by Douglas Beattie

"...a highly entertaining property...audiences are giving standing ovations to Beattie's tour de force" - Variety

On June 10, 2006, Walt Wingfield passed another milestone in his remarkable career with a performance of Wingfield's Progress at the Fergus Grand Theatre, Fergus ON, as part of three-day fund raiser for the Reminessence Festival. It was Rod Beattie's 3,500th performance of a Wingfield play in a little over twenty years.

From the Orange Hall in Rosemont, Ontario, (August, 1984) to Fergus (June, 2006), with official openings at the McManus Studio Theatre in London, ON (Letter From Wingfield Farm in 1985), The Arbor Theatre in Peterborough (Wingfield's Progress in 1987), the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, BC (Wingfield's Folly in 1990 and Wingfield Unbound in 1997), and the Stratford Festival (Wingfield On Ice in 2001 and Wingfield's Inferno in 2005)

Walt and Rod have delighted capacity audiences across Canada in most major regional theatres, including the Vancouver Playhouse, Edmonton's Citadel, Theatre Calgary, the Globe in Regina, the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, the Grand in London, the Stratford Festival, the Royal Alexandra Theatre and Canadian Stage Company in Toronto, Theatre New Brunswick and the Neptune in Halifax, as well as hundreds of smaller venues.

They've also taken part in seasons at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park and the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Florida. The first three Wingfield plays were broadcast on CBC Radio's Morningside, a TV version of Letter From Wingfield Farm (produced by Primedia Productions) won the 1991 "Gemini" (Canadian TV) Award for Best Performing Arts Program, and in November 1998, a series of thirty half-hour TV episodes, entitled Wingfield, produced by Norflicks Productions, made its debut on CBC Television. Rod Beattie has won three best actor awards for his stage performances in the Wingfield plays: The "Sterling" in 1988 (Edmonton, Alberta), the "Dora" in 1992 (Toronto) and the "Critic's Award" in 1995 (Sarasota).

Biography

Doug became an independent producer and director in 1979. His association with Dan Needles goes back to childhood summers spent on the farm. In addition to heading the Wingfield team, Doug has been guest director at the Stratford Festival; the Belfry Theatre, Victoria; Thousand Islands Playhouse; Theatre Orangeville; the Blyth Festival; the Piggery Theatre (North Hatley, Quebec); Gryphon Theatre, Barrie, and the Grand Theatre, London, Ontario (The Perils of Persephone).

He was consultant to Primedia's television production of Letter From Wingfield Farm which won the 1991 Gemini Award for best performing arts program and is co executive producer of the Wingfield TV series. He is also Founding Artistic Director of Touchmark Theatre in Guelph, Ontario, and President of Douglas Beattie Theatrical Productions Ltd. Which markets the audio and video recordings of the Wingfield plays.