Theatre Matters: Conversations with Barter Theatre

New Producing Artistic Director, Katy Brown, shares with us the exciting shows and new experiences coming up this season, why Barter Theatre is so special (she's been a member of the Barter Family since 1998, in many different capacities), her vision to keep Barter's legacy alive while moving into the future, and much more!

Associate Director of The Barter Players, Associate Resident Acting Company Member, and former Barter Player, Sarah Van Deusen, shares the interesting story of how she's truly come full circle with The Barter Players, explains the many different hats she wears in her positions, gives us a glimpse into the acting side of things, tells some spooky ghost tales of the theatre, and much more!

Wig and Makeup Designer, Whitney Kaibel, shares the unique route that finally sparked her interest in theatre, takes us through her process of designing and creating the many wigs and makeup effects, the maintenance that goes into each one, and much more!

Madeline Bullen has been with Barter Youth Academy (BYA) since it started in 2012, first as a student, then assistant, technical director, teacher, director, choreographer and now Director of Admissions on top of some of the aforementioned duties. She shares with us all things BYA, the many ways it benefits the students, what happens during the fun eight-week process, and much more!

Associate Resident Acting Company Member, Wendy Piper, is excited to be back after two years to appear in Maytag Virgin (her character has never used a dryer, hence the title) and The Loophole! She shares her love for improv and how it's useful not only in acting but also coaches businesses how to apply it; what it's like to perform with her husband and how they keep stage and home life separate; gives us a glimpse of the technical rehearsal; and much more!

Assistant Props Master, Megan Pressley, takes us into the prop shop where she's created such amazing things as Dragon in Shrek, the couch in Singing in the Rain, explains her process and technique of creating from scratch or modifying things in stock, the surprising thing that is used for ice cream, offers advice to those looking to get into the field, and much more!

The Barter Players Resident Costume Designer, Syndey de Briel, takes us into her one-person costume shop to walk us through her entire process that goes into bringing us all the unique costumes, explains why the look and feel of each fabric is an integral part of creating the story, her work for the special sensory-friendly performances, how she keeps keeping each costume original and unique and sew much more!!

Resident Sound Designer and Engineer, Tony Angelini, gives us a glimpse into the recording studio where he creates his own sound effects, designs the many sounds you hear in each production, explains the fun way telephones work on stage, how he picks the perfect pre-show music to help set the mood, and much more!

Director of Education and Founder/Director of Project REAL, Megan Hamilton, who enlightens us how she applies acting tools to educate students of all ages, shares some powerful stories of the impact Project REAL is having in schools, the secret to connecting with one another, and much more! Photo by Sarah Laughland Photography

Resident Scenic Designer, Derek Smith, who sets the scene by sharing his process for creating a world for the play, how he designs sets that can be repped, the unique approach he takes for designing for two different stages, and much more!