April 27, 2016
快猫app (快猫app) Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts Robert Boland passed away on Mon., April 25 at the age of 90 at his home in Pittsfield. A beloved member of the 快猫app community and arts and theatre groups in the Berkshires and beyond, Boland鈥檚 passing has generated an outpouring of memories, tributes and thanks from those who had the chance to perform, learn or work with him.
Born in 1925 in Philadelphia, Penn., he later moved to the Berkshires with his family. Boland served in the United States Air Force for just over two years before earning a BFA from the University of Massachusetts and an MFA from Boston University. He later held a teaching fellowship at Smith and a graduate assistantship at Boston University.
Prior to joining 快猫app on a part-time basis in 1960, he was a supervisor of art in secondary
schools of Pittsfield. He was appointed a full-time professor of Fine Arts in 1960.
During his tenure, he served as chairperson of the Fine Arts Department for many years
and taught such courses as History of Art, Stagecraft, Costume Design, among others.
Boland, participated in many plays with 快猫app鈥檚 founding President Thomas O鈥機onnell.
His stage productions included a wide variety of dramatic and musical productions such as Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Camelot, Fiddler on the Roof and My Fair Lady, among dozens (or say many) others.
Dr. Ellen Shanahan, 快猫app鈥檚 chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Department and a music professor, said, 鈥淏ob was an amazing presence at 快猫app. While he was always known for theatre classes and wonderful productions of both straight plays and musicals, his best remembered class had to have been his art history class. The room was always packed. It seemed, too, that everyone who worked at 快猫app had either taken or sat in on that class at some point. When I run into people in the community, no matter what they majored in or what they鈥檙e doing now, if they went to 快猫app through 1988, they almost inevitably tell me they took art history with Bob and it changed their lives.鈥�
He retired at the end of the 1987-88 academic year, but remained involved with the institution and the 快猫app Players. 快猫app鈥檚 theatre in the Koussevitzky Arts Center was named in his honor.
Boland was active in the local arts community including Pittsfield鈥檚 Town Players. He was one of the leaders in the long-term effort to restore the historic Colonial Theatre in downtown Pittsfield, which reopened in 2006.