Workshop Players Tryouts – Sept. 1953

The same view today

Seventy years ago this month, Workshop Players was nearing the end of its first year in its new home, the former Middle Ridge School. The non-profit, volunteer community theater group had staged its first play at its new permanent location in February 1953.

Above is an article that appeared in the Journal on September 9, 1953. It's the first article about the group with a photo of its new home.

Back in 2015, I featured a two-part series about the theater group on this blog. Part 1 was a capsule history; Part 2 included various newspaper clippings.

It's nice to see that Workshop Players is still thriving today in its 75th season.

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This new series of clippings (below) document the move to the former one room schoolhouse on Middle Ridge.

November 28, 1952

December 17, 1952

January 16, 1953

February 4, 1953

February 11, 1953

Middle Ridge School Reunion – August 28, 1938

Although it has been the home of Workshop Players Theater for decades, the stone one-room schoolhouse on Middle Ridge Road has the honor of being one of the last ones in Lorain County still in operation at the end of the 1940s.

And like many schools, the Middle Ridge School hosted many reunions of its alumni over the years. The article below from the Monday, August 29, 1938 Lorain Journal tells the story of one gathering of former classmates.

As the article notes, “The little one-room stone schoolhouse at Middle Ridge, one of the two still in operation in Lorain-co, was the scene of great activity yesterday when a home coming and reunion was held.

Former teachers and pupils numbering 125 from Detroit and Clarkston, Mich., Cleveland, Oberlin, Vermilion, Grafton, LaGrange, Lorain, Elyria, and Amherst gathered at the home of Katherine Kolbe where a picnic dinner was served on the lawn.

“Following the dinner the school bell was rung and all went to the schoolhouse for a business session and program. The reunion was voted to be an annual affair.

“The school was beautifully decorated with flowers.”

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The Amherst News-Times of October 1, 1942 included this charming look about the still-operating school, written by Mrs. F. R. Powers.

A Cherished Memory Remains

By Mrs. F. R. Powers

It’s always most gratifying, for one who often finds pleasure in looking backward, to come upon something that bears a marked resemblance to a cherished memory.

Such was my experience when I attended the Fall Festival at the Middle Ridge school a week ago and discovered with wistful satisfaction that the district school hasn’t changed much since the days when it constituted the test tube in which I wriggled, among sundry other green and frightened contemporaries, for pedagogical survival.

They were all there – the twin cloak rooms, the worn floor boards, the big, little and middle-sized desks and seats, their once shiny surfaces smoothed satiny soft by decades of leaners and sitters. I saw the rangy expanse of blackboards, too, and the patriotic pictures and the flag and the box of maps upon the wall.

Certain familiar objects were missing to be sure, but since my recollections of them were not tender and their absence from the scene was by way of being an improvement, I rejoiced within myself that they were not there. Foremost among them would be the heating unit, which was down cellar and not belching smoke and grime a few feet from teacher’s desk. The coal oil lamps had been replaced by cheery electrical ones, and I noted that the community water pail and dipper were missing from the bench at the rear of the room.

In the beginning, there were those among us who started out bravely enough to be school ma’ams, but fell by the wayside. I recall one girl who had everything it takes to make a good teacher except courage. She was scared half out of her wits her very first day of teaching when all of the big boys came in thru the windows. Another young lady of my acquaintance was affrighted by the quantity and the quality of the big husky males who presented themselves on opening day in overalls and boots.

“I never had trouble with the big boys,” a friend of mine who taught a country school, too, once told me, “I flirted with them and we got along fine.” Unpedagogical to say the least, but effective. And brother, when they take you, still in your teens, and put you to teaching a country school (forty-four pupils and all eight grades, mind you) you’re liable to do a number of things that are unpedagogical – but by trial have been proven effective.

As I observed Mrs. Smith, who has presided as teacher at the Middle Ridge School for some years now, the thought persisted that here was a woman for whom country schools have never held any terror. She has been so busy, teaching capably and well the fundamentals of a good education to the boys and girls who come to sit at her feet, that she hasn’t had time to recognize the unpleasantries that might have presented themselves. Therefor they do not exist for her. Surely this must be so, else how could she have weathered so well the years of teaching that lie behind her?

From the brief impromptu program that Mrs. Smith and her charges presented the evening I was a guest at the Middle Ridge school, I gathered that the pupils up here are learning the things you and I learned – the good old, songs, facts and stories every American child should know. There was “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean.” (Why don’t we sing this song oftener in these spirited times? The text is real poetry and positively thrilling!) The little ones warbled “Twenty Froggies Went to School” (good stuff here for the youngsters to know. Remember the line that goes: “We must be on time,” said they. “First we work and then we play.”)? And to my delight a group of Sixth Grade pupils recited “The Village Blacksmith” and told the audience something of the poet Longfellow.

It’s going on twenty years since our school buses started rolling, leaving in their wake a trail of abandoned school houses round the countryside. Centralization had become the order of the day, and it was high time, too. By virtue of a spirited parental petition the Middle Ridge District School was permitted to remain open. And wholly upon evidence gathered with my own eyes and ears, I would venture to say that this little hall of learning has since become a greater factor in the lives of the people who live up Middle Ridge way than it ever was before. The happy scene of harvest festivals and Christmas programs and pleasant family gatherings, the Middle Ridge school house has blossomed into a community center of the highest caliber. And now, with motor travel in its present state, it would seem as if this same little school house was destined to play a part of even greater importance in the lives of its people.

There are twenty-three pupils enrolled at the Middle Ridge school this year. The Mothers’ club an organization with objectives similar to those of our P.T.A. (and I’ll wager ten times more fun, what with meeting around at the various homes for tureen dinners and the like) has a membership of fourteen.

So long as the Middle Ridge District School maintains the high degree of efficiency and service that characterizes it today, its doors should not be padlocked. The fact that it is operating on borrowed time should make no difference at all so long as its existence is justified by a showing of good words. Q. E. D.

And this, I believe, is where I came in.

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School was finally out for good for the Middle Ridge School by the early 1950s.

An article in the September 7, 1951 Amherst News-Times noted, “Closing of the Middle Ridge school house and transferring those pupils into the Amherst village school system effective this week brought forth vigorous complaints from six mothers living in the eastern part of the district affected.

“Closing of both the Middle Ridge and South Ridge schools, both one-room schools, was decided upon last spring by members of the Amherst Township local school board. Reason given for closing was the decidedly unsettled status of state aid for the schools and the distinct possibility that all aid would be withdrawn. Aid was being given for only one school and members pointed out that all aid might be withdrawn. Members also stated that the state board of education has very strongly recommended that all one-room schools in the state be closed.

“Complaints of the mothers this week were based on Clearview schools being closer to their homes than Amherst and also on their having to pay tuition to Clearview schools whereas the school board has already arranged to pay tuition to Amherst village schools from tax monies. They asked that either Middle Ridge school be re-opened or tuition charges to Clearview be dropped.”

But Middle Ridge School remained closed, and by late November 1952, the vacant building was leased by County Workshop Players for use by its theatre group.

Jean Schaeffer Article – September 9, 1968

Here’s another one of those great full-page profiles of local personalities that the Journal used to publish. This one is by Staff Writer Bob Cotleur and is a nice, well-written tribute to Jean Schaeffer. It ran in the paper on September 9, 1968.

We first met Jean on this blog back in 2015 when I did a two-part series on the history of the Workshop Players.

(Jean's husband, Dr. Roy E. Schaeffer, was featured on the blog himself back here.)

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The Workshop Players
Jean Schaeffer:
A Top Director
By BOB COTLEUR
Staff Writer

YOU’D LIKE Jean Schaeffer in spite of yourself.

She can be a bolt of lightning or a clap of thunder, but she surrounds it with a warm spring day and you know, somehow, the lightning and the thunder only made you more alive.

Jean Schaeffer is the wife of Dr. Roy E. Schaeffer of Amherst and Oak Point Road, Lorain, the mother of John, 23; Bill, 21; Tane (pronounced Tah-nay), 18, and Narda, 15. She’s one of the play directors at Workshop Players, the stage director behind the girls of the Miss Lorain County Pageant, an actress, bike rider, golfer but most important of all, she’s a girl.

Her age is 53 but her spirit is 25 and you can easily find yourself fooled at a compromise, say around 37 or 38.

She lives a wonderful, full life, but others must tell you that. Although a lucid, engaging, well-read and knowledgeable woman, she goes blank on one major topic: herself.

This isn’t a pea-soup fog of modesty or embarrassment. She’s the rare woman who knows how and why she will react, and doesn’t worry. Her instincts are as natural as orchids in Bora-Bora.

PERHAPS THE greatest tribute to her instincts is found in the mountains and valleys of emotions she carves as a play director. No one ever said it, but if a character role called for a new emotion, those who know her could easily believe she’d research the emotion until she knew its full force, and could then successfully demand it of her actor or actress.

Mrs. Ted (Jeddie) Driscol, of Lorain, a friend for ten years, appeared in the Schaeffer-directed musical “The Bells Are Ringing.” She said, “Jean did a remarkable job with a cast of 50 and a musical (in a theatre not built for a musical). It was a real feat.

“The thing about Jean is that she can take what’s hidden inside you and bring it out. I’ve seen her work with people with no experience and she’d get remarkable reactions.

“She... well, she illuminates. You look at her and her eyes are bright and alive. And it always rubs off on those she works with.”

Over 20 years ago Orlando (Pete) Petrillo of 955 N. Pasadena, Elyria, joined the fledgling Workshop Players and appeared with Jean Schaeffer in “Lost Horizons,” and he’s appeared in at least a dozen Workshop plays since.

“She gets involved, deeply and thoroughly. I believe she is the biggest part of the success of this theatre and that’s caused, in turn, by her intense interest in theatre and its success.

“She caused it to become a part of the Amherst community and she spread the magic to the countryside. She’s brought in such groups as the Sheffield Lake Kiwanians, the Methodist Men’s Club of Elyria and organizations from Oberlin and Lorain.

“This gal has the tenacity of a bulldog. She goes to any length for authenticity. In one play (the musical version is Fiddler on the Roof) much depended upon Jewish customs and dialogue. She got a Jewish authority on the subject – to increase authenticity.

“I love her dearly. She’s my gal. And no job is too small for her. She’s swept floors, sold tickets, acted and directed,” he said.

Petrillo has only acted with Jean a couple of times “but I certainly hope a good vehicle comes along so we can again.”

He has appeared in such plays as “Teahouse of the August Moon,” “Solid Gold Cadillac” and the only two musicals ever produced at Workshop. He is considered one of the area’s finest actors as Jeddie Driscol, a vibrant ghost in Blythe Spirit, is considered one of the finest actresses here.

THE JOURNAL’S Society Editor Louella Kepler is a long time friend who traveled to Europe with Jean on the Journal’s special tour last summer. She sees her in a different light, the light of civic events, as a friend and fellow voyager.

“Jean is very knowledgeable and alert to what’s going on around her. She is extremely fashion conscious and has traveled extensively. She collects unusual items and has a special fondness for elephants, small carvings or large.

“She’s also invariably late for appointments since she is so engrossed in the present. Once, at Montmarte, a young artist was making a charcoal drawing of her. Thirty-one people waited on the bus. When Jean finally arrived she said sincerely, ‘Oh, were you waiting? I’m sorry,’ they were.

“She’s also a sticker for showing appreciation. Once, when she learned I was in New York, she called just to say she was thinking of me. She wrote more post cards than anyone else on the trip. And she’ll buy a little gift for someone because she knows they’ll like it.

“Her family is tops on her list. She thought nothing of calling from Europe just to find out if everyone was O.K.

“And she is a stickler for authenticity. Once she needed a copy of the London Times for a play. She wrote to London and got one. And she also got real high-button men’s and womens' shoes for another play.”

Mrs. Tom (Jennie) Heinzerling of Foster Park Road, Amherst, is another close friend of 10-years standing. She acted for Jean but also worked with her in all three Miss Lorain County Pageants/

“Jean is a taskmaster. If the girl was supposed to go down the runway and stop at ‘x’, turn at 90 degrees and proceed – that was it. If she stopped two inches too far or turned at 75 degrees, Jean repeated the rehearsal.

“It likely drove others a bit batty. Some kept saying “It’s after 11 p. m.” but Jean is a perfectionist.

“And the end result showed in the pageant.

“I think she’s wonderful, sort of kooky, like I am. She doesn’t worry about the state of the world and when she golfs, she gives it all she’s got. She’s wonderful to be with, warm, kind, considerate. At social events she makes sure people are introduced, really meet each other.

“I know Jean gets some sort of self satisfaction, by helping others. And I’m sure her family’s in love with her,” she said.

Miss Lorain County, Donna Jean Prosser, agreed. “Mrs. Schaeffer is somehow ever-youthful, never-changing.”

Jean Schaeffer was born in Detroit but moved to Pontiac, Mich. while a child. She and Doctor Schaeffer were both in their late 20s when they married in a formal Navy ceremony at Gross Ile, Mich., in 1944.

WHEN THE WAR ENDED they moved into an old farm house on Old Lake Road (now Oak Point Road) which had more than 100 crusty, crumbling years scratched on its hide.

The family lives in that same house today and it is now one of the most charming homes in Lorain County. The remodeling work went slowly but painstakingly over the years as they planned.

Speaking of the gal he’ll soon share a 25th wedding anniversary with, Dr. Schaeffer was philosophical.

“We kind of hit it off together. Mutually attracted. And we had four wonderful children. Jean and her parents had a good religious background and it brought us close to the church.

“When the children were young she spent a good deal of time with them even though she has always been active in civic things. But she was always home with the children.

“We’ve had the usual banter, but we always respected each other’s interests. I like bridge and golf. She plays golf, but not with my intensity. And she likes theatre. We’ve had our mutual interests, such as dancing, and our outside interests. Neither of us ever overshadowed the other.

“When it’s theatre, it’s her night. Bridge is mine.”

NOT TOO LONG ago the Schaeffers tried a new sport, surf riding on the wake of a cabin cruiser, and Jean holds the rope until riding speed is right for Bill or Dr. Roy.

Dr. Roy also has another new sport for Jean.

“He runs me around the block every morning,” she said, “It’s great exercise to start the day, he says.”

But run she does.

Workshop Players Part 2

While doing a little research on Workshop Players, I found a few early clippings and articles that might be of interest to fans of the acting troupe. (Click on each for a larger, readable version.)

As you remember from yesterday's post, the origin of the Workshop Players was a group of Clearview High School students who wished to continue to present plays even after their high school graduation. The Lorain Journal had a small article in its August 19, 1947 edition about their very first play.

By 1951, Workshop Players had not yet moved to their current home in the former one room schoolhouse on Middle Ridge Road. Here's an article from the Amherst News-Times (below) from that era highlighting Jean Schaeffer's role in The Valiant.

May 4, 1951 article

Here's a pair of articles from December 1952 from the Amherst News-Times. The first one is about the one-act Christmas plays that the group was presenting for the holidays, and the second mentions the upcoming move to the Middle Ridge location.

December 12, 1952 article

December 19, 1952 article

By 1953, Workshop Players were in their new home. Here is a small promotional article (below) about their upcoming play, Ladies in Retirement that appeared on the front page of the April 24, 1953 Amherst News-Times. The photo features Bunny Ross and Duane Hinds.

April 24, 1953 article

Here's a front page 1955 article (below) from the Amherst News-Times of January 28, 1955 about the upcoming production of Would-Be Gentleman. The photo features Bill Penton in his role as Mr. Jourdain, and Dan Strauss as the Son of a Grand Turk.

Bill Penton also enjoyed some publicity for his acting career in the April 1955 issue of American Motorcycling. The article below mentions that the 1954 National Jack Pine Champion probably was making his last stage appearance for a while because "Uncle Sammy slated him to play a role in the armed forces."

Workshop Players Part 1

Workshop Players Theater – May 2015

I've driven by and admired the theater home (above) of Workshop Players for a long time. So, I figured it was long overdue for me to find out something about the history of the acting group, as well as their theater building.

Hickory Tree Grange Hall today

Ernie Henes' Looking Back on Lorain County (1978) has a short article about Workshop Players. It reads, "A 1948 Clearview High School drama teacher, Valerie Jenkins, launched Lorain County's first community theater, The Workshop Players, Inc. Her students that year presented a one-act Christmas play for various groups. They became so interested they decided to continue stage work. They found a temporary home in Amherst's Hickory Tree Grange Hall in 1949 and in 1953 moved to the century old one-room schoolhouse on Middle Ridge Road. They presented plays of excellent quality and in the years following entertained several thousand persons."

Some information about the building can be found on the Workshop Players website. It states, "The current home of Workshop Players is the one-room school house on Middle Ridge Rd. in Amherst Township. The original school house was a wooden frame structure built in 1876. When the current sandstone building was erected in 1898, the wooden school house was dragged down the Ridge to its current location at the corner of Middle Ridge and Hidden Valley. Our stone building was used as a school until 1951. Surprisingly, some of our current patrons actually attended school in this building!! In the fall of 1952 Workshop began remodeling the interior of the building and the first show at this Middle Ridge location was FIVE TRAVELING MEN in February of 1953."

The Amherst News-Times ran a great article on April 4, 1988 to celebrate the Workshop Players' 40th anniversary. It included a comprehensive history of the theater group. Here it is as it appeared in the newspaper (below).

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Players celebrate 40 years

Players Workshop Players, Inc. counts its years from the 1948-49 season in which they adopted a constitution. However, the original incentive of this group really started when active dramatics students from Clearview High School approached their director, Valerie Jenkins, about forming a group to present plays. These students were very interested in all phases of theatre and disliked facing their forced inactivity after high school graduation.

It was their great enthusiasm at a meeting in the spring of 1947 that persuaded their dramatics director to consent to presenting a play the following summer. That first meeting was held at the home of Waite Staller's parents on North Ridge Road. 

The result of that meeting was a proscenium production of a comedy, "Western Union, Please" by Hackett and Goodrich in the Clearview High School Auditorium on August 19, 1947. Those involved in that first venture were Frances Gluvna, Jim Mason, Mary Hoch Rebman, Robert Lenhard, Rosemary Montagnese, Robert Amstutz, Waite Staller, Gerry Staller, Hazelle Perkins, Nola Jean Waters, Dorothy Yurovich, Alvira Grell, Steve Hodovan, Sam Marotta and Rosa Perkins. Only one performance was presented.

By November of 1948 a board of eight members was established. Rather substantial plans were make for the future. So much time and effort had gone into the establishment of the group that there was no time for a full-length production before the holidays. A one-act Christmas play, "The Small One," was prepared and performed twelve times at various organizations throughout the area. These performances took place mostly in private homes and church basements. 

One of the problems confronting the group was the construction and storage of scenery. The director's association with Gerald Marans of Karamu in Cleveland prompted the idea of an arena theatre. It occurred to her that this might solve the scenery problem along with being a unique style for local audiences.

A location for such a performance was the next hurdle to conquer. Before long the Hickory Tree Grange was rented for two performances of the play, "Smilin’ Through," by Allen Langdon Martin. On January 31, 1949 prior to the opening night, Dr. Roy Schaeffer of Amherst who had attended school with the director, and his wife Jean were invited to the preview performance. Shortly thereafter Jean Schaeffer joined the group and became an active member, trustee and promoter of the Workshop Players.

Of the early founding members and charter members only Yvonne Alford, Jean Schaeffer and Valerie Jenkins remain members. 

Honorary membership was established for distinguished persons in the theatre who had taken an interest in Workshop. Of these Gerald Marans was the first to be named followed by a succession of playwrights, performers and special friends. 

The first constitution stated that the name of the organization be called the County Workshop Players because players from all over the county were welcome to take part. 

The purpose of the organization as stated in the constitution "is to promote a larger measure of interest and appreciation for dramatic art through production of worthwhile entertainment and to make available to its members an outlet for artistic appreciation and effort. The aim shall be to serve the communities of Lorain county and the surrounding area in the field of drama and its related arts to the best of its ability by making available programs which are high in character as well as in entertainment value."

The usual problems of any new group were also a part of Workshop Players early years.

A problem unique to the early players was one of space. They rehearsed in private homes until the week of the performance and then moved all props and furniture on Sunday to the Grange Hall on Milan Avenue in Amherst.

In the second season three performances of each production were given instead of two. By 1953 there were four performances of each show and they kept increasing every few years until in 1976 there were twelve showings of each production. The number has now been reduced to seven.

In 1951 the second floor of The Party Shop, then known as Kline's Beverage on the corner of South Main Street and Tenney Avenue in Amherst, was offered to the players as a rehearsal and meeting hall. 

In 1952 the late Superintendent F. R. Powers suggested that the one-room school on Middle Ridge would be available. This sandstone structure, built in 1898 which was no longer going to be used by the board of education was found to be satisfactory for the needs of the group. It provided an opportunity to rehearse and perform in the same location and thus would improve the quality of their work.

The new location required much work.

Lighting seemed to be the first obstacle. General fluorescent lights were used in the school room and these are unacceptable for performance lighting. One small transformer and six spotlights had been purchased for the first production, but these were not sufficient for the effects desired. One more transformer was added and two more spotlights, a far cry from the twenty-six to thirty lights and light board now in operation.

The second improvement to be made was acquiring real theatre seats from the abandoned Globe Theatre on Madison Avenue in Cleveland. These replaced the folding chairs borrowed from a local funeral home. Bill Penton assisted by Roy Schaeffer and other men from the theatre built risers to which the new seats were bolted. The basement of the one-room school had one coal bin, two restrooms and a coal-burning furnace.

When overhead heating ducts were installed by Gene Ross, the single register in the middle of the acting area was converted to a trap door. This has provided many convenient and interesting stage effects.

Drinking water was taken to the theatre in jugs by the actors, a practice abandoned when a water line was installed.

The small theatre on Middle Ridge Road in Amherst Township is located between Oberlin Road that goes toward North Ridge and the section of Oberlin Road that goes to Route 113. Seating capacity is 100-107 depending on the demands of the production.

Workshop Players is the oldest arena theatre in the area and now that we are celebrating the fortieth season of continuous performing it can also claim to be the oldest community theatre in Lorain County. As part of this celebration beautiful new seats were installed in September, carpeting was added, and the acting area was widened. The project was financed through the generosity of friends' and members' generous contributions.

To complete a celebration year, the Workshop Players, Inc. is attempting to locate addresses for everyone who acted or did backstage work in these forty seasons. There will be a banquet on May 15 to culminate the year's activities.

It will be an evening for reminiscing and celebration.

Next: Clippings from the early years