Joan Orenstein
Encyclopedia
Joan Orenstein was a British
-born Canadian
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.
, and emigrated to Canada
in the 1940s after World War II
.
She acted across Canada but has mostly acted for Halifax's Neptune Theatre
. She has 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
and the Manitoba Theatre Centre. She also performed on television, in film, on radio and in the recording industry.
, an artist and CBC
production designer. They had five daughters, including actress Sarah Orenstein, a Dora Award winner, dancer Cia Tweel and designer Edie Orenstein.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actress, primarily on stage, although she performed in other media. One of her best-known roles was in the 1997 film The Hanging Garden
The Hanging Garden
The Hanging Garden is a 1997 British/Canadian movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald that is about the duality of life and death and the way seemingly very different choices in life can lead to similar outcomes....
as the dotty old grandmother, Grace.
Acting career
Joan Travell was born in 1923 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the 1940s after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
She acted across Canada but has mostly acted for Halifax's Neptune Theatre
Neptune Theatre (Halifax)
The Neptune Theatre is the largest professional theatre company in Atlantic Canada with a capacity of 497 and is located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It performs a mixture of new and classical plays....
. She has 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
Nationally and internationally acclaimed, The Canadian Stage Company is Canada's third largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre company. Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, the Company is dedicated to programming international contemporary theatre and to...
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 OrensteinHenry Orenstein (painter)
Henry Orenstein was a Canadian artist, specializing in easel paintings, murals and set design. He was mentioned in Barry Lord's The History of Painting in Canada: Toward a People's Art. He went on to become a set designer for the CBC in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Family:He was married to Joan...
, an artist and CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
production designer. They had five daughters, including actress Sarah Orenstein, a Dora Award winner, dancer Cia Tweel and designer Edie Orenstein.
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 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
- National Arts CentreNational Arts CentreThe National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
- Waiting for the Parade
- Mother CourageMother CourageMother Courage is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche dating from around 1670...
- GhostsGhosts (play)Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
- Neptune Theatre
- Forever Yours
- Marie-Lou
- Memories of You
- Canadian StageCanadian StageNationally and internationally acclaimed, The Canadian Stage Company is Canada's third largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre company. Founded in 1987 with the merger of CentreStage and Toronto Free Theatre, the Company is dedicated to programming international contemporary theatre and to...
- Odd Jobs
- Belfry Theatre
- The Magnificent Voyage of Emily Carr
- If We Are Women
- Tarragon TheatreTarragon TheatreThe Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country. Located near Casa Loma, the theatre was founded by Bill and Jane Glassco in 1970. Bill was the Artistic Director from 1971 to 1982. In 1982, Urjo Kareda took over as...
- Mrs. Klein (with daughter Sarah Orenstein)
- Theatre CalgaryTheatre CalgaryTheatre Calgary, theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, established as a professional company in 1968.-History:The origin of the company dates back to the 1940s, when students of Betty Mitchell, a drama teacher at Calgary's Western Canada High School, established an amateur group known as "Workshop...
- Transit of Venus
- Shaw FestivalShaw FestivalThe Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
- Mrs. Warren's ProfessionMrs. Warren's ProfessionMrs Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893. The story centers on the relationship between Mrs Kitty Warren, a brothel owner, described by the author as "on the whole, a genial and fairly presentable old blackguard of a woman" and her daughter, Vivie...
- Hedda GablerHedda GablerHedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
- Mrs. Warren's Profession
- Manitoba Theatre CentreManitoba Theatre CentreRoyal Manitoba Theatre Centre 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...
- night, Mother
- Vancouver East Cultural Centre
- Song of this Place (with daughter Sarah Orenstein)
Filmography
- Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2003)
- The EventThe Event (film)The Event is a 2003 drama film directed by Thom Fitzgerald. It tells the story of Matt Shapiro who has died in Manhattan, resulting in an aborted 9-1-1 call...
, (2003) - Hunger Point (2003)
- Baba's House (2002)
- Emily of New MoonEmily of New MoonEmily of New Moon is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about the development of a writer. It was first published in 1923.-Plot summary:...
: 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
- The Hanging GardenThe Hanging GardenThe Hanging Garden is a 1997 British/Canadian movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald that is about the duality of life and death and the way seemingly very different choices in life can lead to similar outcomes....
, 1997 - Never Too Late, 1997