Bill Adkins

William Adkins, (died March 28, 1982) was a Canadian noted for his 50 plus years service to amateur theatre. circa 1889. Over many years, he worked as electrician, carpenter, scene shifter, scene painter, set builder, and, from 1927, stage manager. During World War II, Adkins arranged and stage managed shows for troops. Adkins continued as stage manager of the Ottawa Little Theatre after the war, travelling with it to the Dominion Drama Festival and other regional performances. He also supervised visiting stage managers when Ottawa hosted drama festivals, Adkins was still stage manager at the time that the Ottawa Little Theatre burnt down in 1970, and when it reopened after rebuilding in 1972, with improved stage facilities. He retired from the theatre in 1979, In 1973, the first year it was awarded, he was invested with the Member of the Order of Canada, "for his 50 years' service to the amateur theatre movement in Ottawa and to the Dominion Drama Festival". In 2013, during their 100th season celebrations, the Ottawa Little Theatre named him as a Cornerstone Inductee, an honor instituted for volunteers who made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the theatre.