My Wedding Toast to Ben Sheldon
Sept 24, 2011 – Wedding of my daughter Mary to Ben Sheldon
I don’t think you realize that my family is from the hills of the south.
Why even my mama is here from Tennessee.
Ben, to welcome you to the family,
I would like to offer an old family toast.
May your banjo play bright and crisp
May your coffee be dark and rich
May your ‘shine be smooth and sweet
May your best houn’dog warm your feetAll good things I wish for you (smile)
But remember and it’s true (shake your finger at him slowly)
Treat her right and don’t be naughty
Or they will never find the body
Ben. Welcome to our family.
Identical Twins
Identical Twins is a new 10 minute play.
An identical twin is dead. Was it a break-in gone wrong or a plot by his brother? And is the dead brother’s girlfriend in danger?
CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Damian – Twin 1 – nerd (dead) – just need a body. Could be a dummy
- Janus – Twin 2 – jock
- Martha – Damian’s love interest
- Policeman – either gender (Single line at play end)
Recycled Revelations play receives the President’s Award
Recycled Revelations by Rich & Dorothea Helms had its first public presentation, as a staged reading, at the Snapshots Short Play Festival, May 10, 2025. Theatre on the Ridge, Port Perry, Ontario. Archive videography by Grey Bear Creative.
I am pleased to inform you that your play has been awarded the President’s Award as selected by the jurors to recognize a play’s unique quality or contribution to the festival. The jurors, who have provided the following comments:
We chose Recycled Revelation for our President’s Award for utilizing the theme of this year’s festival to cleverly demonstrate how the physical, the relational and the metaphysical intersect. The quilt is the vehicle of exploring history, memory and the relationship between adult children and their ageing parents.
Recycled Revelations – Third play accepted
A seller of unusual items works the rummage sale with her dead father.
Recycled Revelations by Rich & Dorothea Helms had its first public presentation, as a staged reading, at the Snapshots Short Play Festival, May 10, 2025. Theatre on the Ridge, Port Perry, Ontario. Archive videography by Grey Bear Creative.
I am pleased to inform you that your play has been awarded the President’s Award as selected by the jurors to recognize a play’s unique quality or contribution to the festival. The jurors, who have provided the following comments:
We chose Recycled Revelation for our President’s Award for utilizing the theme of this year’s festival to cleverly demonstrate how the physical, the relational and the metaphysical intersect. The quilt is the vehicle of exploring history, memory and the relationship between adult children and their ageing parents.
The Snapshots Short Play Festival returns May 9 and 10 with a full weekend of creative energy and original storytelling.
This year’s theme is “Patchwork: The Crazy Quilt of our Lives” — and we’re celebrating with three exciting public events.
Location:
Anglican Church of the Ascension, 266 North St., Port Perry
Admission is Pay What You May
Saturday, May 10 | 2:00 PM
Festival Readings
Hear this year’s selected short plays performed aloud, then join the post-show Q&A and vote for your favourite in the Audience Choice Award.
Writing a Short Play Workshop
Saturday, March 15, and Saturday, March 22, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Uxbridge Public Library
$40 fee for both classes
This fall, the well-loved Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts (COTA) will add a new activity: a “Short Play” Writing Contest. In preparation for this exciting event, the COTA executive will offer a workshop on how to write a short (10 minutes or under) play. The two-part workshop (requiring a fee of $40 total) will be held on Saturday, March 15, and Saturday, March 22, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Uxbridge Public Library, and will be conducted by experienced playwright Rich Helms.
“In addition to taking courses at George Brown College and Toronto Metropolitan University, I completed a Graduate Certificate in Playwriting from the Humber School for Writers,” Helms says. “Two of the plays I wrote with my wife, Dorothea Helms, have been produced—one in Port Perry and the other in Dublin, Ohio. Many short play festivals calls for entry limit the length to a maximum of10 minutes. It may sound simple, but it can be a challenge.”
Participants do not need previous playwriting experience to join. The first class is a tutorial covering play structure, script formatting, playwright groups, etc. For the second class, students will bring a one-minute (yes, that’s one-minute) play they’ve written to be read and discussed. “It’s going to be fun,” Helms adds, “and we hope to awaken a passion for yet another branch of the arts.”
Want to write a play but have no idea where to start? Getting a full length play produced is a challenge, but there are many “Short Play Festival” calls for entry. A short play has three main characteristics:
- It should be 10 or fewer minutes long
- It should have four or fewer characters
- It should require no elaborate costumes, set or props.
Sounds simple, but as Mark Twain wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” The class is being taught by Rich Helms. I quickly learned that writing a short play was fun but challenging.
The 10-minute play “Dear Angie” took my wife and I about 30 person hours to write.
- On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Theatre On The Ridge in Port Perry performed our play “Dear Angie” that Dorothea and I wrote as part of the Snapshots Short Play Festival. We also won the Audience Choice Award.
- The 2025 call is out, deadline April 1, 2025. We will discuss with some of our thinking on our entry for this year.
- On Jan 31, February 1,2, 2025 our short play “On the Edge” premiered at Stage Right Theatrics‘ annual theatre festival 2025 at the Abbey Theater of Dublin in Dublin, OH.
Through my journey, I found groups, organizations, websites and other resources. My purpose in designing this course is to teach the basics and provide a comfortable environment for participants to write a short play.
Class 1 – Tutorial
Saturday March 15, 2025 2-4 PM, Uxbridge Public Library
Cost $40 total for both classes
- Each student will be given access to the online materials
- Play structure. We will dissect two short plays
- Script formatting with templates
- Groups of fellow playwrights
- Facebook Playwright Groups
- New Play Exchange (NPX)
- How to find short play festivals
Class 2 – YOUR 1 Minute Play
Saturday March 22, 2025 2-4 PM, Uxbridge Public Library
- Student will bring a 1 min play they wrote. Can be a scene or part.
- Script will be read and discussed.
(eTransfer $40 to writer@wsws.ca to register) Have questions and to register, email Rich Helms rich@richhelms.ca
Click for Poster PDF
On The Edge will Premiere at Stage Right Theatrics: The Home of the Natural Theater®
Our short play “On the Edge” will premiere at Stage Right Theatrics‘ annual theatre festival 2025. Performances will be January 31 and February 1-2 at the Abbey Theater of Dublin in Dublin, OH.
As Adam teeters on the edge of life, he encounters a mysterious presence.
(10-minute, 3 character play)
Review on New Play Exchange: Tom Erb
“This play feels like a “Twilight Zone” episode, which I totally relate to. Putting into words and describing the space between life and death could be daunting, but not for Rich Helms. Through the character of Adam, he explores the stages of grief with grace and gravity, complete with off-stage voices to add a layer of depth, making the off-stage characters very real. With a light and serious tone, “On The Edge.” is an engaging and reflective theatrical experience—a truly unique one!”
Dear Angie Won Audience Choice Award – Saturday, May 11
On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Theatre On The Ridge in Port Perry performed the play “Dear Angie” that Dorothea and I wrote as part of the Snapshots Short Play Festival.
Audience Choice Award – Saturday, May 11
Dear Angie by Rich and Dorothea Helms
$100
Each member of the audience was given a ballot to vote for their favourite.
The play can be read at the New Play Exchange.
Thank you Theatre on the Ridge and in particular director Carey Nicholson and cast members Carey, Barb Clifford, Graeme Powell and Conrad Boyce.
Dear Angie’s Premier
On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Theatre On The Ridge in Port Perry performed the play “Dear Angie” that Dorothea and I wrote as part of the Snapshots Short Play Festival.
“Like Dear Abby, diner owner Angie dishes out advice and food to her patrons based on their needs and wants, not a menu — that is, until she meets a guest she can’t read.”
The reveal of the secret caught the audience off guard, causing them to gasp. For many, myself included, the tears flowed. The staging was unlike anything we had imagined. At first we wondered how it would work, but it was genius.
Thank you Theatre on the Ridge and in particular director Carey Nicholson and cast members Carey, Barb Clifford, Graeme Powell and Conrad Boyce.
Dear Angie – Short Play
Theatre on the Ridge is a not for profit professional theatre company performing throughout the year in Port Perry, Scugog Township and the Durham Region. The Port Perry Snapshots Short Play Festival is an annual playwriting competition presented by Theatre on the Ridge to foster the development of local playwrights. In 2024, as this year’s source of inspiration, we recognize and celebrate some of Scugog’s diverse dining establishments as we explore the theme of food under the theme of Food for Thought.
Our play, Dear Angie, was selected and will be performed on SATURDAY MAY 11TH – PROGRAM B.
Port Perry Snapshots Short Play Festival
Program A - May 10, 7:30 pm
Program B - May 11, 2 pm
Port Perry Anglican Church of the Ascension 266 North St., Port Perry, ON