Anne Nothof has devoted two decades to the love of theater

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The job pays nothing, takes a lot of time and sometimes makes people angry. But for the editor of Canadian Theater Encyclopediait’s worth helping to showcase the theater community from coast to coast.

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“We are finally recognizing that we have a lot of stories to tell in Canada, and theater is a great way to tell them,” says Dr. Anne Nothof of Sherwood Park, a retired English professor at Athabasca University who , in 2022, celebrates 20 years as publisher of the online resource.

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If you haven’t heard of it (and you wouldn’t be alone), the Encyclopedia of Canadian Theater (CTE) is a huge collection of profiles belonging to approximately 1,000 professional practitioners across the country – primarily playwrights, actors, directors, designers and artist-makers, living and dead, who have made significant contributions to the theater scene in Canada. Hundreds of theater companies are also included.

It’s a key resource not only for everyday people who love Canadian theater, but also for students, teachers, critics and bloggers who want to keep up to date with who’s who in the Canadian theater scene.

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Want to know when Stratford acting giant and director Martha Henry died? Want details on the latest award given to Edmonton actor Sheldon Elter? Wondering who idol Paul Gross is married to? It’s all in the Encyclopedia of Canadian Theatre.

“It’s probably the most important source of reference that we have in the field of (Canadian) theater and Anne has managed to make it authoritative,” says Dr. Robin Whittaker, associate professor of drama at St. Thomas of Fredericton and President of the Canadian Association for Theater Research (CATR).

It’s also relatively current, with some biographies getting a refresh as recently as November 2022.

“My COVID-19 project was bringing everything to light,” says Nothof, who in 2021 received a lifetime achievement award from CATR for her work as an educator, researcher and website writer. “I started with the Aces and finished them in two years. I do my research as much as I can and hit on the relevant points for Canadian theater involvement.

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Nothof began contributing to the CTE in the mid-1990s and took over editing the site in 2002 when its founder, Quebec theater critic Gaëtan Charlebois, could no longer do the job. At the time, Nothof was still a full-time professor and busy with her own research, which includes two anthologies of and about the work of acclaimed Alberta playwright Sharon Pollock, as well as collections of essays and plays focusing on the theater in Western Canada, particularly Alberta.

Since retiring in 2010, Nothof has spent countless hours combing through a variety of sources for material ranging from play schedules to theater company websites to Facebook reviews of upcoming shows. The site’s entries include photos, as well as the artist’s training, awards, and career background, albeit controversial. Albert Schultz’s profile includes the fact that he was forced to resign in 2018 from the Soulpepper Theater in Toronto due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Likewise with the biography of former Citadel artistic director Bob Baker, who was kicked out of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association in 2019 following bullying complaints.

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People sometimes contact Nothof in a sullen mood if they notice that a theater artist is missing from the catalogue. Nothof invites anyone interested – from members of the public to academics – to submit a profile if there is a gap.

“(The website) is comprehensive but not exhaustive. It’s not possible, it would be an impossible job,” says Nothof, who thanks Athabasca University and Athabasca Press for supporting the project.

The site receives more than 86,000 visits per year, of which approximately 79% are launched in Canada, followed by 9% in the United States. The rest of the sessions are recorded from countries ranging from India to Russia.

“It has a pretty broad reach,” Nothof says.

The website was once heavily focused on talent from Quebec and Ontario, but over the years of Nothof’s involvement, more voices from the West and East Coast have been included. Indigenous artists are increasingly represented and you will also see more references to Ukrainian-Canadian work.

“There is a theatrical wealth in the country now, especially in supporting and developing new works,” says Nothof. “The Canadian theater scene is quite extraordinary.

yegarts@postmedia.com