In Fond Remembrance of Lindy Cowan
November 25, 2025
From Artistic Director Aislinn Rose
“We, and the artists and community who have found a home at 1115 Queen Street West, shall be forever grateful. Thank you Lindy.”
Lindy Cowan and Chris Hatley being celebrated at the naming event for The Theatre Centre’s Franco Boni Theatre in 2016, and the closing of our capital campaign.
I first met Lindy in 2014. I had applied for the role of General Manager at The Theatre Centre and had gone through a first-round interview with Franco and some members of the board that had been pleasant, informal, and conversational. I was later invited back for a second interview, and that was to take place at the Canadian Opera Company’s offices. There I was met by some of the original selection committee members, and introduced to one Lindy Cowan, Theatre Centre’s board member, and the COC’s Chief Financial Officer. We sat at a long table with me on one side, and them on the other, and Lindy got to work with her questions. Apparently she was going to be the only one asking them that day… and let me tell you… I was INTERVIEWED. Her questions were considered, detailed, probing, and, perhaps surprisingly, really enjoyable to respond to in that they required equally considered responses. Ultimately, while presenting as a somewhat intimidating figure, I think she brought out the very best in me as an applicant.
Pictured: Lindy speaking at the board fundraiser at Comedy is Art in 2022, one of her final official duties in her role as President of the Board.
And it was with that dynamic established that I began my long working relationship with Lindy… bringing out the best in me from day one. I always say that I had never wanted to work for an organization, and I certainly had never aspired to become a General Manager, being a creator and producer at heart, but the pull to The Theatre Centre was its Artistic Director Franco Boni, and the Residency program. Lindy became Treasurer of the board around the same time as I began my tenure as GM, and her expectations were, appropriately, exacting. It’s fair to say that my rudimentary understanding of project budgets was not up to snuff when it came to organizational operating budgets and financial statements. Thus, my education with Lindy began.
From 2014 to 2023 Lindy and I went on a journey together in which I went from General Manager, to Creative Producer, to Artistic Director, while Lindy moved from board member, to Treasurer, to Board President. It is fair to say that much of my professional development over those years is a direct result of Lindy’s patience, her generosity, her financial genius… and yes, her exacting standards. I did NOT want to let this woman down. In those early years, my proudest moments were the times she would say, “well, you certainly know where every penny is”, after a 30 minute inquisition into updated financial projections.
And it must be said: these standards and expectations made the organization better in every way. When you are working with limited resources, and every penny counts, knowing where each of those pennies are allows you to choose incredibly responsive paths forward within what could become a more cumbersome vehicle if you’re less careful. You might be riding a bicycle while everyone else is driving a car… but we all know who gets around traffic faster in Toronto. (An analogy I think Lindy would appreciate,)
As both our roles shifted over the years, so did our working relationship. The kinds of questions I needed to ask, and the advice I sought as an Artistic Director leading the entire organization were very different. We met regularly, and often offsite and in person, with the space she made for me to simply lay it all out on the table and say, “what now”, “what the hell”, and sometimes even “what’s the point”. Her guidance and understanding throughout the pandemic years was especially appreciated, particularly as she worked with me to understand exactly what information the board would need from us as we argued to keep our staff together while the building was shuttered. This wasn’t her saying “they’ll be against this course of action,” but instead saying “here’s how you can empower us to support this decision and feel good about it”.
So here’s where I feel it’s important to say that I would not be the Artistic Director I am today without Lindy Cowan. Oftentimes the people who manage the money side of our creative pursuits aren’t given the credit they deserve. They’re sometimes seen as the people who like to say no, or who only care about the bottom line and not about the artistic vision, and this couldn’t be further from the truth for Lindy. She stayed with us for 10 years because she believed in who we are and what we do, and so her role was to help ensure that we could continue to be who we are for as long as possible.
“Lindy and her husband Chris were also instrumental in The Theatre Centre’s ability to build and nurture a permanent home for artists and community members.”
Lindy and her husband Chris were also instrumental in The Theatre Centre’s ability to build and nurture a permanent home for artists and community members thanks to their generous contributions to our ambitious capital campaign, including helping us to close that campaign in 2016. Our doors are open thanks in part to their generosity and we have always looked forward to welcoming them over the year as some of our favourite audience members, coming to a wide range of programming, and sometimes staying late and closing down our bar with us at the end of a night (putting some of our younger staff members to shame). We continued to welcome Lindy and Chris multiple times as audience members after we finally released her from her board responsibilities, in between their extensive world travels of course. We loved to hear about their adventures abroad (shaming us once again with their vitality and physical fitness!). With both Lindy and Chris being such big fans of a good time, I feel happy knowing the last show they attended together was our presentation of the hilarious and beautiful Monks.
Receiving the news of Lindy’s passing has been devastating. Heartbreaking. We’ve been robbed of this incredible human way too soon, but of course her incredible legacy lives on after her decades of work at the Canadian Opera Company, and her near-decade of work tutoring this probably-under-qualified-but-determined-to-not-let-her-down General Manager/Creative Producer/Artistic Director of the significantly smaller but certainly mighty place called The Theatre Centre.
We, and the artists and community who have found a home at 1115 Queen Street West, shall be forever grateful. Thank you Lindy.
To learn more about Lindy Cowan and her legacy, you can visit the obituary here.