STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

More Latest Stories

• You Review Food: Reg Valentinuzzi
• You Review Movie: John Augustine
• Rod Mackenzie, taking music by storm

Share and Enjoy [?]

Joe Kelly considers himself blessed to be a part of the Marco Island community, and a performer in the Marco Players Theater debut of Murder on the Rerun, Nov. 14 to Dec. 2.

“Why wait to retire to move to Marco Island?” asked Joe Kelly last April from his home on Marco Island, just before the show was postponed.

“Right this minute I’m looking out my sliding-glass window, and it’s 70 degrees outside.

It’s sunny, breezy and beautiful. What’s not to like?”

About why he chose to move to Marco Island after growing up in Syracuse, NY, he said, “It’s 22 degrees in New York!” Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

The many Marco Islanders who are in touch with Kelly know that his public affairs and relations degree has been put to good use through his many roles — not just as Justin Wills in Murder on the Rerun.

“I always try to keep an active role in the community, and stay positive, energetic and live life to the fullest,” Kelly said.

Once named as one of the top 10 agents in the nation, Kelly is well known as a successful real estate agent throughout Southwest Florida.

QUENTIN ROUX / Eagle staff

Joe Kelly

While working full-time, and rehearsing in the evenings for Murder on the Rerun, he has just completed his first mission as the newest member of the board of directors for Marco Players.

On Oct. 31, Kelly introduced members of the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Marco to the Marco Players Theater in Marco Town Center Mall.

“We’re a very community- oriented theater,” he explained. “The Leadership Marco people toured the front of the house, the stage and the back of the house, where we prepare for different scenes and where the costumes are.”

Kelly also volunteers with other local organizations, including the YMCA and Chamber of Commerce. And he is helping with a benefit in November at Hideaway Beach for Sunshine Kids, Prudential’s nonprofit organization for children with cancer.

It takes a serious time commitment, Kelly said, to be a part of any production. Kelly would know — he has been a stage actor since high school, appeared on the silver screen with Woody Allen in Scenes from a Mall, and has modeled for Marco Magazine.

“It is a labor of love,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to really enjoy it, and I guess I do.”

It’s hard work though.

“Besides memorizing the script, and learning the staging and queues — it’s not a simple thing to do, but being part of a show with the lights, the sound, the amusements during rehearsals, and the actors and the directing — being one part of something so much bigger makes it fascinating — and enjoyable,” he added. “I enjoy the people.

And I learn quite a bit from them. I’m constantly surprised by the things from the scripts and during rehearsals.”

Every part of the acting process keeps Kelly in rare shape, both physically and mentally.

“Our warm-up exercises get our minds focused and allow us to forget about the rest of the day,” he explained. “And sometimes we’ll improvise, or sometimes we’ll change things in the script to make them more a propos to current times and to Marco Island.”

He concluded, “In this show, there’s a part where we allude to someone having had quite a bit of plastic surgery, and the current line in the show names someone who is very obscure that no one knows, but we’re going to change it.

We might change it every night, and name someone like Herb Savage, because the whole theater experience is supposed to be fun, not just for us on stage, but the audience members, too. And I think it will be — we’ll all have a great time.”