The 25th annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights takes place Thursday, Feb. 13 to Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Barter Theatre’s Smith Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. Six new Appalachian plays are chosen from hundreds of submissions to be given public readings by the Barter company.
The playwrights are brought in at the beginning of the festival week to be a part of the rehearsal process. Each play is given about eight hours of rehearsal time, with the purpose being clarity of story.
After each reading, there is a moderated discussion between a panel made up of regional theater professionals, and most importantly, the audience, for their feedback. That way, the playwright receives feedback from three separate groups: artists, panelists and audience.
The readings are free and open to the public. The festival is made possible by the generous support of Henry and Flora Joy, the estate of Bert C. Bach, and Linda Coffey, as well as partial funding from Larry and Leanne Mitchell as well as Alice Link. The schedule is as follows:
“Deera’s Country Funeral” by Ned Dougherty is performed Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m. Ray Sally wants to have a funeral for his tractor. The old machine has played Santa’s sleigh in many a Christmas Parade, helped rescue folks during a flood, hard worked in too many harvests to count, and she even met the Governor once. But this farmer can’t find parts anymore, and it’s time for her to meet her maker. Troubled by his inability to keep her running and drowning in his grief, Ray Sally wishes he was the one on the short road to the great beyond. Questions about destiny, the role our communities play in holding us up and the measure of a useful life are themes in this humble dark comedy about a legendary tractor.
“Faster than the Speed of Race” by Russell Nichols is on stage Friday, Feb. 14 at 11a.m. This is a high-speed ride — one act, no brakes — through the life of NASCAR legend Wendell Scott. With his loyal crew and beloved stock car, Baby Blue, Scott races against reckless engines and the relentless injustices of Jim Crow to become the first Black man to claim victory at NASCAR’s highest level. More than a sports story, this play is about one man’s unstoppable drive to break barriers before they could break him. This play is part of Barter’s 2025 Black Stories Black Voices.
“Separating the Art” by David L. Williams is on stage Friday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. When the work of an artist with a checkered past is vandalized, gallery curator Riley must wrestle with the notion of separating the art from the artist, and if that’s even possible. Once a group that purchases work by problematic artists enters the picture, Riley tries to save the painting she loves and suffers the consequences.
‘Chimborazo Hill” by Irene Ziegler is performed Saturday, Feb. 15 at 11 p.m. Long-time liberal activist Carol Rankin is days away from being recognized with a prestigious Humanitarian of the Year Award when long-suppressed truths about a murder on Richmond’s Chimborazo Hill threaten everything she holds dear, including her career, reputation and family. Questions of complicity, hypocrisy and vigilante justice swirl as Carol’s once solid code of ethics is put to the test.
“Take My Hand and Wave Goodbye” by Tammy Ryan is performed Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. When Stef is killed in a random act of gun violence, her niece, Cassie, begins dreaming her back into existence. In the months after the shooting each family member is confronted with the question: if they had done one thing differently would Stef still be alive? An examination of grief, told with humor and heart – “Take My Hand and Wave Goodbye” is about the impact of gun violence on one family in America – and what it means to move forward.
“Salvage” by Mary Lynn Owen is on stage Sunday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. Six months after Father’s death, Mother sends an urgent email to her adult children, summoning them home to collect their things. Brother and Sister arrive to find their childhood home in a state of collapse and strewn end to end with the stuff of their lives – dolls, clothes, books, toys - and in one growing pile, the stuff of their father, his vests and cassette tapes and “Star Wars” ties. Soon the truth is out in this interracial, intergenerational family: Mother is tossing in the towel and “going West” the very next day. In the hours that follow, and as boxes are packed and unpacked and packed again, Mother will fight to leave, and Brother, Sister, and Grandpa will fight to stay, and as they each fight to set the course of their lives, they will struggle with how to save themselves and each other. What will they keep? What will they toss? What will they transform into something new?
For further information, visit www.bartertheatre.com.
