Антонио Чимолино завершает 40-летнюю карьеру художественного руководителя фестиваля в Стратфорде

UWindsor alum Antoni Cimolino takes his final bow as Stratford’s artistic director Stratford Festival’s artistic director reflects on his career, education in Windsor and the lasting impact of southwestern Ontario’s theatre scene Antoni Cimolino was a young boy from Sudbury when he travelled to Southwestern Ontario and discovered a love for theatre at the Stratford Festival. The play was Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare, and Cimolino distinctly remembers the connection he felt both to the performance and to his fellow audience members. “We were all immersed in the play, but we were all very aware of each other seeing the play,” he recounted. “I never had that experience before in quite that way, I felt this connection back in time, but also in that moment with those people.” When Cimolino returned home, he told his parents he didn’t want to go to law school. He wanted to be an actor. Moreso, he wanted to work at Stratford and make a life recreating that bridge between an audience and the art. Cimolino went on to study acting at the University of Windsor, which for many years was touted as one of the best theatre schools in the country. While in school, Cimolino studied English and history on top of his theatre education. He also met Brigit Wilson, a fellow actor and the woman who would eventually join him at Stratford and become his wife. Much like most of Windsor’s talent pool, Cimolino had his eyes set on professional opportunities away from the border city. “I could see plays in Detroit, I could always get to Toronto to see things,” he said. “But it’s true, it’s hard to go to school (in Windsor) and then make a career there. You pretty much have to leave.” In 1988, Cimolino finally broke into Stratford as an actor, slowly building his way up from a performer to a director and eventually as the organization’s artistic director. Cimolino described Stratford as a place for theatre nerds of all shapes and sizes. While the festival attracted international attention, it was also a way for Southwestern Ontario to witness the best and the brightest right in their backyard. “There’s all sorts of disciplines that wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing if it wasn’t for the Stratford Festival,” said Cimolino of the 1,200 people employed by the organization. “It’s served as an incubator, an accelerator for those interests, and I don’t think Canadians realize how lucky we are.” After nearly 40 years at Stratford — 14 of those spent as executive director and another 14 as artistic director — Cimolino is ready to close the curtains in this chapter of his life. How does he plan to end his time at the festival? To surround himself with talented actors and recreate that bridge between an audience and the art once more. Cimolino is directing Saturday, Sunday, Monday, a play about a big Italian family in the 1950s reconciling with their intergenerational differences over the course of a weekend. “It spoke to me, it’s about the power of family to heal each other, and it kind of tells us something that we all hope to be true,” he said. He’s also directing Shakespeare’s the Tempest, which tells the story of an exiled sorcerer seeking revenge after his brother betrays him. Cimolino chose it as his final play while watching the divisions in society grow to extreme heights. “The Tempest is a story about overcoming those differences, forgiving each other for what has made us feel hurt by the other,” he said. “I felt like that’s an important story to tell right now.”