BY RIC WELLWOOD
"Whenever I go back to Sudbury, I marvel at how much it has
changed. It's gorgeous, compared to the time when I was a
child."  These words from Antoni Cimolino summed up
his  observations about the city where he grew
up. 
He says he can still taste the sulphur in his throat from the
time when air pollution was not as regulated as today. 
Now executive director of the Stratford Festival, Antoni was
born into the household of Gino and Vera Cimolino, a working
class couple who lived on Martindale Rd. in the city's South
End.
Gino worked as a construction foreman and Vera was on the
housekeeping staff at Memorial Hospital.
The Cimolinos were a close-knit family and Antoni was a
source of pride for his parents, both of whom were intent on
Antoni becoming a success.
His primary education was at Corpus Christi, and eventually
he enrolled at St. Charles College, which he recalls as "a bit
rough".  He notes that trips to nearby Marymount College
had a civilizing effect on the boys of St. Charles.
The two colleges combined to put on dramas under the
direction of Mr. Pernod of Marymount. He confesses that the
time spent at the all-girls school was ideal for meeting the
fair sex, as well as creating fun theatre.
Antoni was editor of the school yearbook and was noticed by
the head of English at St. Charles. Mr. Goddard encouraged him
to pursue a career in the arts, possibly as a writer.
Upon graduation, Antoni chose the University of Windsor to
further his education because, as he put it, "My parents would
have killed me if I hadn't gone to university.".
It was there that he met and courted his wife Bridget, who
eventually became part of the Stratford Festival Company in
those years when she didn't take time out for their son
Gabriele and daughter Sophia.
Antoni was also part of the acting company and performed in
several productions before he was encouraged to direct.
He has also directed in Michigan, where he has won awards.
This season, his production of Coriolanus opened to stunning
reviews.
As busy as he is, Antoni still keeps in touch with his best
friend from his childhood in Sudbury. Mark Kamstra became an
economist who worked at York and Simon Frazer Universities as
well as the American Federal Reserve in Atlanta.
At the end of this year, his situation at Stratford will
change as retiring artistic director Richard Monette prepares
to step down.
In December, Antoni will become general director of the
festival, supported by a team of four artistic directors who
will be named later this month.
So far, his journey to the top rung of the ladder has been sure
and steady, with an artistic organization that is not only
world renowned, but also a primary industry in Stratford that
has created 3,000 full-time jobs either directly or indirectly.
His alma mater hasn't forgotten him. He and classmate
Colleen Blake, who now runs the Shaw Festival with artistic
director Jackie Maxwell, received honorary doctorates in
humanities from the University of Windsor.
Gino and Vera Cimolino did not live long enough to see the occasion, but you can bet they would have been proud.  
Ric Wellwood is a writer and broadcaster.
