Rick McVey as Robert E. Lee from "The Road to Appomattox" (Barter Theatre 2011 production)
Rick McVey is familiar to almost everyone in the region. He has entertained us on various stages, radio, film, television and even at the library.
“I’ve been a performer in some shape or fashion since I was 7 years old. I did a pantomime number for a school talent show when I was in second grade at Damascus Elementary that went over fairly well. In fact, I was offered $15 to do my act in a community show in Chilhowie, and I thought I was a star. Fifteen dollars was a lot of money to a 7-year-old. I think I must have gotten the bug way back then,” McVey says.
Since that first show, McVey has acted in school plays, community theater (at what is now Theatre Bristol), Barter Theatre and more.
McVey remembers, “Through a lot of my career, even though I occasionally was paid for some work that I was doing in theater, I still primarily made my living in other ways. I worked in radio, in television and in marketing.
“I did make a living solely as an actor for a couple of years in the 1980s. In 1982-1983, my buddy David Browning and I formed the Empire Touring Theatre, doing educational theater in schools across East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. One of the highlights for me personally was when my play ‘The Learning Box’ was endorsed by the Virginia Education Association, the first play that had ever been endorsed by the VEA.”
In 1984, he was on the staff at Theatre Bristol, eventually being named producing director. He says a highlight of those years was doing the research and paperwork getting the Paramount Theatre placed on the Register of Historic Theaters.
In the 1990s, he did a six-year run as the producing director for Radio Theatre Bristol (which eventually became the Don’t Touch That Dial! Radio Theatre.) He did over 40 radio shows during those years.
In 1997, he started a production company, McVey Multimedia, which primarily did commercials and video presentation.
“My life took a fairly significant turn, however, in 2000 when I played Ebenezer Scrooge at ETSU in a production of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Most significantly, I met and worked with Pat Cronin. Working on that show encouraged me to go back to school, and major in theater (technically I majored in communications with a concentration in theater.) I was involved in 10 shows at ETSU, both as an actor and director.
In 2003, while McVey was still at ETSU he did his first show, ‘1776,’ at Barter Theatre. He did a couple more plays for Barter in 2004 and in January of 2005 he joined the Resident Acting Company as a full-time actor. Since then, he had the chance to appear in over 100 productions, from broad comedy to heavy drama, from huge musicals to intimate stories.
“I think Barter is literally the best place in the world for an actor to work. There are so many opportunities to learn and grow there. There is no question in my mind that my years at Barter were the highlight of my career. Highlights include George Bailey in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (twice), Doyle Mayfield in ‘The Doyle and Debbie Show,’ Robert E. Lee in ‘The Road to Appomattox,’ Inspector Javert in ‘Les Miserables,’ Santa Claus more times than I can remember, Ford Fairlane in ‘Madame Buttermilk.’ I could go on and on.”
McVey continues, “You see, the real highlights of my career have been the people I’ve been blessed to work with. At Barter I had the chance to work with some of the most dedicated, talented and gracious actors in America. Barter Theatre is such an amazing place but primarily because of the amazing people there. People like Rick Rose, Katy Brown, Nick Piper, John Hardy and the incredible actors that have walked the Barter stages are truly amazing people. I can’t begin to say how much all these folks mean to me — as colleagues and as friends.”
After McVey retired in 2019, the pandemic hit, and Katy Brown had taken over at Barter. “Her idea to do shows at the Moonlite Drive-In was brilliant and when she asked me to help with the technology, I was more than happy to oblige. Another highlight of my career has been working with the video team that brought those shows to the big screen during that year and a half at the Moonlite,” he says.
In addition to all of the acting McVey has done over the years, he has found time to direct two feature-length films with primarily Barter actors. He has also read many children’s books for the Washington County Public Library’s Dial-a-Story program and might try to do a little writing of his own.
“Of course, I think I’ve made it clear how important the arts – and in particular acting – are in my life. I love the opportunity to perform, to entertain and to illuminate the human condition. I firmly believe that human beings – all of us – need to see the stories that theater brings to life. There’s something in the soul that needs to laugh and cry with others. Of course, television and the movies reach us on a certain level, but I think there’s nothing like sitting in a dark room with hundreds of other human beings and sharing the stories that we see on the stage.
“It’s particularly important for young people to be exposed to theater, both as performers and as audience members. There’s a sense of self-confidence that comes from being involved in school productions, for example. Whether a student is performing or working behind the scenes, the sense of teamwork and accomplishment that kids can get working together on a show is invaluable. Plus, as I mentioned, the chance to see a play can change the way young people look at the world and help them appreciate their lives and the lives of others. That’s enrichment.
“I feel so incredibly grateful to be recognized for doing something that I have loved doing all my life. I’m humbled by it. I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with so many people who have the same love for theater that I do, who have worked just as hard as I have and who are just as deserving. To be given this award just highlights how fortunate I have been to get to do the work I loved so much,” he says.
McVey started his career in the second grade, but he found the beginning of his family earlier than that. “I married my elementary school sweetheart, Lola Davidson McVey. Yes, I asked her to marry me in the first grade.” They have three children with families of their own. Their son, Lee McVey and his wife, Mary live in Kingsport, Tennessee, and have a son and two daughters. Their daughter Erin Pigg and her husband Logan, live in Nolensville, Tennessee with two daughters. Their daughter, Lauren Jordan and her husband Jon, also live in Nolensville with two sons.
For more information about McVey, visit www.rickmcvey.com.
