Randy in STORY OF A BOY

A tribute to a fine man today.  I met Randy Blimkie at The Stone Church.  He came out for an audition when I was in charge of writing, directing and staging seasonal annual productions.   All the work was done by volunteers and Randy became one of my actors.  Randy passed away of cancer last week.   He had been receiving chemo treatments right in the middle of this pandemic.  Recently he had finished his chemo, but sadly, on May 2, he succumbed to the disease.

Randy acted in four plays at Stone.  The first one was STORY OF A BOY where he played Samuel – a man looking for love and finds it in a librarian who rebuffs him until finally she gives into his pursuit.  I learned very early on that Randy was a dedicated worker, always showed up on time and was eager to learn.  But he had the hardest time memorizing and remembering lines.  We (along with my sister Lisa who played the librarian) worked hard together to get Randy ready for his performance.   Below, I dug up a video of the 2nd to last Rehearsal for STORY OF A BOY – a behind the scenes look at the play.   Randy pops up at around the 1:50 mark.   Take a look:

Randy was the first to admit that learning lines was not his strength, but he had so much fun doing the play that he acted in three more of my plays at Stone.   For his second part in LISTEN TO GRACE, Randy played Tommy,  a burn victim with an intellectual disability.  I wrote the part specifically for Randy.   The character of Tommy repeated lines of other characters around him so it made it easier for Randy to learn his lines.  He wore a ton of make up because his character was burned in a massive fire at the home where he stayed.   He spent the entire play in a hospital bed.   His character was  obliviously happy as this photo shows below.

Randy in LISTEN TO GRACE

Randy played Edward Kersh in the third play he acted in called BLACK/WHITE.  In this play his character was an Iraq War veteran.  When he returned from his tour of duty, he was damaged in many ways that were more mental than physical.  His character was quiet, spoke often with one word answers.   Here’s Randy with the cast of BLACK/WHITE.  He sits top row, far right.

Randy in the cast of BLACK/WHITE

In MERCY & LOVE Randy played a Grandfather who suffered with Alzheimer’s.  Again, because of the nature of the part and the lack of lines, I wrote it with Randy in mind .  His grandson, James, helps take care of the Grandfather.  James wants to hear that is Grandfather  still loves him.  By the end of the play, the Grandfather remembers the words, tells James that he loves him and they hug.  The play ends on this poignant moment.

Randy in MERCY & LOVE

A few weeks ago, Randy reached out to me on my blog after I made the quarter-finals of the BlueCat Screenplay Competition.  Here’s what he wrote:

Knowing now that he re-entered the hospital a few days after he wrote that, and then died shortly after, reminded me how life is fragile, fleeting.  None of us know how long we have on this earth, but when you surround yourself with good people, you savor the journey that much more.  Randy was a good person, with a big, caring heart.    He was always in a good mood.  His smile and laughter lit up a room.  It was a pleasure to know and spend time with this man.   Thank you Randy.   Rest peacefully.