Kyndra Allsup never saw herself directing shows for the Augusta JR Players.
Although she’d done theater while a student at Harlem High School, it took a back burner as she raised a family and taught middle school special education.
When her daughter started participating with the Augusta JR. Players, Allsup began volunteering and soon found herself reacquainted with Roy Lewis, her high school drama teacher who heads the organization. He asked if she wanted to direct a show.
“I asked, “are you sure you’ve got the right person?’ a surprised Allsup asked.
“Imagine A Dragon”, under Allsup’s direction, heads to the Kroc Center stage March 27-28. It’s the third show she’s directed since Lewis posed that question.
“She’s become quite the cultivator of our young actors,” said Lewis who could see her passion for the stage as well as her compassion for the children when he asked her to direct.
Allsup said Lewis was doing something he started in high school, drawing qualities out of her she didn’t know existed.
At Harlem, Lewis cast Allsup as Marty in “Grease” even though Allsup considered herself more of the Sandy type.
Allsup said she pushed back against him several times as the character stretched her comfort zone. In the end, she admits she had more fun with Marty than she would’ve as Sandy.
“Marty was not something I would’ve done, but I think he could see that I needed that moment to be different and out of the box,” Allsup said.
When he tapped Allsup as a director, it pushed her comfort zone again. But he didn’t make her do it all o her own. He answered her questions and gave her advice to help her become the director he knew she could be, Allsup said.
Allsup in turn has followed his lead. She’s nurtured and guided the student actors
But Lewis and Allsup aren’t the only nurturers. The students themselves exhibit a lot of care and concern for one another.
While the casts of previous plays she’s directed have been supportive of one another, Allsup noticed this group has stepped it up a notch. They showed they cared for each other even in the audition process when they encouraged one another to do their best.
That spirit is important because the themes of community and helping one another are at the heart of “Imagine A Dragon” where a group of innkeepers have come together to create a fake story of a dragon in order to bring travelers and adventurers to their town.
To add to their own sense of community, the young actors have made up their own backstories on their ensemble characters and formed their own family units.
It’s 6-year-old Evie Watts’ first time on stage, but she’s got a veteran performer in Bennett Dallas, a sixth grader at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School to guide her.
“I’m a chef. My mom is Bennett,” said Evie, who likes to sing and dance and was inspired by “Wicked” to audition for the show.
As for Bennett, she’s enjoying watching her fellow actors having fun on stage and spending time with them and being Evie’s on-stage mom.
“Imagine a Dragon” will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 27 and at 2 and 6 p.m. March 28. For tickets, go here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
