People Profile: Kay Frank

This article was originally published in the Daily Post Athenian in Athens, Tennessee on May 17, 2017.

If you, your child, or your grandchild, graduated McMinn County High School in the years surrounding 2004, there’s no question about it: you know Mrs. Kay Frank. Perhaps you remember the fortune-telling Madame, the tall-telling yarn-spinner, the jolliest of Santa’s elves, or the enthusiastic walk-a-thon cheerleader. Mrs. Kay has played many roles, all centered around a common theme – to nurture and inspire children.

Kay took a break from her storied teaching career while her two sons, Brent and Brad, went through Elementary School. “I dropped everything,” she said “and did anything anybody asked for the students,” she said through a chuckle. Her willingness to motivate children, coupled with a flair for the dramatic, is what makes Mrs. Kay one of the most memorable figures in my early school years.

Performance is a family business for Kay Rollins Frank. She describes her dad, James Rollins, as a “big mouth show off, he performed a lot and anywhere – and he was always making up stories and telling them crazy like.” She remembered him fondly and ended with a smirk: “I wish I was more like my mother.”

Mrs. Frank herself has been performing for as long as she can remember: in church and school growing up in Loudon County, as the PTA leader taking on any personality, in community theatre, and as an art and music teacher for McMinn County Schools. It is only fitting that a natural performer would find her calling in the performing arts, leading and encouraging budding entertainers. And she’s done just that in many venues such as school, church, and Athens Area Council for the Arts’ Kids Arts Camp.

Her response to my question about her favorite part of Kids Arts Camp speaks more, I think, toward the love behind Mrs. Kay’s many performances: “You’ve got to show [children] that love and joy of music and let them dream and think they can be anything they want to be.”

Lucas Bayes is a young man who felt the love and joy of music and theatre early on. Lucas attended Kids Arts Camp the summer after Kindergarten because some friends from church were going and he “wanted to give it a try.” Lucas returned to camp every year until 6th grade when he went to week 1 as a camper and week 2 as a counselor. Lucas is a rising junior at McMinn County High School, and still attends Kids Arts Camp as a counselor.

In the five years since Lucas graduated from camper to counselor he’s had some time to understand why he kept saying “yes” when his mother asked if he wanted to return to camp each summer. “It was a great environment and a way to do something you enjoy and have fun. You could spend time with others around you that have the same enjoyment you do with the arts.”

Having fun while learning about art, music, and drama helped Lucas build the confidence to perform outside of camp. Lucas played “Chip” in Athens City Middle School’s 2013 production Beauty and The Beast and has been in three Athens Community Theatre Productions: Pippin (Theo), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Pig Pen), and the recent blockbuster Willy Wonka (Augustus Gloop).

The young actor looks forward to more opportunities to perform in community theatre, “because it was an amazing experience, and it was outstandingly well done by the entire cast and crew.” Lucas does not plan to pursue a career in the theatre, but will always value the self-expression and camaraderie afforded by the arts.

After graduation he plans to start at Cleveland State Community College and pursue a nursing degree. In addition to volunteering as a camp counselor, Lucas also volunteers at local nursing homes and assisted living facilities, like the one where his great grandmother was a resident. “By doing that I have recently found my calling to become a nurse and make an impact on other people’s lives.”

In the meantime, whether he realizes it or not – like his beloved camp director, Mrs. Kay – he’ll be making an impact on the future of our young performers. “As a counselor, I loved being able to always be welcomed back each year and to relive the time I had when I was younger with kids who are experiencing camp now.”

Mrs. Kay has been to every show in which Lucas has performed at The Arts Center (and so has her Kids Arts Camp partner, local dance instructor and educator, Lisa Sharp, for that matter). When I asked her about Lucas, the pride in her face spoke louder than her kind words. “They’ve got to feel important,” she said, “every child has got to feel important.” I smiled in agreement and she finished “teach them to express themselves, and they’ll believe they can do anything.”