Barter actors read in last year's Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights.
If all the world is a stage, then the wings must be overflowing with storytellers eager for the chance to bring their imagination to life in front of an audience, and they can get that opportunity at Barter Theatre.
Founded in 2001 to give authentic voice to the stories of Appalachia and the writers who tell them, the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights is the centerpiece of Barter Theatre’s new play development program. This year’s event takes place Thursday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 25 on the Smith Stage at Barter. It is free of charge.
“Each year we receive hundreds of submissions of new Appalachian plays from playwrights hoping to develop their work. Six of these plays are chosen to be read at the AFPP,” said Nick Piper, associate director of New Play Development at Barter. “The playwrights are brought in for a week and provided with housing, travel and a stipend so they can attend rehearsals with our company and continue to work on their plays before they are read to the public over the course of a long weekend.”
Piper added that over the past two decades, the AFPP has read over 130 new plays with nearly one-third of these plays going into full production at Barter. That is an unprecedented amount of new work being developed in a theater the size of Barter.
“Many of these plays have gone on to production in theaters across the country. One of the great success stories from the AFPP is the play ‘Keep on the Sunny Side: The Songs and Stories of the Carter Family.’ This play was written by a local doctor, Doug Pote, who happened to see Rick Rose, former artistic director in the lobby after a show one night and said, ‘You should do a story on the Carter Family,’ and Rose said, ‘You should write it.’ Pote said, ‘I’m not a writer, I’m a doctor.’ But he had a passion for this story and this music, and with the help of Barter’s artistic staff, the play was developed through the AFPP and has gone on to become the #1 requested play at Barter and has been seen by nearly 200,000 people in 23 states and produced in dozens of theaters across the country. It is a play that truly celebrates this region.”
It’s stories like this that make the AFPP an important part of Barter’s mission, according to Piper.
“One of the unique and important aspects of the festival is that it is centered around the audience being a part of the development process. Each year hundreds of people come from all over the region and beyond to attend these free play readings to be a part of the process,” he said. “After each reading, there is a moderated discussion with the audience so that the playwright has an opportunity to get feedback from the very people whose stories are being told – the Appalachian people.”
The festival continues to grow in popularity and national recognition, Piper noted. In 2023, PBS News Hour did a piece on the festival, and there have been articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers across the South. Last year, Barter had more first-time attendees than ever before — a sure sign that the word is getting out about the AFPP.
For detailed information about the plays and playwrights, go to the Barter website, www.bartertheatre.com, and check under the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights.
“We’re proud of our festival and the work that has come out of it and, most importantly, the relationship we continue to build with our audience as we encourage them to be a part of the process of shaping the stories that matter to them,” said Piper.
