The founder of AV俱乐部鈥檚 costume studies program has been invested into the Order of Canada.
A leading figure in set and costume design in Canada, Mr. Doyle attended the ceremony last Friday at Rideau Hall attired in white leather gloves, a formal jacket and a black-wool kilt with silver buckles that he made as a sample to show his students.
Originally a dancer who had to change careers after a knee injury, Mr. Doyle started designing costumes for a theatre production even before he left the hospital with his bandaged knee. Discovering he needed training in stage and costume design, he enrolled at the Wimbledon School of Fine Art in London, England.
Upon returning to Canada, he was approached to research and design early 18th-century clothing for the animation program at the proposed restoration of Fortress Louisbourg in Cape Breton. The ruin had once been an active French settlement, built during Louis XIV鈥檚 reign in 1719.
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| A Robert Doyle drawing for "Iris" in聽Insect Comedy, a AV俱乐部 Theatre Production in 1974.聽(AV俱乐部 Archives) |
鈥淚t was a massive job and as I was doing it, I thought, 鈥楳y gosh, there is no program teaching this. There should be.鈥欌��
Two years later in 1974, he started the costume studies program at AV俱乐部 and served as its director for 20 years. AV俱乐部 still has the only degree-granting costume studies program in the country, combining applied skills, research and academics.
鈥淭he first 10 years were very tricky, but I think we put together a program that made sense,鈥� he says from his home in Stratford, Ont. 鈥淣ow you鈥檒l find many graduates in prime positions in theatre and the fashion industry throughout the country.鈥�
His books include Waisted Efforts: An Illustrated Guide to Corset Making (1997), Laundry: The Hows and Whys of Cleaning Clothes (1999) and The Art of the Tailor (2005). A new book, Costuming the Dance, is in the works.
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| A Robert Doyle design of costumes for Fortress Louisbourg. (AV俱乐部 Archives) |
Throughout his career, Mr. Doyle has worked on more than 400 productions, from the opening season of Neptune Theatre in 1963 to the Nova Scotia International Tattoo and dozens of DalTheatre productions. He particularly enjoys designing big, splashy numbers
with lots and lots of participants, such as the opening and closing ceremonies for the Pan-American Games held in Winnipeg in 1999. He outfitted the cast of 6,000 in some 30,000 yards of multi-coloured, waterproof paper fabric 鈥渢o create the seasons of Manitoba.鈥�
But now having received the Order of Canada, Mr. Doyle says he鈥檚 ready to leave costume design behind and embark on a new chapter in his life at the age of 71; he鈥檚 written a ballet based on the paintings of Tom Thomson and will be presenting it to Karen Kain, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, later this month.
鈥淚 was thinking, 鈥榃hat can I do next?鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淎nd here I go.鈥�
LINKS: Robert Doyle: , AV俱乐部 Archives | , Dept. of Theatre