Theatre has been a lifelong passion for Tibor Feheregyhazi. He began his career at the age of six, performing several children’s roles and as a member of the Hungarian Radio Children’s Company in his birthplace city of Budapest.
In 1951, at the age of nineteen he joined the Hungarian Theatre and Film College as an acting student. He completed his studies in June 1956, having already played a film lead in the Hay- Keleti film, The Bridge of Life, and the part of Tony in Mother by Karel Capek at the Gaiety Theatre in Budapest.
In 1956, everything changed for Tibor. As a young idealist during the Revolution, he lived through amazing times. The fall of the revolution took him to Vienna, then on to Italy, where he worked on the David Selznick film A Farewell to Arms.
In 1957 he arrived in Canada and took a job as a floor washer in an Ottawa hospital. Fortunately for us, Tibor kept himself busy in theatre. He became a director with the Ottawa Little Theatre, and in 1961 and 1962 won the Best Production and Best Director awards at the Eastern Ontario Drama Festival. A gent by the name of Rich Little performed the leads in those productions.
In 1963 he returned to his studies, this time at the National Theatre School of Canada as a student of Theatre Production French Section. He graduated in 1965 and since that time he has worked with numerous companies, including the Canadian Players and the world-renowned company The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he was Production Manager and prepared the company for the 1968 European and Russian tours. He traveled with the company in the same capacity and completed three tours of the United States and Canada. In 1969 he joined the Manitoba Theatre Centre as Production Director and later as Resident Director.
In 1975 he became a freelance director working at the Citadel Theatre, The National Arts Centre, Rainbow Stage and The National Theatre School. He also played the part of Rosenzweig in The Guardsman at the Shaw Festival and the National Arts Centre with Lila Kedrowa and Paxton Whitehead in the leads.
Between 1976 and 1978 he was Founding Artistic Director of The School of Performing Arts, which became an arm of Winnipeg’s Rainbow Stage. In the fall of 1978, Magnus Theatre of Thunder Bay mounted its first season under Tibor’s direction. Within two seasons the subscription of the Magnus doubled. Over the next three seasons, enormously successful productions such as Servant of Two Masters, Hosanna, Equus and Waiting for the Parade made professional theatre in Thunder Bay a reality. Tibor was on the Advisory Committee for the Canadian Council from 1980 through 1982. On July 1, 1982 he enthusiastically took over the role of Artistic Director at Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre. and has remained there ever since. He has received many awards and honours, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal, Honourary Life Membership in Canadian Actor’s Equity in 2003, The Rotary Golden Wheel Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2003-4. He was inducted into the Margaret Woodward Theatre Hall of Fame of Saskatchewan in 2004.
Margaret Woodward Theatre Hall Of Fame 2004 Inductees Left to right: Laurier Gareau, Harold Woodward, Yvonne Ellis, Tibor Feheregyhazi, Walter Mills
Also in 2004 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada with the following citation:
Tibor Feheregyhazi – Saskatoon
Dedicating his career to the developing of the performing arts in Saskatchewan over the past two decades, Tibor Feheregyhazi has transformed Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre into a vibrant and highly successful company. In his role as artistic director, he has not only introduced his audience to important works from the international repertoire, but he has also displayed a strong commitment to local playwrights. In addition, he has served as a valued mentor to young people through his summer workshops and has provided opportunities to Aboriginal artists to tell their stories.
For his current work and projects see website of Persephone theatre at http://www.persephonetheatre.org/.