III 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 416 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 
Received 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Commending Barter Theatre on the occasion of its 75th 
anniversary. 
Whereas Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, presents its 
75th anniversary season in 2008; 
Whereas Barter Theatre was founded in 1933 by visionary 
Robert Porterfield, who originated the idea of offering 
people admission to artistic performances in exchange for 
fresh produce and livestock, inspiring the name, ‘‘Barter 
Theatre’’; 
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Whereas in 1946, the Virginia General Assembly designated 
Barter Theatre as the State Theatre of Virginia, the first 
theater to receive this distinction; 
Whereas Barter Theatre is a favorite destination for regional, 
national, and international visitors, and its patrons have 
more than doubled over the past 10 years; 
Whereas in 2006, the company’s 2 stages drew 160,000 pa-
trons for live theatrical productions, including comedies, 
musicals, dramas, mysteries, and innovative new works, 
to educate and entertain audiences; 
Whereas, as one of the few resident theaters still functioning, 
Barter Theatre is the longest continuously operating Eq-
uity theater in the country; 
Whereas the Barter Players, the touring company of the the-
ater, travel to 8 States each year, performing at schools 
and community venues, augmenting the artistic education 
for all ages; 
Whereas Barter Theatre’s Appalachian Festival of Plays and 
Playwrights is an annual arts festival that celebrates the 
richness of Appalachian history and culture by providing 
a venue where the story of the region, both past and 
present, can be explored and showcased by area play-
wrights and writers; 
Whereas Barter Theatre has created and implemented an 
award-winning Internet Distance Learning Program 
which teaches students about artistic and technical theat-
rical elements using a web-based interactive program 
available to classrooms across the region; 
Whereas the Barter Theatre Student Matinee Program pro-
vides the opportunity for students to attend professional 
theater performances, ask questions of the actors and 
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other theater professionals, participate in set design and 
acting workshops, and learn about the inner workings of 
a professional theater; 
Whereas the Barter Theatre Young Playwrights Festival of-
fers a contest for local high school students to write and 
submit plays of their own, with the winning plays per-
formed by professionals at Barter Theatre, encouraging 
the development of students’ writing skills and creativity 
and providing training to educators in teaching play-
writing; and 
Whereas Barter Theatre is a premiere tourist attraction in 
Southwest Virginia and one of the cornerstones of tour-
ism for the entire region: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
(1) commends and congratulates Barter The-
atre on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; 
(2) recognizes Barter Theatre for providing 75 
years of high quality artistic programs to visitors 
and the surrounding community, educational pro-
grams, and a venue for artistic development in 
Southwest Virginia; 
(3) recognizes that Barter Theatre is a valuable 
educational resource, reaching 18,000 students each 
season through its productions on two stages; and 
(4) recognizes that educational outreach of Bar-
ter Theatre, which includes the Young Playwrights 
Festival, the Internet Distance Learning Program, 
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