Barter Theatre’s Plan to Create a Black Appalachian Canon
How one historically white theatre company in Virginia has invested in reaching new audiences, and fostering writers, of color.
Barter Theatre in Virginia isn’t unique in their current position: It is a predominantly white institution that is currently attempting to better serve audiences and artists of color. But the innovative structure of Barter’s new Black Stories Black Voices program—which will have its second public showing with a “Shine: Illuminate Black Stories” event on theatre’s mainstage on Feb. 26—could well serve as a national model for inclusive art-making that embraces and empowers Black communities at mainstream theatres.
