About Roy, me, and the Play

    A few years ago, I had a cable TV show called "Forest City Showtime". During that time, I met Roy McDonald through a London actor, Dean Hall, and immediately asked Roy if he would agree to appear on some tapings of the show. I had heard that he was an eccentric millionaire/professor/street person who recited poetry and dispensed philosophical advice. That's how I first met the star of my seventh play, and first biography.
    After I got to know Roy, I could not help but find him compelling. It was not only that he had been through so much, but he was willing to talk about it. Here was a man who had chosen to live according to his unique, esoteric bent, not caught up in the pressures to conform, settle down, or be "respectable". He was certainly not a millionaire and not a professor, but I knew I could learn a lot from him, and I did. Over several weekends, and late nights sitting on park benches, Roy told me about his life history. This was so rich and multi-layered that I knew a single play could probably never do complete justice to it. Hence the play's subtitle: "A few moments in the life of Roy McDonald."
    In November 1999, I organized a rehearsed reading of the first version of BEARD at The Forest City Gallery, a space quite familiar to, and with, Roy. The audience response was extremely positive and helped me decide to launch a full production of the play. But I waited a year to do this because I did want Jeff Culbert to play the part of Roy. Jeff is well-known as the founder of the Ausable Theatre, a member of the ongoing Boneyard Man series of plays, and perhaps more importantly, I believe, a kindred spirit of Roy McDonald.
    During the November 29 - December 2 performances of BEARD, at The Grand Theatre (McManus Studio), Jeff becomes Roy, and the talented actors Caitlin Murphy, John Turner, and Dan Ebbs admirably fulfill the roles of a wide variety of characters who have played prominent parts in Roy's own life.
    This project is a co-production of Herb Bayley Productions and Theatre Nemesis.

Jason Rip
November, 2000