CHARLES BURKET RITTENHOUSE: THEATRICAL AVOCATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS 1925-1976

Patrick G. Neilson

The author provides a chronology highlighting more than forty years of work in Montreal theatre and the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal as actor, playwright, director, administrator and educator.

L'auteur fournit un chronologique qui rehausse plus de quarante années de travail accompli par le théâtre a Montreal et le 'Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal' au point de vue de l'auteur, du dramaturge, du directeur, de l'administrateur et de l'éducateur.

Charles Rittenhouse's involvement with Canadian theatre covered a span of almost fifty years and his contribution to it is unique. Not only was he a talented actor and director with dozens of productions to his credit, but he was a composer, playwright, broadcaster and critic as well.

Yet his most enduring achievements have been made in the field of education as a teacher and as an administrator who championed the teaching and production of drama in Montreal Protestant schools. His productions of Shakespeare at the old West Hill High School (1933-37) were so well received by parents, public and press¹ that the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal (as it is known today) granted him a leave of absence for two years on half-pay to pursue graduate studies at Yale Drama School.² Upon his return he was appointed Supervisor of Speech Arts, the first such appointment in Canada.

By 1941 Rittenhouse had developed and tested an optional drama course for elementary grades³ and subsequently he was able to report that between September 1942 and May 1943 some four hundred short plays had been presented at school assemblies and concerts. Later that year he announced the appointment of five specialists to conduct courses in Speech Arts for high school students.⁴ In 1948 Rittenhouse inaugurated the employment of uncertified specialists to conduct classes and direct school productions. By 1960 these specialists were working in some sixty schools and producing, together with many talented regular teachers, a remarkable number and range of plays (see Appendix B).

In 1942 Rittenhouse requisitioned a portable proscenium stage for use in elementary school gyms and later he served as a consultant for theatre installations in new schools of the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal. Eventually, seventy-six old and new schools were equipped with stages.⁵ The students who benefited from the excellent drama facilities and from the talents of the specialists and teachers in this remarkable system continue to contribute to Canadian and international, theatre, film and television.⁶

The scope of Rittenhouse's theatrical involvement is all the more surprising in the light of his involvement as author and/or editor of several school texts and his public speaking engagements where his knowledge, charm and skill were much in demand at seminars, workshops and conferences organized by a wide range of government departments, professional associations, faculties and clubs.

Charles Burket Rittenhouse Jr was born the fifth child of C.B. Rittenhouse, manager of U.S. Steel Export Company and Ella Kugler, a former teacher, at Westmount, Quebec. He had three married children by his first wife Kathleen Marsh (d. 1976): David John, Beatrice Ellen (Trixi) Fortier, and Jonathan Charles. He retired in 1969 and lived until his death in 1982 with his second wife, the former Donalda Smith, on a picturesque point of land at Lake Hughes in Laurentian Quebec.

The following chronology is based on interviews with Mr Rittenhouse as well as programs, newspaper articles and reviews.

Chronology

The letters following the dates indicate Charles Rittenhouse's area of participation: A, administrator; P, producer; D, director; C, composer; W, playwright; J, adjudicator; LR, leading role; SR, supporting role; E, editor; I, instructor; SD, supervising director.

1925-1930

Attended the University of Manitoba

1927

SR in Pirandello's Henry IV, directed by Edith Sinclair at Winnipeg Little Theatre

1928

February
P/LR in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, University of Manitoba

1929

LR Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers, University of Manitoba

1930

LR Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, musical direction by Stanley Osborn and Ronald Gibson, University of Manitoba

1930-1932

LR Jonson's Volpone and Marlowe's Faustus, directed by Leona Gray, McGill University. Wagner in Doctor Faustus was played by Hume Cronyn

1932

December
LR Gheon's The Miraculous History of St Bernard, directed by Cecil West, Montreal Repertory Theatre (MRT) studio production⁷

1933

February
LR Periphery, directed by Louis Mulligan, MRT studio

March
D/SR Wilfred Werry's Breakfast, MRT studio

May
SR George S. Kaufman's Dulcy, directed by Martha Allan, MRT at Victoria Hall

November
W/D Between Two Worlds, first original play, produced in the MRT studio as part of a triple bill which included Richard Eve's The God Box Ghost

1934

March
P/D A Midsummer Night's Dream, set and costume designs by Herbert Whittaker. Three performances were given at West Hill High School of this, the first full-length production staged by staff & students at a public school in Montreal

December
P/D As You Like It, four performances at West Hill. Designed by Rittenhouse who also composed and arranged new musical settings for the songs

1935

February
SR Bernard Shaw's Back to Methuselah, directed by Cecil West and designed by Herbert Whittaker, MRT studio⁸

March
P/D Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, musical direction by Irvin Cooper, settings by Ruth Dingle, costumes by Margret McNaughton, three performances at West Hill

December
P/D Romeo and Juliet, designed by H. Whittaker, six performances at West Hill

1936

February
LR Clifford Odets' Waiting for Lefty, directed by Cecil West, MRT studio. Entered in Western Quebec Drama Festival (W.Q.D.F.) ⁹

March
D J.W. Rodgers' Judge Lynch, 16-30 Club at the Church of the Messiah. Entered in W.Q.D.F. and selected for the Dominion Drama Festival finals (D.D.F.) in Ottawa

October
LR James Warwick's Blind Alley, directed by Martha Allan, MRT at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom.

December
P/D The Taming of the Shrew, designed by H. Whittaker, seven performances at West Hill

1937

March
SR Everyman, produced by George Brewer at the Church of the Messiah.

April
D Mada Gage Bolton's The 8th Square, 16-30 Club. Entered in W.Q.D.F.

1937-1939

October 1937-May 1939
Attended Yale Drama School where he worked back stage and acted in seven productions; these included A. Segal's Coronation, Owen Dodson's The Divine Comedy and Thomas Job's Uncle Harry

1938-1940

March 1938-1940
Saint Joan, Dr Faustus, The Tidings Brought to Mary for Everyman Players

1938

October
C Wrote four songs for Leonard Sillman's projected New York revue, New Faces of 1939. Never staged

November
CD Uncle Vanya, co-directed by Cecil West, MRT at Victoria Hall

1939

July-August
I Summer course in directing at St John Little Theatre, New Brunswick

October 1939-May 1940
I Instructor in playwriting and directing at MRT School of the Theatre

October
D/SR Molnar's Liliom, MRT studio

December
S R Lenore Coffee and William Joyce Cowen's Family Portrait, directed by Martha Allan, MRT at Victoria Hall

1940

January
Member of founding Committee and Supervising Director of the Lakeshore Summer Theatre (LST), Lachine, Quebec

April
SR Irwin Shaw's The Gentle People, directed by Martha Allan and Filmore Sadler, MRT at Victoria Hall¹⁰

July-August
SD/D Phillip Barry's Holiday, J.F. Black's Pennywise, John Van Druten's There's Always Juliet, LST

SD/LR Edward Chodorov's Kind Lady, directed by Roberta Beatty, LST

SD Emlyn Williams' Night Must Fall, directed by Mada Gage Bolton

1941-1943

October 1941-March 1943
W/D/LR The Memoirs of Dr J.0. Lambert, a weekly radio-drama broadcast over CKAC Montreal¹¹

1942

April
D Janet McPhee and Herbert Whittaker's Jupiter in Retreat, MRT at Victoria Hall. This was the first original Canadian play given as an MRT major production

July
I Instructor in Speech, Arts and Educational Dramatics at Queen's University Summer School of Fine Arts (Q.U.S.S.). Rittenhouse taught there for a further five summers

August
LR A.N. Afinogenov's A Distant Point, directed by Dr William Angus, Q.U.S.S.

D A mixed program: Queen's verse choir in E.J. Pratt's Dunkirk and Kingston Children in Alice Riley's The Hole in the Wall, Q.U.S.S.

1942-1946

Oct. 1942-May 1946
I Instructor in directing MRT School of the Theatre

1943

January
SR Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, directed by Filmore Sadler, for the opening of the MRT Playhouse at 1550 Guy Street, Montreal

April to April 1946
J Original one-act play competition organized annually by the Ottawa Drama League. For 1943 and 1944 the two anonymous winners turned out to be one person: Robertson Davies

1943

November
C Dark Valley, arranged by Leslie Bell for the Toronto Alumnae Choir and performed at a concert given by the Casavant Society of Toronto¹²

August
W/D Children of the Sun and Queen's Verse Choir in a mixed programme, Q.U.S.S. Kingston¹³

1944

April
C My Lord Jesus, arranged by Leslie Bell for the Bell Singers (formerly the Toronto Alumnae Choir) performed at Eaton Auditorium, Toronto

1945

February
LR Paul Osborn's On Borrowed Time, directed by Mildred Mitchell, MRT

May
SD/E/SR Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Roberta Beatty, designed by Herbert Whittaker, the Montreal Shakespeare Society at Moyse Hall, McGill University. Rittenhouse was a founder of this organization

October to May 1954
Member of MRT Reading Committee

1946

January
LR Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, produced by Jean de Savoye, Westmount Women's Club, Victoria Hall

March
D Saroyan's The Beautiful People, MRT

May
SD/E King Lear, directed by Pierre Dagenais, designed by Herbert Whittaker, the Montreal Shakespeare Society, Moyse Hall, McGill University

July
I Instructor in Choral Speaking and Educational Dramatics at Banff School of Fine Art

D The Beautiful People, at the Banff School of Fine Art

September to April 1947
E Cue Magazine, the publication of the MRT

October
SR Thomas Job's Uncle Harry, directed by Jean de Savoye, MRT

November
LR Mauriac's Asmodée, directed by Pierre Dagenais, MRT

1947-1954

A Governor of D.D.F., member of the executive committee (1948-51), Chairman of the Extension Committee

1947

March
J Western Ontario Drama Festival, Hamilton, Ontario

May
SD/E/D Romeo & Juliet, designed by Herbert Whittaker, The Shakespeare Society of Montreal, Moyse Hall. In this production Leo Ciceri played Benvolio and Christopher Plummer played Paris

W The Thirty-Nine Steps, an adaptation of John Buchan's novel, produced for CBC Stage by Andrew Allan

June
D An Evening of Thorton Wilder, MRT studio

July to August
LR Denham and Percy's Ladies in Retirement, directed by Dr William Angus, Q.U.S.S.

D Mixed programme: Thornton Wilder's Queens of France and the Queen's verse choir, Q.U.S.S.

October
D Martinez-Sierra's The Two Shepherds, designed by Hans Berends, MRT at Moyse Hall, McGill University

I Course in Directing, MRT School of the Theatre

1948

April
A Co-founder with Herman Voaden of the Canadian Theatre Conference

A Appointed co-chairman with Gratien Gélinas of the Western Quebec Regional Drama Festival

July
D Jupiter in Retreat, Q.U.S.S. Kingston

1949

January
A In charge of Western Quebec Regional Drama Festival

April
J Ottawa Drama League Workshop

May
CD O'Neill's Emperor Jones, originally directed by Beatrice Macleod, The Negro Theatre Guild, D.D.F. Finals, Toronto. Winner of the Martha Allan Trophy

October
D Pinero's Trelawney of the Wells, MRT at Moyse Hall, McGill University

1950

March
D Jupiter in Retreat, Trinity Players for W.Q.R.D.F.

June
D Robertson Davies' Fortune My Foe, MRT Studio

October
W The Words of Jeremiah, an adaptation of the Book of Jeremiah, with sequences from Jeremiah by Stefan Zweig, produced by Rupert Caplan for CBC Wednesday Night

December
Awarded the Canadian Drama Award¹⁴

1951

February
D Joseph Schull's The Bridge, Trinity Players. Later entered in W.Q.R.D.F. and awarded N.D.G. Women's Club prize for the best production in the alternate language

April
W Liliom, an adaptation of the play by Ferenc Molnar, produced for CBC Wednesday Night by Rupert Caplan, later produced for CBC Stage by Andrew Allan

October
W The Witch, an adaptation for CBC Wednesday Night of John Masefield's translation of the play by Hans Weir-Jenssen, produced by Rupert Caplan, rebroadcast January 1952, on CBC Stage, directed by Esse Ljungh

December
D John Patrick's The Curious Savage, MRT

1952

January
W The Adding Machine, an adaptation for CBC Wednesday Night of the play by Elmer Rice, directed by Rupert Caplan

February
LR Goodbye my Fancy, directed by Jean de Savoye for Westmount Women's Club

October
CD Rosemary Casey's The Velvet Glove, directed with Eugene Jousse, Trinity Players

November
D W. Dinner and W. Morum's The Late Edwina Black, MRT at Victoria Hall and West Hill High School

1953

April 1953 to June 1954
supervising director and acting President of MRT

May
A/SD O'Neill's Anna Christie, directed by Yvette Brind'Amour, MRT at West Hill High School

August
SR King Lear, directed by Pierre Dagenais, designed by Herbert Whittaker, Les Festivals de Montréal at the Lookout on Mount Royal

October
A/D Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, MRT at West Hill High School; Denise Pelletier played Joan.

November
A/SD Lindsay and Crouse's Life with Mother, directed by Lee Prime, MRT at West Hill High School

1954

January
A/SD The Deep Blue Sea, directed by Tom Owen, MRT at West Hill High School

February
A/SD Dorothy and Campbell Christie's His Excellency, directed by Cicely Hessey-White, MRT at West Hill High School

March
A/SD The Miser, directed by Guy Beaulne, MRT, West Hill High School

August
SD/D/LR A re-staging of Saint Joan for Les Festivals de Montréal. Rittenhouse played Cauchon,

December
D Ionesco's The Lesson and The Chairs, the last MRT studio production staged at the MRT studio on Closse Street

1961

January
CD Pirandello's Henry IV, co-directed with Leo Ciceri who played the lead, MRT

1976

February
SR Elie Wiessel's The Madness of God, directed by Sean Mulcahy, Saidye Bronfman Theatre

CHARLES BURKET RITTENHOUSE: THEATRICAL AVOCATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS 1925-1976

Patrick G. Neilson

1 See D.M. LEGARÉ, The Montreal Gazette 7 December 1935, p 10 and THOMAS ARCHER, The Montreal Gazette 14 December 1935, p 6.
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2 At this time the school was headed by Allardyce Nicoll and the Faculty included Edward Cole, Alexander Dean, Stanley McCandless, Donald Oenslager and Constance Welch.
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3 In addition to British texts he used his own manuals: Speech Training and Dramatics, Choral Speaking Arrangements I and I, and Scenarios for Dramatization.
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4 These were Frances Katz, Hélène L'Espérance Doreen Lewis, B.J. Merovitz and Filmore Sadler. The Montreal Gazette 1 November 1943 p 24.
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5 As well, Rittenhouse arranged free matinée performances for students on these stages by The National Theatre School, Canadian Players, Heritage Theatre, Instant Theatre, Centaur Youtheatre; some of these were sponsored by the Jewish Junior Welfare League.
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6 Some who are known to Rittenhouse are Joan Blackman, Griffith Brewer, John Cameron, John Colicos, Eric Donkin, Richard Easton, Ivor Francis, Dawn Greenhalgh, Kenneth Haslam, William Langstroth, Donald McSween, Peter Moss, Christopher Plummer, Linda Rabin, Aviva Ravel, Robert Robertson, William Shatner, Madelaine Sherwood, Paula Sperdakos and Betty Taylor.
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7 The Canadian Passing Show February 1933, p 2
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8 The Montreal Gazette 13 October 1934, p 6, col 1
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9 The Montreal Gazette 23 March 1936, p 6, col 1 and 20 March 1936, p 10, col 2
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10 The Montreal Gazette 13 April 1940, p 10, col 6
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11 Extant Scripts in Rittenhouse's possession are Home on the Point, The Kicking Game, Blue Ribbon MRS June Haven, Down Stream, Eye Witness, Meadow Lark, A Present for Bunny, Quebec for New Years, Work for the Night is Coming, Apple Blossoms, Friendly Welcome, The Reverie of Poor Susan, Shadows on the Moon, Number 14, The Pipes of Pan, Mongrel, Mr Roebotham Resigns, Two on a Verandah, Nest Egg, Remember Me, A Daughter of the State, Louis Builds a House, He that Sat Upon the Throne, Clothesline, Most of the 27 missing scripts are by Jean Mason, an agency writer.
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12 This spiritual for Easter was published by Canadian Music Sales Corp in the Dominion Choral Library and also in Sheet Music (1949). Also published were Chanson Triste and Pavan (1947), and Lyrics for Bell's arrangement of The Emperor Waltz and Bottecelli's Minuet. His popular song, Putting in time, was recorded by Russ Titus and the Lou Snider Trio, ISMI (1948) and featured on the Ex-Service Show.
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13 Rittenhouse wrote four one-act plays for presentation in classrooms: Children of the Sun, The Discontented Fir Tree, Boston: Plays, Inc., 1942 and 1949; The Great Company and Silver Chief.
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14 The Governing Committee broke precedent on this occasion by creating two awards for Quebec. The other recipient was Gratien Gélinas.
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Appendix A

The title was changed to Co-ordinator of English in 1956 and to Senior English Consultant in 1962. Rittenhouse continued to act as Supervisor of Speech Arts. The information in this appendix was supplied by Mr Rittenhouse.

1950-1968

Served as Chairman or Secretary of every Committee concerned with revision of Courses in Literature and Language Arts for the Protestant Education System in Quebec.

1950-1960

Spearheaded development of a free reading programme in elementary school libraries.

1954-1969

Promulgated methods of teaching composition and literature in the semi-annual Junior English Bulletin and The Composition Teachers Handbooks, I, II, III.

He was variously involved in the following school textbooks:
Co-Author, Language Comes Alive. North York, Ont.: J.J. Dent and Sons (Canada) Limited, 1959-60. 7 vols.
Wordcraft. North York, Ont.: J.M. Dent and Sons (Canada) Limited, 1962
Editor Words on Wings Toronto, Ont.: Thomas Nelson and Sons (Canada) Limited, 1964. 2 vols.
Co-Editor, My Poetry Book. Vols. 4, 5, 6. Toronto, Ont.: Gage Publishing Limited, 1961-64
He was also Educational Consultant for the Canadian editions of eighteen readers and workbooks published by Readers Digest Association (Canada) Ltd. 1969-1970, and also for the Winston Dictionary of Canadian English, intermediate edition, 1969, and the Compact Dictionary of Canadian English, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1970

1956-1967

Served as Chief Provincial Examiner for English Composition

1960-1964

Demonstrated in three schools methods of team-teaching English literature at Senior levels

1962-1973

Prepared and presented four graphic TV programs on Great Expectations, repeated annually for eight years over CBC channels in Quebec

1963-1965

Served on a committee of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education to review objective questions for tests of Achievement in English Language

Appendix B
 

This list, based on the recollections and research of Mr Rittenhouse, is incomplete. Numbers after a title indicate later and unlisted productions of the same play by other directors. The letters E, M, and L indicate the date of the production: E - Early (1939-1950), M-Mid (19504963), L-Late (after 1963).

Robert Adams (L. Verdun): The Night of January 16

Marion Andre (M. High School of Montreal, Northmount, Outremont): The Lark, You Can't Take It With You (4), My Three Angels (3). The Crucible (2), The Curious Savage, The Firebugs

Brian Ash (M. Rosemount): Antigone, Liliom, The Kitchen

Gordon Atkinson (M. Lachine): Inherit the Wind

Phillip Baugniet (L. Mount Royal, Lachine): The Devil's Disciple (2), Desire Under the Elms, Death of a Salesman

Griffith Brewer (E. John Grant): What a Life (3)

David Conter (M./Outremont): Electra

Margaret Craze (M./Montreal West): Tobias and His Angel, Mrs McTbing, Life with Mother, The Lass wi' the Muckle Mou', The World's Wonder

John Dando (E. West Hill): The Second Shepherd's Play, Maître Pierre Patélin (2)

Jean de Savoye (E. Verdun): Junior Miss (4), Our Town (6), Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (3)

Charlotte Forster (E. High School for Girls): Quality Street (2), Lilies of the Field, Pink String and Sealing Wax

Gerald Gross (Outremont): Thieves' Carnival, An Evening with Thornton Wilder

Eugene Jouse (M. Verdun, Riverdale): Teach Me How to Cry, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia among the Tauri, The Petrified Forest, Winterset, The Song of Bernadette, The Glass Harp, Dark of the Moon (2)

Sheila Kennedy (M. Sir Winston Churchill): The Teahouse of the August Moon (2), Scbool for Scandal, An Enemy of the People

Gordon Leclair (E. High School of Montreal): Cyrano de Bergerac, Maria Chapdelaine, Paolo and Francesca, The Mother

Doreen Lewis (E. High School of Montreal): A Midsummer Night's Dream (3)

Peter Little (L. Rosemount): The Miracle Worker

Jean MacNab (E. High School for Girls): Pride and Prejudice (2), The Whiteheaded Boy, The Romantic Age

Cynthia Micaelis (M. Mount Royal): The Enchanted (2), Years Ago, Time Out for Ginger (2)

Mary Morter (L. Sir Winston Churchill): The Insect Play

Ella Mutimer (M. Outremont): The Imaginary Invalid (3), A Doctor in Spite of Himself, The Importance of Being Earnest

Pauline Rathbone (M. Montreal West): Macbeth (3)

John Reid (L. Verdun): The Diary of Anne Frank

Bertha Rohr (M. Monklands): Ladies in Retirement, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Heiress, Out of the Frying Pan (5), Little Women

Filmore Sadler (E. West Hill): Twelfth Night, Arsenic and Old Lace (5), I Remember Mama (2)

Madge Sadler (M. Northmount): The Late Christopher Bean

Ronald Singer (L. Dunton): Flight into Danger, A Comedy of Errors

Derla Stewart (M. Lachine): Ring Around the Moon

Kay Tremblay (M. Westhill, Westmount): The Barretts of Wimpole Street (2), Life with Father (2), The Madwoman of Chaillot, Night Must Fall, Death Takes a Holiday, Thunder Rock, Sorry, Wrong Number

Herbert Whittaker (E. Commercial): Noah (2)

Full-length Plays Produced by the elementary schools of the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal, 1939-1969

The plays were acted by selected older children, usually aged 10-13. Many were staged in several schools. Dates are unknown. Among the directors were Douglas Bell, Valentine Boss, Griffith Brewer, Dorothy Danford, Eric Donkin, Mae Flegg, Sylvia Hodgson, Beryl Lowe, Etta Murphy, Margaret Newcombe, Tom Owen, Lenore Osborn, Bruce Raymond, Pauline Rathbone, Gladys Richards, Don Scanlon, Lillian Trudel.

Aladdin, Ali Baba, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Clown that Ran Away, Hansel and Gretel, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Great Quillow, Kings of Nomania, Little Women, Make Believe, Many Moons, The Masque of Aesop, A Midsummer Nigbt's Dream, The Odyssey, Pinocchio, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Princess and the Swineherd, The Reluctant Dragon, Robin Hood, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Sleeping Beauty, The Snow Queen, Tom Sawyer, The Wizard of Oz