Most regional theatres ask audiences to choose from a handful of productions each year. Abingdon, Virginia's Barter Theatre asks something different: which of the roughly 20 shows will you see first?
That range is exactly what separates the State Theatre of Virginia from nearly every other live performance destination in the country. As the nation's longest-running professional theatre, Barter has spent decades building a repertory model that gives audiences genuine variety—plays, musicals, youth productions, and special performances—without sacrificing the quality that defines professional theatre at its best.
A Repertory Model Built for Real Life
Repertory theatre operates on its own model. Rather than producing one title at a time, Barter rotates multiple productions throughout each season in overlapping schedules, so audiences encounter several shows performing at once. In town for a long weekend? You can catch a drama on Friday and a musical on Saturday. A local family can bring the kids to a youth performance in the afternoon, then return for an adult production that evening.
That flexibility is rare. Most professional theatres in smaller markets produce four to six shows per season. Twenty productions puts Barter in a category almost entirely its own.
Professional Craft at Every Level
That volume of programming is matched by an equal commitment to craft. Whether it's a mainstage production from the Resident Acting Company or a Barter Players show built for younger audiences, the same professional standards carry across the entire season.
The Barter Players are the theatre's acting company specializing in productions for young audiences. They have long served as a pipeline for arts education in the region, bringing live performance into schools and community spaces while also anchoring youth programming at the theatre itself. For students and families who may be attending professional theatre for the first time, that entry point matters. It establishes a relationship with live performance early, the kind that tends to last.
New play development is also part of Barter's programming identity. Producing original work and developing new scripts alongside established titles keeps each season in motion and reflects an ongoing investment in the art form itself.
What Abingdon Adds to the Experience
The setting itself is part of the experience. Abingdon sits in the Virginia Highlands, a region that draws visitors for its scenery, its dining, and its distinct small-town character. The theatre anchors that experience rather than standing apart from it.
For tourists planning a trip to Southwest Virginia, Barter is often the organizing principle of the visit. It's the reason to book a particular weekend, the event around which restaurants and lodging get scheduled. For locals, the theatre functions as a civic institution, a place where the community gathers across generations and for reasons as varied as the productions themselves.
That dual identity, as both destination attraction and community anchor, is something Barter has cultivated deliberately. It shows in a programming mix that balances widely beloved musicals with more challenging dramatic work, and in the sustained commitment to youth theatre and arts education that keeps the next generation of audiences in the seats.
Planning Your Visit
Twenty productions across a single season means there is almost always something on the schedule worth seeing. The question is less whether Barter has something for you and more which production fits your timing, your group, and your interests. For tickets and season information, visit bartertheatre.com or call 276.628.3991. Follow the theatre on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube at @bartertheatre for updates on current and upcoming productions.
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