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2014 SESSION

14100055D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 109
Offered January 8, 2014
Prefiled January 8, 2014
Commending Barter Theater.
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Patrons-- Kilgore, Campbell, Chafin and O'Quinn
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WHEREAS, Barter Theater, the State Theatre of Virginia, proudly celebrated 80 years of entertaining audiences in 2013; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater welcomed its first patrons in 1933 with the slogan “With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh”; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater was the result of actor and Southwest Virginia native Robert Porterfield’s innovative idea to open a theater during the Great Depression that invited patrons to barter for admission with fresh produce from their gardens and other farm foods; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater produced plays by such notable playwrights as Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, and Thornton Wilder, all of whom accepted Virginia hams as payment for royalties, and George Bernard Shaw, a vegetarian who received spinach as his royalty; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater’s great success led to its designation as the State Theatre of Virginia in 1946, a designation that was a first at the time; today it is the longest-running professional Equity theater in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater now offers a wide range of educational opportunities for individuals of all ages and hosts the annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights to share the area’s rich cultural heritage; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater celebrated its 80th anniversary with a free block party-style celebration on June 10, 2013, that featured backstage tours of the main stage, a grand prize giveaway, and an array of other family-friendly activities; and

WHEREAS, Barter Theater looks forward to continuing to provide theatergoers with lively and engaging performances in the future; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Barter Theater on the occasion of its 80th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Jeremy Wright, managing director of Barter Theater, as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and appreciation of the theater’s contributions to the cultural landscape of Southwest Virginia and the Commonwealth.