Breaking down Mahoning County theaters

Their missions may be the same, but each community theater has its own style.
By DEBORA SHAULIS and MARGARET NERY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
To be or not to be ... different. That is the question for community theaters.
There are more than 7,000 such groups across the United States, according to the Texas-based American Association of Community Theatre. That's one theater for roughly every 40,000 U.S. residents, based on U.S. Census figures from 2000.
Locally, Mahoning County has the highest concentration of theaters. Four of the county's five groups are located in the city of Youngstown -- Victorian Players, Oakland Center for the Arts, Youngstown Playhouse and Youngstown State University Theater. The fifth is Move Over Broadway Productions, which performs in DeBartolo Executive Center Auditorium in Boardman.
Let's break it down even more. Each of our theaters stands out for some reason, whether it's for play selection, theatrical environment, historical significance or the personalities behind the productions. Take it from some reviewers who visit these places regularly -- no two are carbon copies.
Mahoning County
* Oakland Center for the Arts, founded in 1986, is the area's equivalent of Off Broadway. Its leaders often choose plays that are newer, lesser known and sometimes controversial. In recent years, the Oakland has produced an original comedy, "The Romeo and Juliet War," by Boardman native Michael Dempsey; "The Laramie Project," which was based on the aftermath of a killing of a gay college student in a small Wyoming community; and, with nude scenes intact, "Love! Valour! Compassion!," Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play about relationships between eight men who share a summer home.
* Victorian Players stage often original and always unusual productions in a converted church at 702 Mahoning Ave. Unlike other theaters where lights are dimmed to signal the beginning of the show, it is the pealing of the church bell that calls the audience to their "pews" when the Players are ready to perform. Jean Kelty -- a tiny slip of a woman with a gigantic imagination, boundless energy and a huge amount of dedication -- is the guiding force. Instead of writing director's notes for the program, Kelty sits on the edge of the stage before each performance and gives an overview of the play. Kelty also writes plays.* Youngstown Playhouse, the elder statesman of local theater, is getting a makeover. A new box office and employee office suite have been completed. Ongoing renovations include the front lobby, Adler Arena Theater, Intermission Lounge and main stage theater, as well as construction of an outdoor performance space. Add to that the existing Moyer Banquet Room and the Playhouse is among the largest theater facilities in the region.
* Youngstown State University Theater offers a wealth of opportunity for budding thespians. Every year, the schedule includes an opera, since the College of Fine and Performing Arts has vocal music majors as well as theater students. Large productions are staged in 400-seat Ford Theater, while smaller shows are housed in Spotlight Arena Theater. Blackbox Productions puts students in the director's chair and offers yet more roles for aspiring actors.
* The word "move" aptly describes Move Over Broadway Productions, which was founded in 1994 and had its first home at Canfield High School's auditorium. Three years later the theatrical group moved to Pointview Ballroom, relocated to the Amedia Center and in 2000 finally settled in at DeBartolo Executive Center in Boardman. The group is dedicated to performing quality live theater and to encouraging intergenerational participation. Although the energetic singers, dancers and actors are amateurs, not quite ready for the Great White Way, the majority make up for it in enthusiasm.
Trumbull County
* Trumbull New Theatre is one of a handful of local theaters -- including Youngstown Playhouse and YSU Theater -- to facilitate post-performance discussions with experts, cast members and the audience when serious subjects are tackled dramatically. With room for 172 patrons, there's not a bad seat in the house, either.
* Kent State University Trumbull Campus Theater comes closest to offering stadium-style seating. Besides the steep rake, the rows of seats are convex, so people sitting at the very ends don't have to strain their necks to see the action. Keeping the audience's view in mind, Kent Trumbull's stage crews have been known to use everything, including the floor, to carry out decorative schemes. For example, in a recent production of "The Princess and the Pea," actors stepped across a floor that had been painted to look like marble.
Columbiana County
* Salem Community Theatre boasts of some 300 volunteers who are involved in the intimate little theater, which is wedged in between two businesses in the heart of Salem. Determinedly it has survived some testy internal problems and manages to remain a viable source of impressive productions, ranging from dramatic works such as "The Miracle Worker" to family-pleasing presentations of the "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."
* Stage Left Players of Lisbon uses a former church as its main theater and has learned to make the most of it. An L-shaped stage takes up one corner of the performance space. Seating is in pews that curve across the room, and the center aisle runs diagonally. The nontraditional stage worked well for a production of the female version of "The Odd Couple." Two scenes were built -- a living room and another room where characters played cards. Stage Left also performs during summers in David Anderson High School auditorium and Waterworth Park in Salem.
Western Pennsylvania
* New Castle Playhouse's Augustine Auditorium has an Art Deco style that takes us back to the days when it was known as the State Theater, which is the oldest existing theater building in Lawrence County. It's been home to New Castle Playhouse since 1987. Several years ago, the playhouse management opened an Annex Theatre in an adjacent one-story building, with seating for approximately 100 people. Productions alternate between the two theaters, and the extra space enables the playhouse to offer community concerts, cabaret-style shows and children's theater.