The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights was founded in 2000 to develop authentically Appalachian plays for Barter Theatre’s audience. Each year the Barter company reads several new plays which are considered for development on one of its two stages. The playwrights receive feedback from both artists and audience to help them develop their plays.
In addition to play readings, Barter offers two free playwriting workshops and this year premieres its Black in Appalachia initiative.
“In an effort to give voice to the more diverse stories in our region, Barter has committed to presenting at least one play written by a Black Appalachian playwright at each annual AFPP.
“We also realize the need to develop and support those who may not be playwrights but want to tell their stories ... along those lines we are going to hold workshops that will give people the tools to turn their memories and experiences into stories and plays. Our first BIA workshop is held Saturday, Feb. 6 and is called Weaving Memory Into Story.
“We intend these readings and workshops to be the first step toward ensuring that all Appalachians are represented on our stages,” says Nicholas Piper, associate artistic director and director of new play development.
Barter also offers a free playwriting workshop for any college students who want to learn more about the process and the business of playwriting.
“We look forward to a great festival this year. We have four really fantastic new plays and we hope people will join us for a reading.
All AFPP events are free and are being held virtually this year. They can accessed by registering at bartertheatre.com.
Schedule
Readings of the following plays are released at 12 p.m. A panel discussion takes place on Zoom at 8 p.m. Links are provided at www.bartertheatre.com.
Tuesday, Jan. 26: “Mountain Mamas” by Daryl Lisa Fazio is presented. Patsy Armstrong is a coal miner. just like her daddy, Earl. And just like her mother, Wanda, who was one of the first women ever hired underground in a union mine and, at 60 years old, is still there. As of this week, Patsy’s back in her mother and daddy’s house, after a mining accident that left her with no ability to move or communicate. Her bright 18-year old daughter, Livvy, now lives there too. In a home that’s full of humor and generosity and rowdiness and grit. But a home—not to mention a whole dang planet—that’s under more pressure than maybe it’s ever been. When the family gets news about the settlement from Patsy’s accident, Livvy jumps into the fray. And Patsy, now forced to listen and observe more than she ever did as a healthy person, is plagued by nightmares and revelations she’s able to share only with us. It doesn’t take long for her to realize she has to learn a new way of being if she’s going to save her entire world.
Thursday, Jan. 28: “Tomorrow Game” by Brandy N. Carie is read. Bell and Roe live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is so far gone they don’t even remember a time when there were grocery stores, safe drinking water or 911. They each live in isolation, until they happen to meet. Bell shows Roe a game: take off your mask and see if you can breathe. Try this vegetable, and see if you wake up. Do more than just not-die. Bell may also have ulterior motives. Roe’s shelter is stocked with years’ worth of canned goods and other priceless resources. Is their friendship true–or just another game?
Tuesday, Feb. 2: The inaugural reading of Barter’s Black in Appalachian initiative, “City Limits” by Quinton Cockrell, is read. In Apex, Alabama, a black woman and a white man, working together at the country’s largest retail chain form a bond that intensifies into a passionate and dangerous relationship. “City Limits” touches on racial disparity, mental illness and the soul’s desperate desire for freedom.
Thursday, Feb. 4: “If God Came A Callin” by Madison Fiedler is presented. In a mountain town split into remnants of Appalachia’s past and glimmers of its future, a lottery is announced. Ticket rates: standard. The prize: the chance to speak with God. The devout think it’s sacrilege, and the skeptics are sure it’s a hoax and no one’s certain exactly what God needs money for, but in the chance that there’s truth to it, who’d say no to a miracle? A magical-realist new play with the music of church and shaky violins and family dinners, “If God Came a Callin” dives into the holy and the familial and all the restless in-between.
The festival includes two free workshops. To register, email npiper@bartertheatre.com. Space is limited
Saturday, Jan. 30: The College Playwright’s Workshop is held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ever dreamed of writing a play? Catherine Bush, Barter Theatre’s Playwright in Residence, offers a workshop that covers everything from playwriting fundamentals, to adapting existing works, to writing musicals. She will also offer practical advice about a career in playwriting.
Saturday, Feb. 6: Weaving Memory Into Story is held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In an effort to develop and support Black Appalachian playwrights, Barter Theatre is offering a free workshop to anyone in the Black community who has a story they’d like to tell. Led by Patrice Foster, MFA, this workshop focuses on content building by using memory-gathering exercises. From there, Barter’s playwright-in-residence Catherine Bush illustrates how to create dramatic structure using this content.
