The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP) was founded 22 years ago to promote and celebrate the stories and writers of the Appalachian region. Over the past two decades, AFPP participants have helped us to develop dozens of new plays, many of which have gone on to full productions on our stages.

It was my hope that this year we would all be able to gather in person as in years past, however, the continuing pandemic has made it necessary for our festival to be fully virtual once again this year. And although this format is not as ideal as us all being in the same room together, your participation in the play development process remains as important as ever.

We have six great new plays we’re reading this year by six playwrights who are completely new to our festival. They are unique, challenging, thought-provoking plays, with some truly brilliant writing read by our fantastic resident acting company, and I look forward to the discussions they will spark! We are also continuing our Black In Appalachia Initiative with Anthony Mapp’s Fish Tales and Legendary Lies. Dedicated to developing and promoting the work of Black Appalachian artists, this initiative is intended to be the first step in making sure that all Appalachians are represented on our stages. 

New plays, writing workshops, live panel discussions—there’s a lot going on through the month of February and into March. Please take a look at the events itinerary on this page so you can see all that’s being offered this year. I do hope you’ll join us for the live panel discussions, as it is your feedback that is most valuable to the playwrights as they develop their plays.

I want to thank you for joining us for the festival, for your continued support of Barter as we make our way through these challenging times, and most of all, for being a part of the process!