76,308 ADMISSIONS IN 1991 BEST EVER FOR BARTER THEATRE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 4, 1992                   TAG: 9202040272
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Southwest bureau
DATELINE: ABINGDON                                LENGTH: Medium
76,308 ADMISSIONS IN 1991 BEST EVER FOR BARTER THEATRE
Barter Theatre had the best box office season in its 59-year history during 1991, but suffered a $67,000 drop in state funding.
It sold 76,308 admissions for a total of $513,797 for seven plays at the main theater, one at the Barter Playhouse and two Barter Youth Stage shows.
"More people came to Barter in 1991 than any other period in 59 years of theater in Abingdon," said Rex Partington, artistic director and producer.
"Our attendance rate at the theatre was 75 percent of available seating. For any regional theater to reach that playing capacity is great news . . . especially when that growth is compared to an overall bleak year in the national economy."
"Most non-profit organizations - theaters included - are seeing drops in contributed income. We were unprepared for the sudden cut in state funding [by the Virginia Commission for the Arts] and we are currently reorganizing our overall fund-raising strategies," Partington said.
Box office income rose 20.5 percent over 1990.
A week-by-week comparison between 1990 and 1991 at the main theater only showed attendance up by 19 percent, with about 10,000 more people patronizing the main stage shows than the previous year.
The main increase came in single-ticket sales, up 16 percent, and group sales, up 23 percent.
The best-attended show last year was "The Diary of Anne Frank," which played to school groups weekdays and the general public on weekends. The best-attended production by the public was "Steel Magnolias," followed by "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Oil City Symphony."
Barter's expanded Youth Stage also paid off in 1991, with 62 performances compared to 36 in 1990. Admission was increased by $1. Attendance increased by 34 percent, and income doubled when children and adults turned out for "Charlotte's Web" and "American Tall Tales."
Barter's sole Playhouse production in 1991, "Greater Tuna," played to 80 percent capacity.
Partington said Barter would announce its 1992 schedule in three weeks.
"It's a hard act to follow, but we're certainly up for the challenge," he said. "The coming season will hold some interesting surprises for our audiences and we'll be doing our best to top 1991's box office records."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB