“Keep a Song in Your Heart!” That’s the mantra of Sally Kilburn, Mount Gilead resident, who is always ready to share her love of theater, especially in the realm of music.

She is not only sharing that love of theater but is helping the Morrow Little Theatre with both musical and dramatic productions while serving as the group’s business manager.

Kilburn was one of 12 children and she began singing at the age of four

while standing on an orange crate. “My mother gave me my love of

music,” said Kilburn, whose first vocal solo was “The Tennessee Waltz,”

one of her mother’s favorites.

Because she suffered severe physical and emotional trauma inflicted by a relative at an early age, she found healing in music.

Although she performs in dramas, “my heart is with musicals. I think I’ve done them all- I just love creating a character,” she said.

While she and her husband resided in different areas of the country, based

on his career, she performed with theater groups throughout the country:

Leesburg, Florida; Troy, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Penn State where

both she and her husband are alumni.

She developed her own theater company, C.A.S. T. Community Adult and

Student Theater in St. Paris, Ohio and used the local Graham Schools to

perform. In another area, she worked around the clock and eventually

was awarded her own theater in Conover – performing from an old 1800

stage with the charm of that era.

Kilburn and her husband, Glenn, retired to Florida in 2012 but in 2014

following his diagnosis with cancer, they returned to Ohio to be close

to their three children and six grandchildren, all of whom are talented

singers, dancers and musicians.

The Mount Gilead Little Theatre is now the recipient of Kilburn’s

theater talent and expertise. She is working with Ken Barnett and

Joey Powell, both long time Morrow County theater thespians who work both on stage and behind the scenes. They also have a group of

talented actors and actresses working with them.

Their goal is to raise money to present both dramatic and musical productions that reflect the talents of these Morrow County performers.

The group is planning several fund raisers and have scheduled productions

for the remainder of the year. Thanks to Sally Kilburn, the actors, actresses,

and audiences will be able to “Keep a Song in their Hearts.”

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By Evelyn Long

The Sentinel

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