The Victorian Players
(Youngstown's Best-Kept Secret)
About Our Organization
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The Victorian Players About Our Organization |
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VICTORIAN PLAYERS WELCOMES YOU!
"Creating art for the love of it"
The Little Theater off Spring Common is like no other theater. We have converted a lovely old
church built in the 1890's into a small, intimate theater. We see our audience as family
and are eager to meet and chat with members of the audience after the play. We want all to feel that they are an important part of every play that we perform.
HOW WE STARTED (by Dr. Kelty)
"In March of 1993, Jean McClure Kelty, Elizabeth Ford, and Deborah Mitchell got together over tea to talk about establishing
a repertory theater devoted to Victorian plays. Shortly thereafter, Thomas Copeland and Patricia Schauweker joined, both expressing interest in set design and construction. Notices were sent out to various people who they
suspected might be interested, and auditions were announced for The Drunkard (a Victorian melodrama) to be performed in June of
1993 at The Oakland Center for the Arts. They needed 13 cast members for the play and somewhat magically, the
night of the audition, exactly 13 people showed up. They read it as "a sign" and certainly serendipity.
"In February 1994, The Players were invited to present The Drunkard in Cortland, Ohio, as a part of the
city's historical celebration. The cast had increased by then, and for the season of 1993-1994 the Calvin
Centre—a gym and entertainment center—was rented. There, performances of The Silver King , The Many Faces of Charles Dickens, and The Horsehair Sofa were held.
"The year 1994 was an exciting year for The Players. That is when the little church we now call home was purchased by Dr. Kelty. It is a lovely old building built in 1890, with stained glass windows, seating approximately 125 people. It is an intimate and charming setting for the kinds of plays The Players enjoy doing. We have applied to put the building on the historical record. "The original plan was to do only plays written by authors, mostly British, who lived at the time of Queen
Victoria from her accession in1837 to her death in 1901. We soon discovered that this restriction would be too limiting and branched
out to include many other works both British and American, but we have stayed within the spirit of the Victorian theater.
We choose plays which include Victorian "values," and most of our plays we publicize as "family entertainment." Wherever we
feel the plays are not suitable for children because the theme is beyond or would not appeal to them, we state that fact in the
publicity. We do abide by one rule: No obscenity, No hard profanity, and no violence on stage."
We began a as a repertory theater," working together very much as a group, a family," but we have recently opened our doors to actors and directors based elsewhere. These bring with them new life and new ideas, not to mention new patrons. "We have also solicited plays from Youngstowners and native Youngstowners. As a part of one Celtic Festival we performed The Wild Swans of Ireland, by Juiline Osborne McKnight and The Last Waltz, by Marie Taylor. One of the one-act plays in A Melodramatic Evening—called Victoria's Secret— was penned by Elizabeth Ford. "The promotions for the first play said much about the kind of theater that was envisioned by the group and much about the kind of theater we still are: "Return to the world of London fog, of gaslight, hansom cabs, and 2218 Baker Street. Return to a more leisurely world when people still believed in the triumph of good over evil. Return to the plays that are fun to watch, full of sophistication and charm—plays that say something positive and encouraging about the human condition—plays that have a clear-cut plot and characters who speak to us about loyaty, love, and kindness. Return to a world where magic and miracles are still possible. Laugh with us, cry with us—that's all a part of Victorian theater." |
How we started—Continued Editor's Note: Our founder and Director, Jean McClure Kelty, passed away November 14, 2003. She will be sadly missed. She was a wonderful woman whose passion was the theater and we intend to continue on the path that she laid out for us. She was training some of the cast members as directors, and many of us co-directed plays with her. Please help support the Victorian Players bymaking monetary contributions, attending the shows, telling your friends about our little theater, or maybe putting on one of the plays that Jean produced in your own little theater, school or church.
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ATTENTION: DIRECTORS OF COMMUNITY THEATERS: If you are interested
in plays for performance: The Victorian Players holds the production rights on the following plays by Jean McClure Kelty.
THE HORSEHAIR SOFA.. When Alex accidentally sets off her tear
gas gun and Peter fakes the whole thing with the media, a zany bunch of people invade the house in search of the ghost of
Queen Victoria. And thereby hangs the tale. A Comedy-Mystery.
JANE EYRE.. A modern adaptation of the classic novel by Charlotte
Bronte. A Drama.
SIX WESTERNERS IN SEARCH OF THE UNFINISHED STATEMENT.. Using
the technique of the Japanese Noh drama, five very contemporary westerners, reluctantly on the orders of their director, search
out the culture of Japan. Somewhere along the way their attudes, and maybe their lives, are changed.
CHARLES DICKENS AND THE GHOSTS OF LONDONTOWN...
In modern-day London we confront the ghosts of Charles Dickens and his many characters
performing sections from the books in which they live, and thereby return to Victorian England—its fog, its hansom
cabs, its haunting history. A Drama.
VOICES ON THE WIND: RETURN TO CAMELOT... Here we meet
the historical Arthur, Modred, Guinevere, Morganna, Merlin, and Vivien. Here we view, through "doorways in time," a realistic
tale of power and political maneuvering in an age not unlike our own. A Drama.
A GAGGLE OF IRISH GHOSTS (sequel to The Horsehair Sofa)... Alex and Peter are up to more fun and games. Alex inherits a castle in Ireland and they go to spend the summer there.
They find the castle inhabited by a gaggle of ghosts who live and who visit. Visitors include
Brian Boru, Grainne, and assorted other historical figures who decide to have a party. And quite a party it is with stories
and Irish music. A Comedy.
THE LAUREL AND THE ROSE... Based upon the life of Charles
Stewart Parnell, the uncrowned King of Ireland... A story of love brought into conflict with the demands of political power,
posing the eternal question: To what degree must we sacrifice our privacy in order to achieve and maintain public control? A Drama.
Note: All the plays controlled by THE VICTORIAN PLAYERS have been produced and performed by non-professional
casts in small theaters, lacking expensive equipment, lighting and scenery. Please contact us for prices on royalties or for futher information.
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