It is with heartfelt sadness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved friend and WMTC family member, Norm Cassidy-Anderson, after a courageous short battle with cancer.
Norm’s involvement with WMTC initially started in 2005, as both Father and big supporter of his son and our President, Marcus. Becoming actively involved through his assistance with set building, where he used the knowledge he gained through his previous trade of carpentry, he eventually took on the role of ‘Head of Construction and Workshop Coordinator’ from 2010 to 2017, and was in this role for a total of 21 of our productions.
In his early years, Norm studied art at school and was involved in a band, which performed across Melbourne, playing the rhythm guitar and vocals. He was also a roadie for professional bands and in his spare time enjoyed sculpting.
Norm enjoyed the creative aspect, as well as the challenges of working in the theatre environment. His set design / scenic art credits include WMTC’s productions of Red Hot and COLE (2013), a set he was most fond of due to his love of the Art Deco Era, the set for the Australian Premier of Catch Me If You Can (2016) and Urinetown (2012) for which he was nominated for Best Settings by the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria.
In addition, Norm contributed his wide range of skills to many other of our productions through both scenic art and the making of specialty props (with at times, much patience and humour). In recent years, he continued to assist and provide advice, as well as organise materials for the construction of WMTC sets. For the Men’s Shed, based at the Hobsons Bay Community Workshop in Altona, he also ran woodwork and other classes for general users as well as those with disabilities, which brought him much joy.
Norm will be terribly missed by all at WMTC. We thank him for his mentorship of our theatre community for all things set orientated but also and most importantly, for his great friendship, kindness and never ending sense of humour.
Our deeply felt condolences, thoughts, and love to Norm’s family and friends.
Vale ‘Normie’
5 months ago
