Vickie Knuckles set for ‘four-peat’ with homeschoolers’ ‘Newsies’

ALBANY – When the student actors in the Southwest Georgia Homeschool Association complete the three-show run of “Newsies Jr.” this weekend, the show’s director, Vickie Knuckles, will have completed a feat most likely unmatched in local theater.

Once the final curtain comes down on “Newsies Jr.,” Knuckles will have directed three plays in three consecutive months, leaving her at the helm of four high-profile productions over a period of seven months.

Knuckles, a theater lifer who recently took a year-plus off to finish work on her master’s degree in Theater Education, directed Theatre Albany’s production of “Cinderella” in February, Byne Christian School’s spring musical “Annie Jr.” in March and the homeschool group’s “Newsies Jr.” in April.

In October, Knuckles helmed the homeschool association’s fall production of “Dare to Dream.”

“Work on the three shows from February to now all overlapped,” Knuckles, who worked in the business offices of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and the defunct Palmyra Medical Center (which is now part of Phoebe) before teaching for 30 years, said. “But I’d do it all again.

“My dad asked me one time, ‘When are you going to stop doing this?’ and I told him, ‘When I’m not excited by the next project.’ I love the theater, love seeing something come to life out of a thing that’s not what it appears to be.”

Knuckles, who retired from teaching “when the Lord told me it was time to go,” said she returned to the classroom – and to theater – when He told her the time was right to get back in.

She’d attended Albany Junior College in the late ‘70s, earning an associate’s degree in Music before settling into family life and the business world. But the acting bug that bit her when she was helping start a theater program at Sherwood Christian School wouldn’t let go, and she returned to school at Albany State University, finishing requirements for her Music degree.

“It took me 25 years from the time I got my bachelor’s degree (in 2000) to finish my master’s,” Knuckles said.

After she retired from teaching, Knuckles’ love for theater did not abate. When officials at Byne Christian School called and opened a door – first with a homeschool group and later with Byne itself – on a return to the classroom – and to the stage – she jumped at the chance.

Now, she’s directing plays for Byne, for the homeschool association and for Theatre Albany. She says “Newsies Jr.,” became an obvious choice for the Southwest Georgia Homeschool Association spring production after she heard a Columbus College classmate talk about the show.

“I was at one of my master’s classes, and the people in class were talking about shows they’d done,” Knuckles said. “One girl started talking about ‘Newsies,’ and after a while, I said, ‘That’s the show.’”

Now 42 homeschool students (including five seniors, among them play lead Jackson Morrow, who plans to study theater at Columbus State) are ready to present the play at the Byne Baptist Church Worship Center Friday (at 6:30 p.m.) and Saturday (at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.).

And the director of that play? Well, she’s smack dab in the middle of doing what she loves best.

“I just love this, love working with these kids,” Knuckles said. “I couldn’t do this without such a wonderful team working with me, and I’m just thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given.

“When a parent comes up to me after a production and says something like, ‘I didn’t even know my kid could sing …’ well, that’s about as good as it gets.”

Students who are part of the “Newsies Jr.” cast, and their roles include: Kelly (Jackson Morrow), Katherine Plumber (Iva Evans), Cade Williams (Crutchie), Preston Rooks (Davey), Wells Dallas (Les), Jordyn Jackson (Race), Abby Schmidt (Hazel), Hanna Mendoza (Muriel), Calley Rooks (Nancy), Haley Taylor (Albert/Bertie), Jane Hopkins (Pigtails) Vayda Campbell (Specs), Emilee Young (Dorothy), Katelyn Dooley (Buttons), Lucy Alligood (JoJo), Wesley Delong (Tommy Boy), Logan DeLong (Romeo), Loralye Delong (Scab 1), Marley Nichols (Scab 2), Oakley Sheffield-Hayes (Scab 3), Atticus Evans (Bill), Wade Durden (Bunsen), Blake Jackson (Pulitzer), Madeleine Pitts (Wiesel), Benjamin Battaglia (Police Chief), Max Alligood (Snyder), Sarah Knight (Hannah), Ella James (Medda), Mary Alice Alligood (Olive), Ivy Bryan (Ada), Chloe Sanders (Ethel) andMadeline Henderson (Darcy).
Other cast members include Meredith Blake Sims (Seitz/Newsie), Nathan Goodson (Roosevelt/Newsie) and Newsies Ava Hardie, Eva Schmidt, Tucker Miller, Nolan Carlton, Andrew DeLong, Kalynn Jones, Jaycee Taylor and Quinn Brooks.