Dora Mavor Moore, OC (8 April 1888 – 15 May 1979) was a Canadian actor, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theater.

Contents 1 Life 2 Legacy 3 Further reading 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Life

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she moved with her family to Toronto in 1894, when her father, James Mavor (1854-1925), became a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto. ^[1]

In 1915 she married Francis Moore, an Army Chaplain, but separated from him in 1928. She had three sons: Francis Wilfrid Mavor, James Mavor (known as Mavor Moore), and Peter Mavor. ^[2] She was the first Canadian student ever to be accepted at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1912.

In 1938, she helped found an amateur theater group called the Village Players which performed Shakespeare plays in high schools of Ontario. After World War II, in 1946, she help found the New Play Society which was the first professional theatre company in Toronto founded after the war.

In 1947, the company presented its first Canadian play, Lister Sinclair's The Man in the Blue Moon. The Society also assisted in creating the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada. As well she helped to bring Tyrone Guthrie, the Tony Award-winning British theatrical director, to Canada. ^[3]

In 1970, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to theatre in Canada". ^[4]

[edit] Legacy

The Dora Mavor Moore Award, affectionately known as the Dora Award, is named in her honour.

[edit] Further reading

• Paula Sperdakos (1995). Dora Mavor Moore: Pioneer of the Canadian Theatre. ECW Press. 

[edit] References

1. ^ James Mavor fonds
2. ^ DORA MAVOR MOORE (1888-1979)
3. ^ Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
4. ^ Order of Canada citation

[edit] External links

• Dora Mavor Moore at The Canadian Encyclopedia