The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP) was founded 21 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. 

This year we look a little different as the pandemic has made it necessary for our festival to be fully virtual but your participation in the play development process remains as important as ever. I’m extremely excited about the four new plays we’re reading this year by four playwrights who are new to our festival.  They are unique, challenging, thought-provoking plays, read by our fantastic resident acting company, and I look forward to the discussions they will spark!

I’m also tremendously excited about our brand new Black In Appalachia initiative we’re premiering this year.  In an effort to give voice to the more diverse stories of our region, we are committing to reading at least one new play written by a Black Appalachian playwright at each AFPP going forward.  This year’s selection is City Limits, by Quinton Cockrell.  We intend this 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 for the two weeks of the festival.  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!