DEBORA SHAULIS | On the Scene Carrying on in honor of Kelty

Story overrides characters in old-fashioned melodramas, but it's the character of people that's driving the Victorian Players story these days.
Founder and director Jean McClure Kelty's death was a shock not only to those who knew her casually, but the Victorian Players family, too. Dawn Hoon, who, with Tom Jones, is directing the Youngstown repertory theater's current production, said members knew Kelty had battled cancer but weren't aware of her heart problem.
After the opening-night performance of "An Evening of One-Act Fantasies" on Nov. 13, Jean Kelty and her husband, Perc, went home. Jean told him she wasn't feeling well.
News of Jean Kelty's passing was reported the next day.
"We expected her to go on forever," said Hoon. A member of the troupe for eight years, Hoon was there the night that Jean Kelty showed up for a rehearsal just hours after undergoing surgery. "That's who she was."
One step at a time
How can Victorian Players continue without the woman who nurtured this group for the last 10 years? The answers have been coming one show, one meeting at a time.
First, they finished the two-week run of "An Evening of One-Act Fantasies." Just before the first performance without Kelty, someone remembered how she would calmly walk up the theater's center aisle, lean against the stage and give the audience some background information about the play. The task fell to Hoon.
"That was the hardest," Hoon said. "She always spoke off the cuff. I said what was in my heart."
The next step was to mobilize the troops in order to finish the season. Kelty, who was retired from the English department at Youngstown State University, devoted herself to running the theater and directing plays. "Next to Animal Charity, that was the love of her life," Hoon said.
Fortunately, Kelty had been training four actors as assistant directors. After her death, it was decided at a board meeting that Hoon and Jones would lead "The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's production of: 'Macbeth'," which continues through Sunday. John Thompson will direct "The Importance of Being Earnest" in March. Joan Hamilton will direct Kelty's original play, "The Horsehair Sofa," in May.
Hoon was "very nervous" on opening night last Thursday. "I felt like I was really in over my head," she said. She had a heightened sense of awareness of little mistakes and problems. She couldn't enjoy herself. She hoped Kelty wouldn't come back to haunt her for doing a bad job.
Also, Hoon realized the difference between doing a play with Kelty and without. "She had such high standards ... we never wanted to disappoint her," she said. Kelty would encourage them to just let go and have fun, but they never quite did fully let go, Hoon added.
Thrilled by review
Then came Vindicator reviewer Garry Clark's review, published last Friday. Clark called it a "charmingly funny performance" that would have pleased Kelty. Noting that the play calls for "boldly amateurish performances" from actors, Clark also wrote: "In truth, the audience would be hard-pressed to note whether any of the actors truly made a mistake or whether their comic antics are merely part of the action, thus making for a delightfully light evening of theater."
The review "made us cry," Hoon said. They no longer felt as if they were out in left field. That night, "We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves and have fun ... I think [Kelty] would have been proud of us."
Now the Victorian Players members are tackling the business side of the operation. The theater gets income from ticket sales, ads in programs, raffles and donations, but Kelty was still providing more than half of all operating funds, Hoon said. For now, they're cutting back on royalties -- that is, fees charged for the right to produce other people's plays. They're pooling their own money to pay for security guards and utilities. Volunteers have been showing up to run the stage lights and take tickets. They're considering more comedies and melodramas for next season, since those shows have historically drawn the biggest audiences.
The Victorian Players have been paying $1 per year in rent for the 125-seat theater at 702 Mahoning Ave., near Western Reserve Transit Authority's main office and garage. Kelty purchased the building, which dates back to 1890 and formerly housed a church. Perc Kelty has said he wants Victorian Players to continue and will continue to rent the theater to them for $1 annually, Hoon said.
The new Web site that Hoon designed still needs a commercial link, but in time it may help Victorian Players to find another source of income. Jean Kelty wrote many plays besides "The Horsehair Sofa." Since Victorian Players holds the rights to those plays, the group could receive royalties from other theaters. Hoon believes there may be interest among small groups that want profanity-free plays without the requirements of big stages or large cast numbers.
Add it all up, and perhaps Victorian Players can continue in Kelty's memory. "Even the doubters are starting to think 'Hey, there's a possibility'," Hoon said.
XDebora Shaulis is entertainment editor. Write her at shaulis@vindy.com.