I just started going for a walk and kept going…

--Emma Gatewood

When we first produced Grandma Gatewood Took A Walk in the spring of 2024, none of us knew what an impact Emma Gatewood would have on us all. This little show, which came out of our Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, became such a hit within our community that we ended up extending the show. A year later, people are still talking to me about this play and how much it meant to them.

So last fall, when Hurricane Helene hit our region so hard, we started to think of ways we could help out by shining a light on our area and those who have been hit hardest. With our neighbors in Damascus having been hit so hard, it seemed right that we bring back Grandma Gatewood who actually stopped in “Trail Town USA” so many years ago.

There are so many things to learn from Emma Gatewood’s story, but one that resonates with me is this: it’s never too late to start a new journey. It’s never too late to change your life. There are 1,000 legitimate reasons not to pursue that dream you don’t tell anyone about. The one you don’t even dare tell your family about. She had all those reasons too, but she did it anyway…and once she did it, she was free. 

Emma Gatewood not only went on to thru hike the AT three times, she also hiked the Oregon Trail (2000 miles from Missouri to Oregon). Then, when she was in her early eighties, she spent ten or more hours a day clearing and marking a 30-mile hiking trail through Gallia County, OH that would later be connected to the Buckeye Trail. She had found her purpose…her power.

I wonder if the physical journey of hiking the AT is simply the physical manifestation of an internal journey that one must take…something we need to figure out about ourselves, which can only happen by putting one foot in front of the other for 2000 miles. 

And if that’s where you find yourself, I wish you the courage to take that first step…the courage to go for a walk, and keep going.

- Nicholas Piper, Director of Grandma Gatewood Took a Walk

Emma Gatewood
Mary Lucy Bivins*

PC Gatewood/et all
John Hardy*

*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States.

Director
Nicholas Piper

Scenic Designer
Derek Smith

Costume Designer
Lee Alexander Martin

Original Lighting Designer
Camille Davis

Adapation Lighting Designer
Andrew Morehouse

Sound Designer
Bobby Beck

Composer/Musician
Ben Mackel

Intimacy Coordinator
Ashley Campos

Stage Manager
Megan Ward*

Producing Artistic Director of Barter Theatre
Katy Brown

*Denotes members of the Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors, and Stage Managers in the United States.

Wardrobe Supervisor
Chelsea Bannan

Light and Sound Operator
Harper Fulmer

Production Assistant
Sarah-Parker Martin

Production Sponsor

The Prop Shop would like to thank A-1 Storage for their help with Grandma Gatewood Took a Walk.