Nick Piper
Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, has a strong history and commitment to new play development, on professional, college and high school levels.
Nicholas Piper, associate artistic director, leads two of the theater’s efforts in that direction: the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights and the College Playwrights Festival. Sarah Van Deusen oversees the Young Playwrights Festival.
Piper notes, “Throughout history, it’s been artists who have responded to the changes in their culture and reflected it in their work. It’s important to continue to tell the stories of the day as it not only shows us where we’ve been, but where we’re headed.
“One of the things I’ve learned in reading so many of these plays is how universal the themes are. The things that drive us are common throughout the world: love, security, fear, hope. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Appalachia or from Alaska ... we want the same things — the way we go about getting them and the traditions we have are what makes us different. I find that to be a very hopeful thing,” he says.
Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights
The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights began in 2001 to develop Appalachian plays for and with the Barter audience. Each year six plays are chosen to be read for an audience; some are then developed into full productions at Barter. Some of those successful plays include “Keep on the Sunny Side: The Story of the Carter Family” by Douglas Pote, “Madame Buttermilk” by Ross Carter and “Winter Wheat” by Catherine Bush.
This year’s plays are read Feb. 19-25. They were chosen by Barter Theatre artists from a field of more than 250 entries. If you would like to attend one of the readings, just reserve a ticket. Tickets are free, but you need to reserve a seat through the theater’s website. After each play is read, there is a brief discussion with a group of panelists, and then the audience provides its feedback. “This is most helpful for a playwright to hear,” Piper says.
Young Playwrights Festival
The Young Playwrights Festival, founded in 2002, showcases the work of high school playwrights and supports arts education throughout the region. The festival is designed to cultivate and celebrate the creative voices of high school students while strengthening their writing and storytelling skills.
Each year, participating teachers receive playwriting instruction from Todd Ristau, professional playwright and Director of the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University. Students then spend eight weeks crafting original works, all of which receive individualized feedback from Barter Theatre professionals. In the fall, the top three plays are lightly staged by Barter’s professional actors, while the honorable mentions receive a staged reading. The winning playwrights are also awarded cash prizes and a mentoring session with a Barter professional, offering invaluable one-on-one time with experts in theater and playwriting.
Sarah Van Deusen says, “Our participation has skyrocketed since our inaugural festival. In our first year, 41 plays by 50 playwrights were submitted. In 2025, 261 plays by 350 playwrights were entered into the festival. We are thrilled to hear what is on the hearts and minds of so many young people in our region today.
“We will reread the top three plays from the 2025 YPF at the upcoming College Playwrights Festival March 1. We are excited about this for a couple of reasons. One, these high school playwrights will get to connect more deeply with Barter professionals as well as college students with shared interests. They will get to participate in a playwriting workshop along with the college participants, enriching their educational and creative experience. Secondly, we are excited to share the great work of these high school playwrights with a wider audience, who may not have had a chance to attend the YPF. We believe in amplifying these students’ voices.”
College Playwrights Festival
This year marks the eighth year of the College Playwright Festival. Piper says, “We started a College Playwright Festival in order to bridge the gap between our Young Playwrights Festival, which is for high school students, and our AFPP which is for professional playwrights. Each year we select six undergraduate college students to have professional experience with our company.”
College playwrights work on their 10-minute plays with Barter directors and actors. They also take a playwriting workshop, see shows and have talkbacks with Barter artists.
The College Playwrights Festival and Young Playwrights Festival are in Barter’s Smith Theatre Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m. Featured playwrights include Joseph Harned, Claire Isbitts, Eleanor Yarbrough, Mary-Michael O’Hara, Eliza Smith and Sam Lee Victor.
For more information about the festivals or to reserve tickets, visit www.bartertheatre.com.
