Blue Ridge Country

"What do Ernest Borgnine, James Burrows, Frank Lovejoy, Patricia Neal and Gregory Peck have in common?

Answer: They started their careers as starving thespians who received food as their pay at The Barter Theatre in Abingdon."¹

Seventy-five years ago Abingdon, VA's Barter Theatre opened its doors for the first time. The Barter has just published "Will Work For Food," a restrospective of its humble beginnings.

The following are its two opening paragraphs.

"The year was 1931, and the worst economic depression of modern times hung dark and cold across the nation. With men begging for food, there was precious little money available for tickets to the theatre. Robert Porterfield, an actor from Southwest Virginia, had begun a promising career on Broadway, but roles became scarce as the Depression deepened."

"To add to his misery, Porterfield came home to his small New York apartment after another day of discouraging auditions to find that everything he owned had been stolen..."

1. Will Work For Food -- a review, Dalton Hammond