Swap Chick or Pig For Theatre Seat

The Barter Theatre at Abingdon, Va., Has Been Unique Experiment
That Seems Destined to Exert A Wide-Flung Influence
and to Fill the Training Gap Left Open by Loss of the 'Road'

By Boyce Loving

It is a balmy summer evening, June 24, 1717, in Colonial Williamsburg, Va. The occasion for the fact that Duke of Gloucester Street is crowded with crested coaches, drawn by spanking teams of fours and sixes, and manned by liveried coachmen and footmen, is the celebration given by Governor Spottswood in honor of the King's birthday. The Governor, in a letter bearing the above date, states that "a play was acted on that occasion." What the play was Governor Spottswood does not state, but it must have been performed at Lovingston's Theatre, built the year before.

In Accomac County, Va., on August 27, 1665, "a play commonly called ye Beare and ye Cub" was performed 75 years before there is any record of any dramatic entertainment in New York. Three actors were haled into court on account of the performance, but were acquitted of "unseemly conduct."

The next mention of the theatrical performance in Virginia was in 1702, when the students of Willliam and Mary College gave "A Pastoral Colloquy" before the Governor.

The scene and time shift. The writer, his wife, and two daughters arrive in Abingdon, Va., in their trusty, as well as rusty, "twin two" flivver in the midst of a summer downpour.

We creak to a stop across the street from the Barter Theatre.

What is this we behold? As we approach the box office, we see patrons of the theatre, their arms laden with fresh fruit, melons, a fowl or two, a famed Virginia ham, jellies, jam, canned goods, preserves, pickles, fresh vegetables and sundry "barter." This barter the patrons present to gain admission to Anne W. Armstrong's mountain drama, "Mountain Ivy," being presented by the New York Barter Theatre Group, under the management of Robert Porterfield.

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Thus, the first theatre to administer to the dramatic cravings of this country, as well as the first "barter" theatre in these United States, were cradled in Her Majesty's colony, variously known as the Old Dominion, the Mother of Presidents, and now, the Mother of the American Theatre.

We had made the acquaintance of Mr. Porterfield, via correspondence, during the winter. His gracious invitation to visit his theatre, as well as to attend the Folk Music Festival at White Top, second highest peak in Virginia, was readily--even eagerly--accepted. Mr. Porterfield, a young actor, is a native Virginian and an alumnus of Hampden-Sydney College at Farmville. Let us quote Mr. Porterfield as to the conception and inception of the barter theatre idea:

"While I was on tour with Walter Hampden two years ago in "Cyrano de Bergerac,' a bunch of us were sitting on the platform of an observation car, on our rush to the next place to perform. We discussed the inevitable subjects, such as love, religion, politics, and a subject close to us in this day and time: Finance.

"Since I was raised in the good old farming country in Southwest Virginia, I could recall seeing laborers on the farm take most of their weekly wage from the farm commissary. They actually handled little cash, but were as happy and well cared for as anybody I know.

"I said, Why not the Barter Exchange? You fix my teeth; I give you a pair of shoes.' Suddenly I asked, 'Has barter ever been used in the theatre?' Everyone said, 'No! It couldn't be done.'

"I replied that it could be done and I began right then thinking and planning the Barter Theatre. I knew it would not be advisable to attempt this idea in the city, so my thoughts went back to my native hills, where I knew people appreciated the value of exchange by barter. I decided Abingdon, Virginia (about fifteen miles from Mr. Porterfield's birthplace), a beautiful town of 4,500 people, where Martha Washington College had closed on account of depression, with one town bank closed, and practically every citizen's funds tied up.

"I brought 25 actors, (summer of 1933), to the town, opened the college buildings, after convincing the board of the college that actors were human beings and should be allowed to live, and that the plant, being opened, would be a more saleable property and would not depreciate as much when in use as when closed. At any rate, they let me have the property on a cash percentage basis.

"My first idea for the Barter Theatre was--to promote better acting among the younger generation, who otherwise would have been without the opportunity of developing their talent through the lean summer season of Broadway; second, to establish good legitimate theatres in towns away from the larger cities; and, third, to experiment with the idea as to whether or not the 'Barter Theatre' would go over. It did."

Mr. Porterfield feels that the saving solution for actors in these lean days of the road and stock companies of the old order is the establishment of self-supporting groups throughout the country. His group did real missionary work in the theatre, almost of the ciucuit-rider variety, by giving to the community delightful plays, well produced and performed by an equity company.

A vast majority of the inhabitants of the vicinity of Abingdon had had little or no opportunity to see a cast of genuine New York players. This gave the community insight into the theatre and a definite appreciation of heh work undertaken.

At first, according to Mr. Porterfield, some of the inhabitants were rather prejudiced about having a group of actors living in their town. However, prejudices soon were overcome and the company of players came to be valued and loved.

The Barter Players give performances in Abingdon two or three nights per week, in other towns within a radius of 80 miles the other nights, returning to base after each performance in "Bessie, the Bus." The next day, they rehearse the play for the following week, that night probably playing in a town 50 miles away, one way, returning after the show, and the following day beginning the routine again. They are, then, at one and the same time a stock and repertory company. The touring per summer season covers about 4,000 miles.

The Martha Washington College, which is now the Barter residence, was built in 1800 by Colonel Francis Preston. Before the War Between the States, it was turned into a Methodist school, was used as a prison during the above war, and afterwards functioned as a college for girls until 1930.

Here the players are housed and the Barter collected at the box office is prepared here and consumed by the company. There are many interesting traditions about this lovely old building, possessor and renowned for the most perfect Colonial doorway in America. One should enjoy the privilege, as the writer did, of having Rufus, the ebony night watchman, tell tales of the secret passageway in the building, connecting with an underground passage that leads out of the town. This passagewas was used for escape by prisoners of war--according to Rufus.

The Barter Theatre performances are held in the Opera House across the street from the residence, where Jefferson and Booth both played. It is one of the oldest buildings in town, was once a church, is now the Town Hall, houses the Mayor's office, and, like many New England barns converted into summer stock theatres, seats 300.

Mr. Porterfield states that one dear old lady always brings to the box office two jars of pickles as her price of admission, another the best cakes one ever tasted, and it has become so that it is possible to tell who is in the audience by looking into the room where the barter is received. We were told that about 50 per cent of the patrons brought in barter, instead of paying the regular price of admission, 35 cents.

During the summer of 1934, the New York Barter Theatre group, as the programs announce, presented in and around Abingdon, the following plays: "The Second Man," "Holiday," "Coquette," "Dangerous Corner," "The Late Christopher Bean," "Ten Nights in a Bar-Room," as well as giving try-outs to two new plays: "He Knew Dillinger," by John Crump, and "Mountain Ivy." According to a radio broadcast by Lowell Thomas recently, He Knew Dillinger" will soon be done on Broadway under a new title, and it is rumored that "Mountain Ivy," Mrs. Armstrong's dramatization of her novel, "This Day and Time has attracted the interest of the New York Theatre Guild. Thus, it will be seen that therepertoire of the Barter group includes the old,the tried, and the new.

In addition to seeing the actual production of plays, Abingdon is fast becoming an artists' colony, with facilities and instructors for the theatre, music, painting, dancing, and woodcarving. The setting for creative work is ideal, golf, swimming, and tennis, afford recreation, the summer climate is delightful, and the natural surroundings are unsurpassed for consummate beauty. A 5,500-foot mountain peak, White Top, is near-by for hiking; the whole countryside is teeming with legend and folk lore; and, the social atmosphere is heartily congenial to those
who would spend their summer months in and around the birthplace of the Barter Theatre. The list of patrons of the Barter Theatre is impressive, including such personages of the entertainment and fiction field as Arthur Hopkins, John Golden, Walter Hampden, Julia Peterkin, Jane Cowl, Austin Strong, Barrett Clark, Sherwood Anderson, who lives at Marion, a few miles from Abingdon, together with others promient in the social entertainment, political, financial world.

During the last season, Mr. Porterfield has had with him an earnest and enthusiastic group of players. Evidence of this is borne out by the success with which they mastered the dialect and mannerisms of the mountain folk in "Mountain Ivy," although not a player was a native of the region and there were only two Virginians in the company. The writer is thoroughly conversant with mountain folk, since "whar we come from we look up the chimney to see the cow coming home, plant corn with a rifle, and sow peas with a shotgun." The players were: Shelton Earp, Maynard Samsen, Hume Cronyn, Virginia Campbell, Rickey Austin, Margaret Glass, Lynn Hampton, Richard Clark, Emily Woodruff, Edward Forbes, George Fuller, Robert Hudson, William Ellington, Bigelow Sayre, Agnes Ives, Gladys Carter, Elizabeth Robbins, M. H. Austin, Leeka Sopin, Mary Dowing, Gretchen Seidel, George Fuller, George Spelvin, Grace Mills, with Mr. Porterfield himself playing occasionally. Allan Williams is stage director, Hume Cronyn production director, and Delisle Crawford technical director.

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One of the prize stories told of the "barter" received is that of a little sow pig, presented at the box office on the opening night in 1933. Mr. Porterfield, instead of barbecueing the pig, carried it to the farm of his father. Last spring the fully grown pig, contrary to all AAA rulings, bore a litter of nine--a picture of which was taken at lunch time one day this summer; lunch time for the piggies.

The talents of the company are many and varied, these being sometimes put to use in ballyhooing a coming performance as members of the group tour the countryside, announcing to all and sundry, and loudly, that there will be a show at the Barter Theatre tonight; other times, members of the colony perform via radio over station WOPI, at Bristol, Tenn.-Va. And a good time is had by all.

Doubtless Mr. Porterfield has hit upon an idea that will spread throughout the country in these times of scarcity of currency of the realm, thereby affording scattered communities an opportunity to view flesh-and-blood actors once more--or for the first time; enabling aspiring thespians to learn their trade during an otherwise closed season; and, enriching the players and audiences with a wide range of vicarious, or real, emotional experiences. More power to Mr. Porterfield and to the Barter Theatre, a non-profit-taking venture in the theatre and allied arts.