'''Richard Michael Boland''' (August 7, 1953 – January 30, 2024) was a Newfoundland actor, director, and activist.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web | title=Rick Boland, driving force in N.L. arts and left-wing politics, dead at 70 | website=CBC | date=2024-01-31 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/rick-boland-nl-obit-1.7100593 | access-date=2025-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/extension/id/68/|title=The Arts Interview. Rick Boland : On Stage}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Richard Michael Francis Peter Aloysius Boland was born in Curling, Newfoundland. His family later relocated to Corner Brook, where he joined the improvisational group Youtheatre.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |date=2024-02-18 |title=Newfoundland actor Rick Boland engaged in activist theatre in the hope of changing lives |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-newfoundland-actor-rick-boland-engaged-in-activist-theatre-in-the-hope/ |access-date=2025-08-26 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref>
In 1971, Boland enrolled at Memorial University of Newfoundland to study cultural anthropology and became active in the university's Drama Society. He left his degree program to tour with the Newfoundland Travelling Theatre Company before joining the Mummers Troupe.<ref name="auto1"/>
==Career== With the Mummers Troupe, Boland participated in the creation and touring of collective productions that addressed local issues, including ''Buchans a Mining Town'', ''Gros Mourn'', and ''What's That Got To Do With the Price of Fish?'' During the early 1980s, he worked with the Resource Centre for the Arts to develop plays based on oral histories, such as Terras de Bacalhau and Makin' Time With the Yanks, for which he archived interview and script materials.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-newfoundland-actor-rick-boland-engaged-in-activist-theatre-in-the-hope/|title=Newfoundland actor Rick Boland engaged in activist theatre in the hope of changing lives|date=February 18, 2024|via=www.theglobeandmail.com}}</ref>
In 1978, Boland co-founded Rising Tide Theatre with Donna Butt, David Ross, and others.<ref name="auto"/> He was a regular performer in the company's annual political satire, Revue, which began in 1984. He also co-authored the ''New Founde Land Trinity Pageant'', a historical walking tour in Trinity created in response to the 1992 cod moratorium to promote cultural tourism. The production's success supported the establishment of Rising Tide’s summer theatre season in the town.<ref name="auto"/>
Boland's film credits include ''Finding Mary March'', ''Extraordinary Visitor'', and ''The Divine Ryans''. His television appearances included roles in ''Yarns From Pigeon Inlet'', ''Up at Ours'', and the series ''Hatching, Matching and Dispatching''.<ref name="auto"/>
==Activism and archival work== Boland was involved in political and social activism. A supporter of the New Democratic Party (NDP), he served as a campaign manager and was a candidate for the party in provincial by-elections in 2003 and 2007.<ref name="auto2"/> He was also active with the LGBTQ community, the Native Friendship Centre (now First Light), and the Newfoundland and Labrador AIDS Committee.<ref name="auto"/>
In 1982, Boland co-founded the Newfoundland Performing Arts and Archives Project at Memorial University. In 2009, he was inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Hall of Honour.<ref name="auto"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{imdb name|0092692}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boland, Rick}} Category:1953 births Category:2024 deaths Category:Male actors from Newfoundland and Labrador Category:20th-century Canadian male actors Category:21st-century Canadian male actors Category:Canadian male film actors Category:Canadian male stage actors Category:Canadian male television actors Category:Canadian theatre directors Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:Canadian gay actors Category:People from Corner Brook Category:Candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador provincial elections Category:Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party politicians