CHARLESTOn, W.Va. -- Kanawha Players President John Halstead knows about the rumors swirling around him. People are talking about him, the group's finances, the lawsuit and the building.

"I had a past president ask me if I was keeping guns in the building," he said. "It's gotten way out of hand."

Halstead, only a third of the way through his one-year term as president of the 88-year-old theater group, is a man under siege.

The group is in financial straits and struggling to maintain and to renovate the former church on the East End that the Players bought in 2005. He has been blamed as the reason longtime directors Jeff and Debbie Haught left the Kanawha Players months ago.

Halstead is also at odds with his board.

"I can't get the secretary to do the mailing," Halstead said. "And the treasurer, who is supposed to oversee the box office, hasn't worked the box office or even seen any of our productions this season."

He says he can't get board members to return calls, fulfill their duties or show up for meetings. Calls to the office of Thomas Wilson, treasurer for the Kanawha Players, were not returned. Wilson is also the husband of Blair Wilson, the group's secretary.

 Halstead is calling a meeting of the general membership at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Kanawha Players building. He wants a discussion with the group and a fresh election.

None of this is what he intended. Halstead says he got involved with Kanawha Players about five years ago through his son, who wanted to try out for a play. He'd never been involved in drama before, but fell in love with theater.

When the group moved to the former church on the East End, there was much to do. He took on duties with the home base committee, working on maintenance and upkeep, but it started taking over his life. 

"So, I took a break," he said. "About two years ago, I stepped back."

Word of a lawsuit brought him back.

Kise Straw & Kolodner is suing Kanawha Players for $64,000 for work that the design and construction company says it was never paid for. According to Charles Woody, the attorney representing Kise Straw and Kolodner, a trial is scheduled for February.

Halstead says he took on leadership of Kanawha Players with hope of getting the business of the theater company back on track. It's been more than he bargained for.

 Outside, he's had to chase off addicts and vagrants who loiter next to the building and who panhandle customers at the restaurant next door. Inside, the building needs repairs. The heating, plumbing and electrical systems are functional, but incomplete and not entirely sufficient for a building intended for crowds. 

The building, purchased three years ago with the help of The Clay Center and the Maier Foundation, as well as with a loan from the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, cost the group $390,000.

"It was a steal," Halstead said. "The amount of floor space alone is amazing."

However, Halstead said the Beauregard Street building requires much more maintenance and upkeep than Kanawha Players' former location in Kanawha City. The group has a hard time mustering the manpower.

CHARLESTOn, W.Va. -- Kanawha Players President John Halstead knows about the rumors swirling around him. People are talking about him, the group's finances, the lawsuit and the building.

"I had a past president ask me if I was keeping guns in the building," he said. "It's gotten way out of hand."

Halstead, only a third of the way through his one-year term as president of the 88-year-old theater group, is a man under siege.

The group is in financial straits and struggling to maintain and to renovate the former church on the East End that the Players bought in 2005. He has been blamed as the reason longtime directors Jeff and Debbie Haught left the Kanawha Players months ago.

Halstead is also at odds with his board.

"I can't get the secretary to do the mailing," Halstead said. "And the treasurer, who is supposed to oversee the box office, hasn't worked the box office or even seen any of our productions this season."

He says he can't get board members to return calls, fulfill their duties or show up for meetings. Calls to the office of Thomas Wilson, treasurer for the Kanawha Players, were not returned. Wilson is also the husband of Blair Wilson, the group's secretary.

 Halstead is calling a meeting of the general membership at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Kanawha Players building. He wants a discussion with the group and a fresh election.

None of this is what he intended. Halstead says he got involved with Kanawha Players about five years ago through his son, who wanted to try out for a play. He'd never been involved in drama before, but fell in love with theater.

When the group moved to the former church on the East End, there was much to do. He took on duties with the home base committee, working on maintenance and upkeep, but it started taking over his life. 

"So, I took a break," he said. "About two years ago, I stepped back."

Word of a lawsuit brought him back.

Kise Straw & Kolodner is suing Kanawha Players for $64,000 for work that the design and construction company says it was never paid for. According to Charles Woody, the attorney representing Kise Straw and Kolodner, a trial is scheduled for February.

Halstead says he took on leadership of Kanawha Players with hope of getting the business of the theater company back on track. It's been more than he bargained for.

 Outside, he's had to chase off addicts and vagrants who loiter next to the building and who panhandle customers at the restaurant next door. Inside, the building needs repairs. The heating, plumbing and electrical systems are functional, but incomplete and not entirely sufficient for a building intended for crowds. 

The building, purchased three years ago with the help of The Clay Center and the Maier Foundation, as well as with a loan from the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, cost the group $390,000.

"It was a steal," Halstead said. "The amount of floor space alone is amazing."

However, Halstead said the Beauregard Street building requires much more maintenance and upkeep than Kanawha Players' former location in Kanawha City. The group has a hard time mustering the manpower.

"For one man," Halstead said, "it takes 22 hours just to sweep the floors of this place. There are 14 toilets that need cleaning and we go through a lot of light bulbs."

In the building, some of the walls are cracked, crumbling or peeling. There's obvious water damage and a pinhole of daylight peeks through the roof of the main theater. The building needs work, but it's sound.

Kanawha Players is also having problems with fundraising, with grant writing, which can only make their other problems worse.

"I get it," Halstead said. "We're artists. Everybody wants to do the creative part, perform, make sets, whatever. Nobody likes picking up the phone and asking people for money."

The gas is on, after service was turned off for five months. Halstead says when he was elected president the heat was off and the lights and water were days from being disconnected. All the utilities are on and he's proud of that.

"I take a lot of comfort in small victories," he said.

He's also proud of what the theater group is doing. He thought their part of the East End's HallowEast went well and their latest production, "Dial M for Murder," has gotten a nice response.

But it's all taken its toll on him. He's on the premises constantly and says some of the players think he's living there.

"I don't live here," he said. "I have a home. I've got a lovely wife and marvelous kids, but I work here until I can't work any more then I take a nap. Sometimes, those naps are in the middle of the afternoon, sometimes they're in the middle of the night."

A contractor with a small farm and some rental properties, Halstead isn't working. He says the building and the organization take up all of his time.

He believes part of the group's financial difficulty could be straightened out if it sold a nearby building the Players own.

"We know someone who is interested," he said. "And yes, it would help a lot. It wouldn't clear the lawsuit, but it would probably get us back in the good graces with the state."

But there is no sale pending. Halstead says attorney Stephen Swisher has been working with the group, but there's a problem with the title. Halstead isn't sure what he means by that and Swisher is not returning his calls.

A call to Swisher was not returned.

"So, we'll try the meeting on the 18th," Halstead said. "Maybe people will come. Maybe we can get some of this worked out."

He says he refuses to let the Kanawha Players fail.

"Even if it's just a one-man show."

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.