Barter Theatre Announces Lineup For Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights

Barter Theatre announces the lineup for its 19th annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP). This year's festival includes readings of seven brand new Appalachian plays, including two musicals. The dates of the festival are Thursday, Jan. 24 - Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019.

The festival has moved from its traditional August slot to January. "We're very excited about this move as we think it will be a great way to bring people to Abingdon in January, " said Nicholas Piper, the director of the AFPP. "It has allowed us to grow the program by including a College Playwrights Festival (Jan. 19-20) and to give the playwrights a better chance to work with our company and continue to develop exciting new plays that matter to our audience."

Since 1933, Barter Theatre has been developing new works and nurturing area talent. The AFPP has gained national attention by developing a process that has resulted in new plays being produced not only on one of Barter's two stages, but in regional theatres across the country.

The readings take place at Barter Stage II and are free of charge! The plays will be read by Barter Theatre's Resident Acting Company, and each play reading is followed by a discussion with a of local and regional theatre professionals. The discussion is then opened up to the audience for their feedback. Both the reading and the discussion are a crucial part of the new play development process, and getting feedback from an audience is fundamental to helping the playwright refine their play. "We invite people to come and be a part of the process," said Piper. "There's going to be a lot going on in Abingdon in January-between the play reading festivals and January Jams concerts on the weekends-this is a great time to get back out after the holidays and enjoy what our region has to offer!"

The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights is made possible by the generous support of Bert C. Bach, Henry & Flora Joy, and Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation.

Barter's 2019 Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights schedule is as follows:

Thurs., Jan. 24 at 7:30PM Maud Muller A New Musical: Book by Catherine Bush, Music and Lyrics by Dax Dupuy

Fri., Jan. 25 at 1:00PM Extraction by A.J. DeLauder

Fri., Jan. 25, at 4:00PM Let Maisy Rest In Peace by Margo Hammond

Sat., Jan, 26 at 1:00PM The Trail by Taylor Hatch

Sat., Jan 26 at 4:00PM Montgomery by Stephen Brown

Sun., Jan. 27 at 1:00PM Taking Flight by Frankie Little Hardin

Sun., Jan. 27, 4:00PM We'll Meet Again by James Harris, Music by Mark Hayes

Barter Theatre, the nation's longest running professional theatre, is located in Abingdon, Virginia. The theatre opened in 1933 during the Great Depression. Founder Robert Porterfield offered patrons admission to the theatre by bartering food and livestock. Barter Theatre was designated as the state theatre of Virginia in 1946. It exists today as one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theaters remaining in the United States. Barter Theatre is funded in part by The Virginia Commission for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts.