Obituary of Dugald Van Orden MacArthur

Dugald MacArthur passed away early Tuesday morning, September 29, 2015, as a result of Alzheimer's disease. Mr. MacArthur, beloved by many in the Philadelphia theater community, was last seen "on the boards" when he received the 2009 Barrymore Lifetime Achievement Award, Philadelphia's version of the Tony Awards. This was a highpoint in a long and illustrious career in the theater. Mr. MacArthur was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929. The son of a prominent businessman, he was groomed to do the same. Educated at Kent School in Connecticut, he received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and finally his M.B.A. from Harvard University. He had no real experience in the theater until a friend took him to see a production at Baylor University in Waco, directed by the famous innovator, Paul Baker. He knew immediately that theater was what he wanted to do. After receiving his M.A. from Baylor, Mr. MacArthur was hired as the Director of the Arkansas Arts Center – funded generously by Winthrop Rockefeller. He established a professional theater degree program that produced actors of national recognition. His production of a play about the state prison system was suppressed before it opened, and evolved into the movie Brubaker with Robert Redford and Jane Alexander. Mr. MacArthur was then appointed as chairman of the Theater Department at San Francisco State University during the time of student riots against the Vietnam War. During that explosive time, he directed Marat Sade. A year later, he was approached by Herbert Blau, then co-director of the Julliard School, and Robert Corrigan, founder of the NYU TISCH School of the Arts, to join them in the creation of a new college training program funded by the Disney family. Mr. MacArthur recruited students and formulated the curriculum of what is now The California Institute of the Arts. Three years later, Mr. MacArthur was chosen to lead the Master of Fine Arts program in Theater for Temple University. During his twenty-five years at Temple, he recruited and trained many actors who continue to work and thrive in the profession. He also directed many plays, notably: Noises Off, The Time of your Life, Our Country's Good, Three Sisters and the Cherry Orchard. His production of Moby Dick Rehearsed won the Best Ensemble at the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. Regionally, he directed at People's Light & Theatre Company, Villanova Shakespeare Company, The Pennsylvania Festival for New Plays, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Act II Playhouse. He also directed at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College, The Loeb Drama Center at Harvard University, and StageWest in Springfield, MA. After retiring from Temple University, Mr. MacArthur was a director, consultant and board member for the Lantern Theater. He directed several plays for Lantern including The Bacchae, Speed the Plow, Copenhagen and Novecento. He was nominated for a Barrymore award in 1998 for The Steward of Christendom, and also won a Barrymore in 1996 for his direction of The Lower Depths for The Venture Theater. Mr. MacArthur is survived by his wife, Christine, daughters Gwyneth, Meredith, and Alexandra, his son, Lorne, grandchildren, Kira Hanlan, Brigid and Rhys MacArthur-Thompson, and three great-grandchildren: Maeve, Fiona, and Colleen Dougherty. Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 PM on Monday, October 5, 2015, The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 S. 38th Street (between Chestnut and Market Streets), Philadelphia, PA. (www.philadelphiacathedral.org) A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dugald's memory may be made in support of the Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Center at Jefferson University Hospital. Please make checks payable to Jefferson and mail to: Office of Institutional Advancement, 125 S. 9th St., Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19107 or donate online by visiting Advancement.Jefferson.edu/memorialgiving