Another example of media long lost during the early writing days. This one goes all the way back to 2006! Robin was an actor, briefly, and it made him realize how much he preferred to be behind the scenes. The attention on him just skyrocketed his anxiety, but he had an awesome time doing character work in performing Howie Newsome, Sam Craig and a rooser in Mercury Theatre's production of Our Town, directed by Brad Rudy. Robin liked spending time in the basement of the theatre, and looking at the props and wardrobe. It was a lovely little space, sort of a converted church in St Marys, Ontario (where he'll later return to do Ruby in the Dust).  

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He had a little script he wanted to have read. He met the lovely Douglas Chamberlain as a child actor at Stratford doing Inherit the Wind in 2001, and Dougie returned to be featured in Our Town. Because of his jovial, humorous, almost Winnie the Pooh quality of an older guy, Robin realized he was perfect for the character Roy, an elderly blue collar widow taking perhaps his final romantic shot with his neighbour. Mercury Theatre's head honcho John Leberg greenlit a reading on a sunny afternoon, and they cobbled together a couple other actors: Lally Cadeau to play the neighbour Helen, and Jeffrey Wetsch playing Adam. Robin's friend Lindsay McMahon came in from Toronto to play Helen's daughter Jennifer, a teenage mom. Of course, Robin was still green as a writer, but received a lot of encouragement to keep developing.  The title was originally called "Helen and Roy", but Lindsay kept jokingly calling it "Helen of Roy" until it stuck. So does it properly reference the Greek mythology? Who cares right now. 

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Helen of Roy will return in August 2026. Sort of like drawing from memory, the play will be restructured that way. Whatever moments that stuck with the writer, will be on the page. 

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