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“Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals,” the Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, returned with its 44th season the first weekend of June. The performances, which continue throughout the end of the month, rely upon a huge group of actors, volunteers, and technicians to come to life each night. The Young family, however, plays a special role in telling the region’s unique history both onstage and backstage.
“Dad and my brother had written the music for it,” said Ellen Young Church, the stage manager for Liberty! this season. She’s been with the production for almost a decade; in previous years she has been a volunteer and even acted on stage in the role of Kesiah Robertson. She joins her father, Production Manager and Director Keith Young, and her sister, Katie Kleineick, who portrays Bonnie Kate Sevier. The family is now an integral part of the show.
“We were just floored by the history,” Church said. “I had no idea that this area had such an incredible impact on the world.”
Young invited his children to participate in the drama, but they made the decision to stay on their own. “I forget how it came up,” Kleineick said. “Maybe late one morning in 2016 he said to us, ‘Why don’t you guys try out for Liberty? You might like it.’”
The sisters entered the production in 2017 and have been there ever since. “It’s something that I can do that indulges my love of history and gives me something to look forward to every summer,” Kleineick said.
Church feels the same way. “What other hobby can you have where multiple generations of a family can get involved and … tell a story that impacts everyone?” she said. “I’m the daughter of a storyteller, so being involved in a narrative like this is unparalleled.”
Though the stress of putting on ten high quality outdoor drama performances is intense, Kleineick believes the family connection helps the production run more smoothly. “[Dad’s] a very good teacher, which is extremely important because he can help people see their character,” she said. “We always have a chance to boost each other and make our skills stronger.”
“This is the first time that I’m actually working for him,” Church said. “In both of our opinions, it’s worked out really well because we have different approaches. Both of us are constantly sharing perspectives on how things should be organized.
“We don’t butt heads as much as we compare ideas. So the personalities mesh pretty well.”
As much work as it takes to ensure that a major production like Liberty! is successful, both sisters feel like the reward is worth the sacrifice. “I do identify with Bonnie Kate,” Kleineick said. “We are kind of similar temperaments; I always like being outside, doing the tomboy thing, being proud of who you are even if you’re a little eccentric.”
“But the best part is the friendships we’ve made doing this,” she continued. “Liberty! has given me a million people to hang out with that have the same interests, that love history.”
Church wishes more people from the region would get involved each year, so that the Liberty! family could grow even larger. “The families that participate in this show come back and participate again and again,” she said. “I can’t imagine something better to do as a family than to be outside together and telling this history.”
The familial connection between the cast and production comes out in the performance, Kleineick believes, creating a unique experience that everyone in the region should try to come see. “These were real people,” she said. “They lived, they loved, they hated, they cried, they laughed. Being able to make that come alive, especially with a group like this, you see them as people. Not as actors, not as parts, but as people.”
Liberty runs weekend evenings (8 p.m. showtime) in June beginning Fridays and Saturdays, continuing June 9 & 10; Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, June 15, 16, & 17 and 22, 23, & 24, in the Fort Watauga Amphitheater at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton.
General admission tickets range from free for children 5 and under; to $6 for students 6 to 17 years; $12 for seniors 60 and up; and $16 for adults. Members of Friends of Sycamore Shoals can pay $8, while Veterans and First Responders may attend the drama any night for a reduced adult/senior admission price of $7. There is free admission on June 15 only for Veterans or First Responders and one companion.
Online Ticket Sales – www.TheLibertyDrama.com or you can purchase tickets at the door until all seats are sold.