It's rare to find someone in the theatrical world about whom nobody seems to have had anything bad to say - before or after they died. Stephen Pike was one such person.
Mr Pike died on Saturday, June 29 at the age of 69 at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney after complications from heart surgery. He had a long career in Canberra and Queanbeyan as an actor, writer, director, producer and arts administrator. He also encouraged and help develop emerging talents, some of whom went on to professional careers, including opera singer Lorina Gore and musical theatre performer Billy Bourchier.
His success was all the more remarkable as he was essentially self-taught, learning from observation and experience.
Stephen Pike was born in Parramatta on November 19, 1954 to Russell and Betty Pike and showed signs of being a performer early in life. His younger sister, Anne Ashmore, said, "He'd always been interested in singing. My dad and brothers had a lot of records - South Pacific, Mario Lanza ... he would listen to them and sing along."
The young Steven moved to Canberra with his parents and younger sister and sang in school choirs. His family owned and and ran a boarding kennels business from 1974 to 1984. His niece, Rebecca Maiden, said "Steve helped run it. He loved animals."
But Mr Pike's true calling emerged when at the age of 24 he was approached by Charles Oliver, then president of Tempo Theatre, in 1978. The company was looking for male chorus members for a production of Calamity Jane.
"He said, 'I don't know how to sing or dance or act,'" Mr Oliver said.
But Mr Pike joined anyway and fit right in, displaying plenty of talent.
"He didn't know he had the voice he had," Mr Oliver said.
Mr Pike went to appear in many other local musicals including Godspell, Hair, Chess and Jesus Christ Superstar. He played Jean Valjean in two Canberra Philharmonic Society productions of Les Miserables, one of which won him a Combined Area Theatre Award. His friend and fellow performer Julie Jenkins said, "He owned that role. I was gobsmacked to hear his voice in full flight."
But he also developed his offstage talents. In the early 1980s he began to run dining venues that featured cabaret and comedy shows including Tarzan's Theatre Restaurant where he produced, directed and performed in many shows, two of which won him Combined Area Theatre Awards. Mr Oliver worked with him on many shows and said Mr Pike maintained an even temper despite the pressures and egos involved in such ventures: "I never, ever saw him angry."
Mr Pike was also a prolific and versatile director for theatre companies around Canberra and in Queanbeyan, working adroitly across genres. His musicals included Blood Brothers and Chicago and among his plays was Waiting in the Wings. He won a Canberra Critics Circle Award in 2012 for, as the citation read in part, "his confident and imaginative direction of the Queanbeyan City Council's production of Hair".
He directed the 1997 and 1998 finale concerts for the Canberra Festival and was artistic director for the 2000 National Christmas Tree and Carols in front of Parliament House. He was a judge for the CAT Awards and directed its awards night for many years. The CAT Awards' co-founder, Coralie Wood, said, "Working with him was a dream, an absolute dream ... If he was directing something he did it in such a lovely way - where a lot of people yell and scream, he was always so gentle."
He was business manager for Canberra Repertory Society for several years and was the first program director for the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, putting together a wide variety of local and touring productions with a strong emphasis on shows from the ACT and Queanbeyan.
Mrs Ashmore said, "He was the best brother - we were really close ... He was always there for me; he always had time for all of us."
Ms Jenkins said, "His greatest legacy was what he did for so many people."
Mr Pike is survived by his sister Anne Ashmore and his brothers David and John and their families.
- A memorial event, Stephen Pike, A Celebration of Life, will be held at Erindale Theatre on Sunday August 25 at 2pm (arrive by 1.30pm). Please register to attend at stagecenta.com.
