By Lewis Loflin
Update April 2025: Barter Theatre’s 2019 $500,000 loss—linked to a 16% tourism drop—persists as a shadow. Ticket sales remain shaky post-pandemic, with reliance on donors and grants still evident, despite no new deficit figures for 2025.
Southwest Virginia has funneled millions in tax dollars into tourism—via the Virginia Tobacco Commission (VTC) and others—often at the expense of education and healthcare. Barter Theatre’s struggles expose this as a poor bet. Far from driving growth, these venues, including Barter, have leaned on public funds for decades, with diminishing returns despite claims of economic promise.
Barter hit panic mode in 2009-2011 as funding cuts loomed. The Virginia House proposed slashing the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA) budget from $4.1 million in FY2011 to zero by 2012 (Style Weekly, March 16, 2010). Though VCA held steady at $4.1 million through 2012, Barter cut its budget 20% and shed 20 jobs by November 2009 (Artsmagazine.info, November 22, 2009):
We’ve seen a shift away from tourism...Barter has lost about 20 year-round positions...Reducing your budget by 20% is painful, but it is far better to plan carefully. —Barter Theatre, 2009
VTC grants (e.g., $100,000 in 2011) and prior aid couldn’t mask the reliance on locals over tourists—contradicting earlier hype of drawing outsiders.
Since opening June 10, 1933, in Abingdon, Virginia, Barter Theatre—America’s longest-running professional theater—has traded tickets for food during the Great Depression, earning its name from founder Robert Porterfield. Named Virginia’s State Theatre in 1946, it birthed stars like Gregory Peck and Kevin Spacey. By 2025, it draws 125,000-145,000 visitors yearly (Virginia Living, March 13, 2025), contributing $40 million to Abingdon’s economy (2019 VTC estimate)—yet falters without subsidies.
Tri-Cities’ economic decline overshadows Barter’s woes. Dr. Steb Hipple’s data (ETSU, Q3 2016) and BLS stats show:
Total labor force shrank from 247,965 (2009) to 193,170 (2018)—a 54,795 drop. By 2025, poverty and disability likely worsened this, though fresh data’s elusive. Bristol, VA’s 2018 per capita income ($21,589) barely tops 1970’s adjusted minimum wage ($10.46/hour, $21,756/year). See Smyth County Losses.
Barter’s 2019 $500,000 loss (WJHL, August 24, 2019) and post-COVID struggles (e.g., "Shrek" flopped, losing $300,000) highlight tourism’s fragility. VCA and NEA grants continue (e.g., 2023 VCA award), but ticket sales—64% of its $7.6M budget (Roanoke.com, April 10, 2023)—haven’t fully rebounded. Support them at www.bartertheatre.com, or ask why public funds prop up a shaky model.
