable Crichton'': Mlle. Jeanne. Shaw Festival (Director: Barry Morse) * ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'': Cecily Cardew. Colonnade Theatre (Director: David Moulday) * '' School for Scandal'': Lady Teazle. Colonnade Theatre (Director: Peter Peroff)

Selected Theatre Work: Directing for young audiences

* ''La Sante c'est pas sorcier'', Waterloo Productions, Ontario Tours 1986-1988 * ''Il Drago di Energio'' (Conserving Kingdom), Waterwood Productions/Ministry of Energy 1987 * ''I'm Never Growin' Up'' (Lukasiewicz & Reynolds), Aladdin Theatre at the Limelight, Toronto 1987 * ''Which Witch is which? (McMaster)'', Aladdin Theatre at the Limelight, Toronto 1987 * ''Fox of a Thousand facts (Campbell), Colonnade Theatre, Toronto, September 1974''

Selected Theatre Work: Directing

* '' Noises Off'', Theatre Sarnia 2003 * ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

'', Yorkminstrels, 2001, remounted in 2002 * '' Anything Goes,'' Yorkminstrels, Leah Posluns Theatre, Toronto 1998 * '' Pirates of Penzance'', Victorian Operetta Society,

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, 1995 * ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'', Etobicoke Musical Productions, Toronto 1995 * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'', Markham Theatre, 1993 * ''

The Gipsy Princess ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'', Scugog Choral Society, Port Perry, November 1992 * ''

Albertine in Five Times ''Albertine in Five Times'' (french: Albertine, en cinq temps) is a play by Michel Tremblay."Poem-like Albertine is soporific in execution". ''The Globe and Mail'', April 10, 1985. First produced by the National Arts Centre in 1984,< ...

'', The Oakville Players, Oakville, November 1991 * ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...

'', Glen Productions, Cornwall, 1990 * ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', Burlington Light Opera, 1989 * '' Show Boat'', Etobicoke Musical Productions, April 1988 * '' The Threepenny Opera'', McMaster Music Theatre,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

1984 * '' The House of Bernarda Alba'', Alumnae Theatre, Toronto 1980

Selected Film/Television

* '' A Home at the End of the World'' - Warner Bros./ Michael Mayer, with

Colin Farrel Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The ...

and Sissy Spacek * ''

My Sisters' Keeper ''My Sisters' Keeper'' is a 1970 novel by the British writer L.P. Hartley Leslie Poles Hartley (30 December 1895 – 13 December 1972) was a British novelist and short story writer. Although his first fiction was published in 1924, his care ...

'' - Power Productions/

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

/ Bill Norton * '' Side Effects'' - CBC/ Brad Turner * ''Mafia Princess'' - NBC Movie of the Week/Bob Collins with Tony Curtis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reh, Virginia American stage actresses Academic staff of Brock University Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American theatre directors American women theatre directors American women academics 21st-century American women