The Barter Theatre and Emory & Henry College have agreed to continue their collaborative, professional association with the goal of enhancing the professional theatre studies program at Emory & Henry College. This partnership will provide access for Emory & Henry College theatre students to certain elements of Barter Theatre’s professional staff and their expertise prior to graduation. Emory & Henry College and the Barter Theatre renewed their partnership on Oct. 12 at the McGlothlin Center for the Arts, home of the Emory & Henry Department of Theatre.
President John Wells, Barter Theatre Board Chair Emily O’Quinn and Barter Theatre Artistic Director Katy Brown and E&H Theatre Students
Speaking in front of an audience of Barter and Emory & Henry staff and theatre students, Dr. John W. Wells, president of Emory & Henry College, began the signing ceremony with a few words. “Over a decade ago, the Barter Theatre and the Emory & Henry Theatre Department stood shoulder to shoulder and decided to help one another increase the value of theatre in this region,” Wells said. “This partnership gives our students great insights into the theatre profession. We at Emory & Henry are so glad to continue this partnership on this wonderful occasion.”
The formal partnership allows Emory & Henry theatre students to attend more than eight Barter productions a year, including the actor talk-backs following each show. The students are also able to gain access to several Barter Theatre internships and understudies.
“One of my favorite days is the day that the Barter Theatre artistic team comes to meet the first-year students at Emory & Henry,” said Producing Artistic Director of Barter Theatre, Katy Brown. “We always talk about their hopes and dreams and have a conversation about where they are dreaming to be in their lives. The liberal arts are special at Emory & Henry and at Barter Theatre as well. There is something so special about the place that we live and that our institutions are rooted in.”
As a part of this agreement, Emory & Henry College may accurately describe the theatre program publicly as “The Department of Theatre at Emory & Henry College, in collaboration with Barter Theatre.”
“Legendary. That is how the book that named Emory & Henry as one of the top 50 ‘colleges that change lives’ described the partnership between Emory & Henry and the Barter Theatre,” said Kelly Bremner, chair of the Theatre Department at Emory & Henry. “It’s that tight bond between liberal arts and pre-professional education that makes the partnership truly legendary.”
Students Aubin Jefferson from Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Destinee Johnson, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who have benefitted from the Barter partnership, also had a chance to speak on their experiences. “Working hand in hand with the Barter has allowed us to add to our toolbox, as we like to say in the theatre world,” said Jefferson. “It has given us real-world experience in our time as undergraduate students that no other program offers; but it is so much more than just a professional experience. Working with Barter one-on-one has allowed us to create personal relationships resembling a family.”
Following the speakers, President Wells, Katy Brown and Barter’s Board of Trustees President Emily O’Quinn signed the continuing partnership contracts.
