A love letter to Saint John: Toronto actress finds comfort in filming location

A Toronto actress has fallen in love with Saint John after spending three months in the Port City filming a new TV show. 

The first episode of Revival premiered in June, and while it takes place in rural Wisconsin, those with a keen eye might recognize some of the images from the snowy New Brunswick landscape.

"New Brunswick just had beautiful, beautiful locations that actually match the small-town feel very well," said actress Romy Weltman.

"Everything is historical, and nothing's really been rebuilt or touched there, so it does have an old feel and a historic feel to it, which is super important in the world of Revival.

"I think that it was just a no-brainer. If we weren't filming in Wisconsin, it had to be in Saint John."

Weltman, a 25-year-old Toronto-based actress, moved to Saint John from September to December last year to take on the role of Martha (Em) Cypress in the horror drama. 

The story revolves around "revival day" where everyone who died over the preceding two weeks comes back to life, said Weltman. And Weltman's character, Em, soon finds out that she is a "reviver" and must then navigate her life as a new human in a world where revivers are treated differently. 

WATCH | 'I was there alone, but I didn't feel alone at all,' says Romy Weltman:

Toronto actress on her love for Saint John

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Romy Weltman moved to Saint John for a three-month stint to film a TV show, which is releasing in one-episode instalments, starting last month. She says she fell in love with the atmosphere and the people.

This shoot was Weltman's first time on the East Coast. Ironically, she had booked a personal trip to Halifax, but it fell during the first week of filming, so she ended up just going to Saint John instead.

Weltman said she loved the walkability of Saint John and its small markets and shops.

"I didn't feel very guilty when shopping in Saint John, because I was always like, 'I'm supporting local so it's fine,'" she said.

While the main headquarters was in the uptown, Weltman said a lot of the filming also took place in smaller towns outside of the city and at some beautiful farms with lots of land.

One of Weltman's favourite parts of the uptown was Catapult Coffee, which she proclaims is her "favourite coffee shop in the entire world."

Weltman said she feels like she ate her way through Saint John.

"I've never had a lobster roll like that," she said.

One weekend, she drove to Fredericton to explore, and another time, she went with some of the film's crew to Saint Andrews where she saw whales, porpoises and seals.

Although Weltman doesn't know yet if the show will have a second season, if she gets to come back to film again, she hopes to come a bit earlier to try and explore more of the East Coast. 

During filming last October, Weltman posted to her Instagram with the caption, "a love letter to Saint John, N.B."

And for her, part of that affinity comes from the welcoming nature of the city. 

"I'd just walk outside and I met so many of my neighbours … and I just feel like within a day, I was already a part of it all, and it felt really lucky," she said.

"Where I was living could have impacted the experience in such a positive or negative way, I think, and I was lucky that it was positive."