The Women of Barter: Leadership, Determination and Talent

ABINGDON, Va. – Robert Porterfield was a dreamer, a showman nonpareil and a tireless promoter.

But anyone who has ever studied the story of Porterfield’s Barter Theatre finds it obvious that were it not for all of the strong women in the theater’s history, the Barter would have long ago been relegated to a tiny footnote in the back pages of theatrical history.

From the very first performance in 1933, it was Porterfield’s girlfriend and, later, his wife, Helen Fritz, who, quite literally “counted the beans” and hoarded pennies in her legendary little tin money box and who carefully scrutinized every expenditure, often convincing set carpenters to get by with three pieces of lumber instead of five.

Later, when a tornado swept through Abingdon and destroyed the building where Porterfield had stored his props and costumes during World War II, it was his mother, Daisy Huffard Porterfield, who scoured the lawns and hillsides to salvage what little could be found – although her husband and Porterfield’s father was terminally ill and needed almost constant attention.

Then, after the war, it was Alice Hilton who moved from California to Abingdon to fill in the business and management void left by Helen Fritz, who had returned to Pennsylvania suffering from emotional maelstroms and liver disease brought on by alcoholism.

After Hilton came Mary Dudley Porterfield, Robert Porterfield’s second wife, who, although not intimately involved with day-to-day theater operations, created for Porterfield the home and family support that he longed for and desperately needed.

Today, the tradition of strong and dedicated women continues throughout the Barter’s organization as well as onstage. These include several members of the Barter Foundation Board of Trustees and such stalwarts as Katy Brown, associate director and artistic director of the Barter Players; Amanda Aldridge, resident costume designer and choreographer; Cheri Prough DeVol, resident scenic designer; Jayne Duehring, director of advancement; and many others.

Just chatting with the women of Barter, even the volunteers and young people starting out on their careers in many aspects of theater, you immediately get the impression that you are witnessing an organization that is the most fertile of soil for everybody to grow and prosper regardless of gender, race or any of the myriad other things that all too frequently cloud our visions of the possible.

Brown, for example, has been with the Barter for more than 10 years, during which time she has been a director, teacher, actor, choreographer, dramaturge and administrator. She began her run in Barter’s Youth Theatre, and after a few years, took over the artistic direction of that wing of the operation.

Under her guidance, the Barter Players (as the Youth Theatre is now called) has become not only one of the most popular aspects of Barter Theatre with audiences, but remains a strong training ground for aspiring actors.

Brown has directed many plays for both youngsters and adults, and her smooth flow of story and innovative techniques gives a signature touch to all of her shows. She’s also director of the Young Playwrights Festival and head of casting for all Barter productions. If you want’a trod the boards on any of Barter’s stages, you’ve first got to impress Brown.

Evalyn Baron, associate director in charge of outreach as well as a much-admired actor, says that Barter’s tradition of strong women meshes well with Abingdon’s own values. “Abingdon has had and has many strong women who raise strong families. Women just seem to know what is required for a good, healthy community.”

Baron credits Barter’s Producing Artistic Director Richard Rose for many of the current opportunities available for women to excel, further strengthening the foundation established by Porterfield.
“Rick has opened the door to strong artistic women, making it possible for them to earn a living” doing what they love, she says.

“Barter,” Baron adds, “embodies everything I believe in.”

She goes on to say that she believes the Barter women – and men – bring to the community a larger, wider and deeper relationship, although she jokes that “women light the fire, men gather the wood.”
As head of outreach, Baron sees a significant part of her mission as bringing more young people into the theater, to get them coming repeatedly so that theater-going becomes a habit.

“It’s good for their lives and can instruct their lives,” she says.