It’s amazing how things change as you get older. A lot of the things are amazing in an unhelpful and unnecessary way. For example, “That’s amazing! I can’t believe there’s that much hair in my nose!” Now, there are positive aspects to ageing – although you may have to look harder to find them. Perhaps the greatest of those qualities is appreciation.

I’m a Bruce County boy. It’s a miraculous place. If you told me that ten years ago, I probably would have scoffed and called you a bad name. But now I know it’s true. To stand on Lake Huron and watch the sun set into the water is something you can see a thousand times and never tire of. I think of Grey & Bruce County and I think of the beautiful farm country, the wide open space, the rivers, the lakes and the pervasive feeling of compassion and friendliness. I spent 16 summers of my life on there and – if truth be told – I couldn’t wait to leave. The canopy of stars under the Port Elgin night sky just weren’t bright enough for me. I had performed on the Roxy stage in Owen Sound and it just wasn’t big enough. I was drawn to the glossy, shiny, glitter of Toronto and all possibilities that existed there. And so, I left for the city.

But times change and things that seem big and important in the days of your youth become smaller and less important. And you feel a pull. You feel drawn to other people, to other times…to other places; like home. And that’s where I find myself now. After more than a decade living in the bright lights at the breakneck speed of the big city, I can think of nothing that I’d rather have than a few acres of farmland and the big, beautiful sky in the county where I grew up. It’s possible I dream of home because I associate it with youth and a different time. But it’s more plausible that I have recurring dreams of clear, starlit nights on the beach because it’s where I belong. I need the space. I need the stars. I need the people. I need to stand, spread my arms and turn in a circle without bumping into someone or being yelled at for my insensitivity.

And that’s what Come See is about. It’s about getting older and appreciating the things that are so easy to forget, take for granted or overlook: laughter, the seasons, the stars, the person who’s stood beside you for so long. I wrote it while I was doing a play by an incredible writer named William Saroyan called “The Time of Your Life.” I had just finished doing “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder and both plays point at the same thing: the preciousness of life and how important it is to enjoy every minute you have. Despite my best efforts, Saroyan says it better than I ever could. I just added the music. ;)

“In the time of your life, live—so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it." – William Saroyan