Wagon Wheel Theatre Staff Fondly Remembers Roy Hine
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
"I think, probably, one of the biggest things Roy needs to be remembered for was that he gave 100 percent of his life, until his death, to the arts," said Bruce Shaffner, Wagon Wheel Productions Inc. president, Monday morning.
Business Manager Emily Cowan said, "Roy was an absolute perfectionist when it came to his job and the performances he put on here."[[In-content Ad]]Hine, Wagon Wheel's artistic director, made the theater what it is today, she said.
Hine, 51, of Chicago, died Nov. 21 of heart failure while he was working on Wagon Wheel's production of "Cinderella." Services for Hine were Sunday in Jamestown, N.Y. A local memorial service at the Wagon Wheel is being planned. Shaffner said they hope to release that information in the next couple of days.
Shaffner said his relationship with Hine was more than just employee and employer.
"First of all," Shaffner said, "Roy was a friend to me as well as a business colleague."
Shaffner said everyone involved in the Wagon Wheel Theatre wants Hine's legacy to continue and live on.
Mike Higgins, WWT production manager, knew Hine in college. He first worked with Hine at the Wagon Wheel in 1984 when Hine was a scenic designer. In 1993, Hine returned to the WWT as a scenic designer and guest director. Higgins came back to the Wagon Wheel to work with him.
"He's inspired me, pushed me, he's been a tremendous friend," said Higgins.
Hine would stay up hours working on a set, always the last one there, Higgins said. Hine made sure everything was finished. "He would not rest until that happened," Higgins said.
Higgins said he couldn't tell how many people were influenced by Hine and are still are to this day. Hine made people want to come back to work at the Wagon Wheel.
"Personally," said Higgins, "he was a great friend and a person who I stole as many great ideas from as possible."
"What people don't know about him is his great sense of humor," said Cowan. She said Hine was always on the go, but he took the time to talk to customers, which she thought was great and really appreciated.
Hine was not only the WWT's artistic director, but also its set designer. Shaffner said it will take two different people to do those jobs.
"We were blessed that Roy had those talents to do both," he said.
WWT's holiday show, "Cinderella," opens Friday. Shaffner said choreographer Scott Michaels will direct "Cinderella" for the rest of this season.
Shaffner said they are working on finding someone to fill Hine's "big shoes" for the 2008 summer theater season. In the past, he said the WWT always had at least one guest director, sometimes two, so it would be nothing new for the theater to have someone else in there. It's a big chore to direct six shows per season, and Hine managed it while also doing the set direction.
Born May 6, 1956, in Jamestown, N.Y., Roy was the son of Roy and Angie Phillips Hine. A 1974 Southwestern High School graduate, he earned a bachelor's degree in speech and a master's of fine art degree in design from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Hine started working at the Wagon Wheel as a set designer in 1982. He was named artistic director in 1995.
His love of the theater started in the drama club in high school. He acted in a number of productions at the Little Theatre, Jamestown Community College and the Jamestown Consistory. In his junior year, he directed "The Wizard of Oz."
He moved to New York City after graduation from Northwestern University. He acted in a variety of productions there, and served as a resident designer for the Cortland Repertory Theatre, Cortland, N.Y., and taught drama at Cedar Crest College, Allentown, Pa.
Hine is survived by his parents and four siblings.
Memorials may be made to the Wagon Wheel Foundation, 2517 E. Center St., Warsaw, IN 46580.
"I think, probably, one of the biggest things Roy needs to be remembered for was that he gave 100 percent of his life, until his death, to the arts," said Bruce Shaffner, Wagon Wheel Productions Inc. president, Monday morning.
Business Manager Emily Cowan said, "Roy was an absolute perfectionist when it came to his job and the performances he put on here."[[In-content Ad]]Hine, Wagon Wheel's artistic director, made the theater what it is today, she said.
Hine, 51, of Chicago, died Nov. 21 of heart failure while he was working on Wagon Wheel's production of "Cinderella." Services for Hine were Sunday in Jamestown, N.Y. A local memorial service at the Wagon Wheel is being planned. Shaffner said they hope to release that information in the next couple of days.
Shaffner said his relationship with Hine was more than just employee and employer.
"First of all," Shaffner said, "Roy was a friend to me as well as a business colleague."
Shaffner said everyone involved in the Wagon Wheel Theatre wants Hine's legacy to continue and live on.
Mike Higgins, WWT production manager, knew Hine in college. He first worked with Hine at the Wagon Wheel in 1984 when Hine was a scenic designer. In 1993, Hine returned to the WWT as a scenic designer and guest director. Higgins came back to the Wagon Wheel to work with him.
"He's inspired me, pushed me, he's been a tremendous friend," said Higgins.
Hine would stay up hours working on a set, always the last one there, Higgins said. Hine made sure everything was finished. "He would not rest until that happened," Higgins said.
Higgins said he couldn't tell how many people were influenced by Hine and are still are to this day. Hine made people want to come back to work at the Wagon Wheel.
"Personally," said Higgins, "he was a great friend and a person who I stole as many great ideas from as possible."
"What people don't know about him is his great sense of humor," said Cowan. She said Hine was always on the go, but he took the time to talk to customers, which she thought was great and really appreciated.
Hine was not only the WWT's artistic director, but also its set designer. Shaffner said it will take two different people to do those jobs.
"We were blessed that Roy had those talents to do both," he said.
WWT's holiday show, "Cinderella," opens Friday. Shaffner said choreographer Scott Michaels will direct "Cinderella" for the rest of this season.
Shaffner said they are working on finding someone to fill Hine's "big shoes" for the 2008 summer theater season. In the past, he said the WWT always had at least one guest director, sometimes two, so it would be nothing new for the theater to have someone else in there. It's a big chore to direct six shows per season, and Hine managed it while also doing the set direction.
Born May 6, 1956, in Jamestown, N.Y., Roy was the son of Roy and Angie Phillips Hine. A 1974 Southwestern High School graduate, he earned a bachelor's degree in speech and a master's of fine art degree in design from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Hine started working at the Wagon Wheel as a set designer in 1982. He was named artistic director in 1995.
His love of the theater started in the drama club in high school. He acted in a number of productions at the Little Theatre, Jamestown Community College and the Jamestown Consistory. In his junior year, he directed "The Wizard of Oz."
He moved to New York City after graduation from Northwestern University. He acted in a variety of productions there, and served as a resident designer for the Cortland Repertory Theatre, Cortland, N.Y., and taught drama at Cedar Crest College, Allentown, Pa.
Hine is survived by his parents and four siblings.
Memorials may be made to the Wagon Wheel Foundation, 2517 E. Center St., Warsaw, IN 46580.
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