Matt Campbell
Barter Theatre, the official State Theater of Virginia and one of the nation’s longest-running professional repertory companies at 90 years-old, has named its new Managing Director. Matt Campbell joins Barter in January 2024, filling the role previously held by Ross Egan.
“It is an honor to join such a prestigious organization with a vibrant, 90-year history. I am thrilled to work alongside Katy Brown, the dynamic staffand Board of Trustees to build upon an outstanding legacy of developing, producingand presenting theatrical work focused on excellence. Barter is a special place to all who visit, andI standdedicated to helping fulfill the mission of serving others by creating world-class theaterin the heart of Appalachia,” says Matt Campbell.
"We are thrilled for Matt to join us at Barter. It was clear from the first conversation that, in addition to understanding the depth and breadth of the theater business, he also has a true sense of service and community. He will be an enormous asset to Barter and to the region," says Katy Brown, producing artistic director of Barter Theatre.
With more than two decades in the theater industry, Campbell previously served as the Producing Artistic Director at Greenbrier Valley Theatre, which is the State Professional Theatre of West Virginia, and as chair and associate professor of theatre and music theatre at Viterbo University in Wisconsin, where he also served as the artistic director for the New Works Festival. Campbell also served for five seasons as the associate artistic director of the Missouri Shakespeare Festival and has worked at numerous other theaters, arts organizations, and universities across the country as a consultant, educator, director, and actor. He holds an MFA from Illinois State University, a BA from Missouri Southern State University, and a conservatory degree from Circle in the Square Theatre School.
Campbell joins Barter Theatre at a time of record-breaking success for the nonprofit repertory company, which is located in Abingdon, Virginia—a Southwest Virginia town of approximately 8,000 that is nestled in the Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountain range. Barter’s most recent fall 2023 season brought in over $1 million from its resident company shows, seating over 10,500 people.
Barter’s commitment to innovation, audience engagement, and authentic, regional storytelling has helped the theaterthrive amid crisis. Founded by Robert Porterfield during the Great Depression, Barter filled seats in its early years by allowing cash-poor, local audiences to barter their farm produce for admission to shows. During the height of Covid in 2020, Barter made a rapid pivot by rehabbing a long-abandoned, drive-in movie theaterto continue presentinglivetheaterin the Covid-safe outdoors to an audience socially distanced from the comfort of their cars. It signature programs — which include itsAppalachian Festival of Plays & Playwrights, itsBlack Stories Black Voicesinitiative, and its traveling Barter Players troupe making theater for young audiences — have enabled Barter to continue developing new audiences and new works across the decades.
For more information about the Barter Theatre’s upcoming season, its history, staff and leadership, visithttps://bartertheatre.com.
