Robin Strasser

One Life to Live's Dorian Lord has been arrested for the stalking of her daughter, Adriana. Because of this, her lover, Clint Buchanan, has left her. And all the while, Adriana is busy plotting revenge against her mother.

One would think Dorian would be feeling pretty down and defeated right about now. One would be wrong.

As Robin Strasser, Dorian's portrayer since 1979, explained to me: "Dorian's champagne glass is always half-full, not half-empty. She is fairly confident she can get Clint back. She is moving David into her home on a platonic basis (ha-ha!) to help him get back on his feet. We'll see how long he stays on his feet!"

If you know what she means. And if you watch OLTL and know anything about Dorian, then you know what she means!

And now that Adriana and Rex are closer than ever, it seems that Dorian's plan to break them up was all for nothing. "I want to point out," Robin offered, "that there has been no emphasis on the fact that sneaky Rex once tried to frame Dorian for murder."

Robin has been through it all with Dorian in her almost 27 years on OLTL. Throughout the years she has taken time off from the soap, but something always keeps pulling her back to her soap family. "It's a fabulous part. I love the work I do. It's a privilege to still be a working actor. I am happy to work with (executive producer) Frank Valentini. He's been with the show for 20 years. Many of us vets watched him grow up. He's the primary reason I came back again (in April 2003)."

But right now, one of the most important things on Robin's mind is her charity, One Life, Many Voices for Hurricane Relief. Twenty-three actors from OLTL have contributed their time, money and talents to produce tracks for the One Life, Many Voices CD. One hundred per cent of net proceeds (96 per cent of gross) goes to help with the relief effort for the devastated areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. So far, US$74,000 has been donated.

Robin, producer of the CD, explained how it all came about: "(After Hurricane Katrina) I came to my fellow castmates with the idea: 'Would you produce your own track? I'll put it together in a CD, and we'll distribute it to our fans and contribute the proceeds to hurricane relief.' People responded so enthusiastically. They did a fabulous job."

Aside from two hours of music from 23 'OLTL' stars, the CD comes with a 32-page booklet of portraits taken by Michael Easton (John McBain) of all the people involved with the project.

Devastation and destruction

Robin has been to the hurricane-ravaged areas three times since January 2006 and has seen the devastation and destruction firsthand. "One year afterward, as much needs to be done as a year ago," Robin said. "On an individual level, we all should be doing anything and everything we can. Each time (I visit) my heart is filled with such empathy and pain - to see the needs there that are not being met. Children and older people are dying at a faster rate than normal. The older people see everything they've worked a lifetime for - pictures and family heirlooms - just swept away. Their spirits have been broken."

Robin is dedicated to getting her message out to the masses. With little to no national coverage, it's been difficult. "I am going to ramp up this campaign. I've got to find a way to get our message out there."

To purchase the CD, with all proceeds going to the Hurri-cane Relief Fund, go to www.onelifemanyvoices.com or to any Barnes & Noble bookstore.