Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Maraden, Marti
Actor/director born in El Centro, California, June 22, 1945, who has been a staple creator at the Stratford Festival for nearly three decades.
She came to Canada in 1968 with then-husband actor Frank Maraden to avoid the draft. They settled in Vancouver but during cross-country auditions for Stratford both she and her husband were accepted into the company. In the 1970s she became one of the company's great ingenues; her beautiful voice, elegance and loveliness were lent to The Tempest, Hamlet, and the magnificent John Hirsch production of Three Sisters (she played Irena opposite Martha Henry 's Olga and Maggie Smith's Masha) among many others.
After playing Reagan opposite Peter Ustinov in King Lear, she left Straford to work in New York but was soon encouraged by actor Nicholas Pennell to also teach. From teaching she began to co-direct works (for Actors Equity showcases, among others) and then in fully professional venues, notably the Shaw Festival (where she also performed).
Since returning to Stratford she has helmed Love's Labour's Lost, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Les Belles-soeurs and A Man For All Seasons among others.
She also directed the world premiere of Elliott Hayes ' Homeward Bound as well as his Hard Hearts ( Canadian Stage , 1996). She also directed the John Guare comedy of manners, Six Degrees of Separation in 1995 at Canadian Stage. She has helmed at Theatre New Brunswick and Manitoba Theatre Centre .
In 1997, after a period of review for the company, Ms Maraden was appointed artistic director of the National Arts Centre English theatre (where she had previously directed, notably Carol Shields ' Thirteen Hands ). Among the works she has directed for the company, since, is Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband (1998), Michael O'Brien's adaptation of Dickens' Hard Times (May, 2000) and All's Well That Ends Well (May, 2001).
In April, 1999, she directed the Saidye Bronfman Centre production of Arther Miller's The Price.
(Additional information provided by Lindy Cooksey and Alvina Ruprecht)
Last updated 2009-04-24
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