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Lynn Nelson Rafferty's acting career got off to an inauspicious start nearly 70 years ago, playing a bird in a third grade play.
It wasn't even the bird she wanted to play. But it launched a lifelong avocation, including more than 50 shows at Youngstown Playhouse.
Rafferty, 77, will share stories about her acting experiences, from that third grade production to her most recent appearance in Hopewell Theatre's "20th Century Blues," during "Let's Talk About Theatre" on Saturday at Hopewell.
She credited Regina Rees, president of the Hopewell board, with suggesting the program.
"I was sitting in the theater at Youngstown Playhouse," Rafferty said. "Regina was sitting next to me and said, 'Do you want to come over to Hopewell and do and evening with me?' … I reluctantly told her I would do it. It will be an informal evening of my experiences in the theater. And hopefully a few people will be there I've worked with on stage."
Youngstown Playhouse is where Rafferty most often worked, and it's where she really fell in love with theater.
"When I got to the community theater level, it felt like a professional show," she said. "I was bitten. I did follow spot for 'Gypsy.' I worked every job backstage and did everything I could think of. I would have swept the floors. I was absolutely enthralled."
Her on stage debut was a small role in the comedy "Take Her, She's Mine," and she had her first lead role in Herb Garner's "A Thousand Clowns" the following year.
"I did three, four shows a year," Rafferty said. "I just found time to do it. I couldn't live without the theater … You don't do it for you. You do it for the people who sit in the seat. You get your first laugh and, oh my God, it's thrilling."
Helping to jog her memory for Saturday's event are the scrapbooks she kept throughout her career, and some of the photos from those past productions will be projected on stage while Rafferty talks.
Some of her favorite shows were classics like "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "House of Blue Leaves," playing Emily Dickinson in the one-woman show "The Belle of Amherst" and playing the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz" four different times at New Castle Playhouse. She also cited recent productions like "Harry's Friendly Service," a 2016 collaboration between the Playhouse and Youngstown State University, and "20th Century Blues" in September.
Hopewell is an example of the other community theaters that have opened in the Mahoning Valley in the last 30 years or so. Rafferty said when she started in the '60s, the Youngstown Playhouse really was the only theater in Mahoning County.
"These theater give opportunities for a lot of people to work and the smaller venues can do experimental shows the Playhouse can't afford to do," Rafferty said. "If you're going to put something on the main stage, it has to put people in the seats. It's nice to have these little theaters to do small shows and give people an opportunity to work on stage."
If you go …
WHAT: Lynn Nelson Rafferty -- "Let's Talk About Theatre"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Hopewell Theatre, 702 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown
HOW MUCH: Free but reservations are recommended and can be made online at hopewelltheatre.org or by calling 330-746-5455.