Barter Theatre announces the 2026 Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, running Feb. 19-25 at Barter’s Smith Theatre. Now in its 26th year, the festival celebrates Appalachian storytelling by highlighting new plays inspired by the region and the artists who call it home. Even though the event is free for the public, attendees must have tickets, which can be obtained on Barter Theatre’s website.
Each year, six new Appalachian plays are selected from submissions and presented as free public readings performed by Barter’s Resident Acting Company and local collaborators. Following each reading, audiences are invited to participate in a moderated discussion with regional theater professionals.
The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights continues Barter Theatre’s commitment to developing new work and bringing world-class theater to the heart of Appalachia.
“Arbor” by Catherine Epstein is on stage Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Set in an arboretum over the course of one summer and fall, “Arbor” follows a group of workers wrestling with a range of dilemmas. Marge is estranged from her daughter and desperate to connect. Bill can’t get visitors to follow the simple, clearly posted rules, and Carol Ann just wants to take a swim in the pond. As the seasons shift and the workers’ conflicts grow no closer to resolving, the play examines how we all navigate uncertainty, growth and transformation.
“This is What the Days Are” by Madison Fiedler is performed Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. On a rural homestead in North Carolina, a group of grievers has formed a smaller, self-sustained world to live and work in. They slaughter pigs, celebrate birthdays and wait for the asparagus to mature. Seasons pass; gardens grow. The asparagus still isn’t ready yet. “This is What the Days Are” is a new play about the strange task of living as the left-behind.
“Blowin’ Fire” by Gloria Bond Clunie is this year’s Black Stories/Black Voices selection and is on stage Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. When rebellious teenager Compton Edwards gets into trouble on the streets of Chicago, his father brings him to the South to be “straightened out” by his great-aunt Mama Sojourn, a conjure woman and matriarch of the family. Love, lies and betrayal lead to Compton being held prisoner in her home — a former Underground Railroad Station. There, Compton is forced to face Shadrack and Meshack, two ghosts trapped in the house since slavery. In an intense physical and emotional battle, Compton struggles for his life, as the ghosts force the Edwards’ family to redefine their lives in the modern world.
“Decoration Day” by Linda Parsons is on stage Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. On Decoration Day in upper East Tennessee, Kate Hughes and her aunt, June Rankin, visit the Rankin family cemetery to clean the graves and remember their dead. As a girl, Kate and her mother, Cordie, moved away after her father, Boyd, was sent to prison. Boyd is haunted by a childhood accident that has split the Rankin and Hughes families. With Aunt June as her guide, Kate must come to her own understanding of her mother’s accident, her father’s involvement and sacrifice, her parents’ tumultuous relationship, and ultimately the meaning of family, home and tradition. Just as they sidestep the graves of their ancestors, they must learn to navigate the unsettled and unsettling terrain of the here and now and move forward together.
“Dickie’s Got His Hans Full” by Todd Olson is read Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. It’s the summer of 1857, and not all is right in Charles Dickens’ country home. His frazzled wife struggles with their 10 kids, he’s rehearsing a play in their living room in preparation for a royal performance, and he can’t seem to begin a new novel about the French Revolution. Into this chaos comes an unexpected visitor: Denmark’s famous Hans Christian Anderson, complete with eccentric personality, quirky social skills and bizarre Danish traditions for every occasion. Announcing his wish to stay “only a fortnight,” Hans ends up staying five unpredictable, odd-ball weeks. Based on true events, “Dickie’s got His Hans Full” is a farcical clash of cultures about literature, lovers and cake.
“Book Woman” by Catherine Bush and Dax Dupuy is read Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. The year is 1935 and the citizens of Reinhardt, a small hamlet in eastern Kentucky, find themselves firmly in the grip of the Great Depression. Iris Prue and her family are especially hard hit and are in danger of losing the family farm. Then the WPA announces the formation of the Pack Horse Library, an initiative to hire area women to deliver books to remote locations on horseback. Iris believes she’s found a way to save her family, but will have to overcome many obstacles, including the toughest — her father.
“Deera’s Country Funeral” by Ned Doughterty is on stage Feb. 25 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 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.
In addition to the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, there are other opportunities to see plays in development. The College Playwrights Festival and Young Playwrights Festival is in Barter’s Smith Theatre March 1 at 2 p.m. CPF featured playwrights include Joseph Harned, Claire Isbitts, Eleanor Yarbrough, Mary-Michael O’Hara, Eliza Smith and Sam Lee Victor.
SHINE: Illuminating Black Stories is in Barter’s Smith Theatre, Feb 27 at 7:30 p.m. Featured playwrights include Camille Simone Thomas, Cris Eli Blak, Tracie E. Morrison, Kamiah Vickers, Kyra Davis, Tommy Bryant and Jerry L. Jones.
For tickets to all of these events and more information, visit www.bartertheatre.com.
