Producing Artistic Director Katy Brown says of Abingdon, Virginia’s Barter Theater, “People won’t truly have seen America until they come here.”
Courtesy Katy Brown
Katy Brown
Abingdon, Virginia’s Barter Theatre began in 1933 and in that long history, Katy Brown is only the fourth producing artistic director (PAD) and the first female one. Since 2002, the 46-year-old Brown has been director of the Barter Players where she has trained many young actors. As PAD, she is continuing that legacy of bringing the theatre to our region’s young people—an undertaking that both gives young actors a chance to learn and grow, and also takes the art of theatre to places where it otherwise likely would not go.
“Our tours across Appalachia give actors at the beginning of their careers a chance to apprentice in front of a young audience,” she says. ”And most years, over 50,000 children between pre-school and high school gain exposure to the theatre. Many of these performances take place in some of the poorest counties in the country. The tours accomplish two things for these young people.
Bruce Ingram
The Barter Theatre is a welcoming centerpiece for Abingdon, Virginia.
“The tours really cement their relationship with the theatre, and it’s an incredible experience to know that we give many of them their first experience with art. And, second, these performances help the kids to become braver in what they dream and what is possible for them to accomplish.”
In the early years, the Barter took in much more produce than cash receipts.
Brown adds that some 2,000 young actors audition for the six positions available for the tours and that such Hollywood notables as Gregory Peck, Ned Beatty, and a 16-year-old from Kentucky, Patricia Neal, started their acting journeys at the Barter.
“In short,” Brown says, “the Barter is tied to this region, and there is no Barter without those ties.”
Brown describes herself as possessing a great love for story telling.
“What theatre is all about is developing a plot and telling a story,” she says. “Nearby Jonesborough bills itself as the ‘Storytelling Capital of the World,’ and really this entire region could be given that title. There are probably few places in the country that have as much love for story as this region does.
“Those people sitting beyond the stage in the dark want to be moved by what happens on stage. Our job is to accomplish that, to make them welcome and transport them to other places and times. That’s first and foremost what my job is.”
Female producing artistic directors are uncommon in the theatre realm, and Brown says she doesn’t think about this fact in the present tense.
“I can only do my job as me,” she says. “But I am very thankful for the women who came before me and helped to allow me the opportunity to do what I am doing. I also hope that the women who come after me will get more chances to succeed because of my work.”
What are Brown’s plans for the future, and where does she believe the Barter will be a decade from now?
“It’s something of a paradox to say that by leaning into our past, we can learn more lessons about where we want to go in the future and innovate as we go,” she says. “I hope for us to be able to bring stories here from all over, but at the same time to be firmly attached to our roots in Abingdon. And the stories about those other places will work for this place.”
The cast of “Madam Buttermilk,” a musical-comedy that was a sell-out at the Barter.
The pandemic negatively impacted the Barter as it did theatres across the country when live performances on stage ceased. But Brown believes that the renovation and resulting use of the nearby Moonlite Drive-in not only helped Barter survive the pandemic but also helped set the stage for its future.
Founding director Robert Porterfield established Barter in 1933 with admission being 40 cents or an equivalent amount of produce.
Basically, during the worst of the pandemic, Barter’s actors could still practice their craft on the Moonlite’s stage, and theatre enthusiasts—from the safety of their vehicles and through their car’s radio—could enjoy watching those performances. Brown says that the Moonlite venue helped the Barter become one of the first theatres in the country to resume live performances.
Brown also exudes pride in the long history of Barter as an equity theatre hosting its actors during performances.
“Actor residency at a particular theatre is very rare,” Brown says. “Our people have invested their lives in coming, and staying, here. What is possible for us as a group is only possible because of how much we know and love each other.
“This country is so splintered now, and there are so few places that people can come together and enjoy a common, positive experience. Our job and our mission is to make sure that the Barter remains that type of place. That people won’t have truly seen America until they come here.”
The story above first appeared in our July / August 2022 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!