Remembering Bill Torrie

Bill Torrie, a long time Calgary community theatre director, died at the age of 58 on August 16, 2017, while snorkelling in Hawaii.

Bill was a well-respected member of the performing-arts scene who helped shape careers and brought together a community.  Tributes were pouring in on social media on Sunday as the news spread.

Bill has been involved in Recreational Theatre longer than it’s polite to say. He most recently directed The Weir, Sea Marks, and August: Osage County for the Liffey Players, where he was also a board member. For Calgary’s other Community Theatre Companies he has directed a variety of shows from, That Championship Season (TimeQuake) to The Drowsy Chaperone (Cappuccino) to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Morpheus) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Front Row Centre), among others. Bill was also past-president of Calgary-ACTS where he helped champion local causes with city council and WCB issues for volunteers.

He was a jack of all trades, from set design to acting, but was best known as a director. In 2006, he received the Sandy Singer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Theatre.

Over about 40 years, his passion has been felt by many in the city. He was described as humble, passionate and dedicated, and leaves a legacy for others to follow.

(with excerpts from Calgary Herald and CBC News)