CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Patrice Foster participates in a reading for “Shine: Illuminating Black Stories” at the Barter Theatre in Abington, Virginia. Charlotte playwright Vickie Evans’ production “The Chronicles of Mary White” is one of the productions to be showcased.

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement that swept America, the Barter Theatre in the small Appalachian town of Abingdon, Virginia, wanted to reveal the Black stories that have gone unnoticed.

Their solution: “Shine: Illuminating Black Stories,” which will display the Black experience in Appalachia and feature original works by Black playwrights, performers, and artists. The show will take place on April 24 at 7 p.m.

“With Shine, we want to illuminate Black stories from our region. This night will be special because it is the first event like this at Barter Theatre, where the entire evening has been created and curated to tell Black stories. We will have six original works from Black playwrights highlighting the Black experience in Appalachia. We will be showcasing the artwork from local high school artist Dakari Wheeler who designed the artwork for our event,” said Terrance Jackson, Barter Theatre’s creative community specialist and event director for “Shine.”

In the summer of 2020, Barter began collecting stories as part of the Black in Appalachia Initiative, which seeks to ensure all voices could speak their truth. Jackson and co-director Patrice Foster were on the selection committee for the six monologues that would be featured as part of “Shine.” In the early stages of planning for the event, Barter put a call out to Black theatres and artists in the area. They gave them the opportunity to submit monologues based on several prompts. The top six were chosen to perform.

“The monologues cover a wide range of topics pertaining to the human experience, like identity, what it's like to be Black in Appalachia, and gender queer identity,” said Foster. “I’m excited to celebrate Blackness in the area because it doesn't happen often. We’ve worked hard to reach out to Black community members, collaborators, artists, and writers. I hope that the audience will be a lot of Black people. It’s exciting to bring these people together to celebrate and build community.”

Some of Charlotte’s own will be showcasing their work at the event, including award-winning playwright and founder of the African American Playwrights Group, Vickie Evans, who will feature her original work “The Chronicles of Mary White.”

“We want people to leave feeling like there is representation in this area, as well as passion and excitement about stories here,” Foster said. “I know several people who were born and raised in Appalachia and are really proud and really passionate about their home. There are so many unmined stories here.”

In addition to the six playwrights, professional storyteller Ronnie Pepper will perform. Born and raised in the small Appalachian town of Hendersonville, Pepper shares stories and parts of our history that might otherwise have been forgotten. There will be a screening of “Sound & Sole,” a short documentary by Cara Hagan on the life of Arthur Grimes, a clogger and buck dancer from Boone which has been shown at film festivals around the world.

Jackson plans to host “Shine: Illuminating Black Stories” every year going forward. Monologue submissions are already being accepted for next year’s event until Oct. 21. He also plans to host a full-length play contest in 2023 as part of the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights. Submissions conclude on May 1.

The Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwright was developed over 20 years ago at Barter Theatre. The event develops new plays and playwrights in the region. Playwrights can read their words to over a hundred professional directors in the audience and get real time, immediate feedback.

The playwrights also have rehearsals leading up to the festival where they can make changes after they’ve heard the actors practice it a few times. Barter Theatre is interested in seeing locals succeed and the festival is one way they can do so.

“I want to give a voice to people in theatre who don't necessarily get a chance to have their voice heard, especially to Black Appalachians. You don't really hear about their stories on Broadway, in TV, or film. I'm excited to show people that their stories do matter,” said Jackson.

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