Words can not express the pain one feels when they receive a call saying that someone who has had a great impact on their life has passed away. This is exactly what happened to me when a fellow actor and friend of mine, who has worked at the Wagon Wheel Theatre, called and told me that Roy Hine, artistic director at the Wagon Wheel, had passed away suddenly while he was in Warsaw directing the holiday show "Cinderella."
Roy Hine has been a devoted director at Wagon Wheel for more than 10 years. He has spent countless hours making sure that each show presented on the Wagon Wheel stage is of the highest level. His loyalty to Wagon Wheel has benefited the citizens of the Warsaw area. Roy provided audiences of all ages with a quality of theater that matches that of Chicago and New York. As an actress myself, I have seen a wide variety of theater and I can honestly say that the productions Roy presents at Wagon Wheel are of the same professional standard.
Roy Hine was the man who hired me for my first professional acting job at the Wagon Wheel when I was a young child growing up here in Warsaw. As many frequent Wagon Wheel patrons know, I spent many years since then acting at the Wagon Wheel. My last production at the theatre was this past summer as Millie Owens in "Picnic." As I am now grown and working and auditioning at theaters around the country, I always remember where I came from, and I am awfully proud. The artistic passion that Roy taught me growing up is something that I carry with me in my work to this day.
As residents of Warsaw, I hope that if you are able to attend "Cinderella" this holiday season, you will do so. We should honor the work that Roy Hine has done for Wagon Wheel. I am certain that the cast of "Cinderella" is pulling together, in loving memory of their director Roy Hine, to guarantee that audiences this holiday season will see the quality of theater that Roy spent his life striving to create.
I wish the cast, as well as the remaining staff, especially choreographer Scott Michaels and technical director Mike Higgins (who have been with the theater as long as Roy) the best this holiday season with the opening of "Cinderella." As citizens of Warsaw, I hope that you will be able to attend this production and support the arts in your community, which Roy Hine had spent the last years of his life preserving. Thank you, Roy, for all you have done for us. You will be greatly missed.
