Across the USA, regional theatres are struggling to keep the doors open. Mark Kennedy investigates the venues rethinking how to connect with audiences.
Everyone who enters Barter Theatre in southwestern Virginia is met and welcomed by Katy Brown, the producing artistic director.
It's a simple touch but a telling one for the 90-year-old theater in Abingdon that has forged a very human connection with its 8,000 residents. Barter Theatre is not just a theater; it's their theater.
“You can feel the ownership from the people that are here,” Brown says. “Really being a part of your community in that way is vital to the future of regional theater.”
Barter — a scrappy venue with roots in the Depression when patrons bartered goods for seats — may offer a roadmap as regional theaters struggle to reconnect with lagging post-pandemic audiences...Keep reading on The Independent.
Everyone who enters Barter Theatre in southwestern Virginia is met and welcomed by Katy Brown, the producing artistic director.
It's a simple touch but a telling one for the 90-year-old theater in Abingdon that has forged a very human connection with its 8,000 residents. Barter Theatre is not just a theater; it's their theater.
“You can feel the ownership from the people that are here,” Brown says. “Really being a part of your community in that way is vital to the future of regional theater.”
Barter — a scrappy venue with roots in the Depression when patrons bartered goods for seats — may offer a roadmap as regional theaters struggle to reconnect with lagging post-pandemic audiences...Keep reading on The Independent.