"If no one calls you crazy, that just means your dreams weren’t big enough." - AP Carter, Keep on the Sunny Side

As we celebrate Barter’s 90th birthday, I find the above quote to have special resonance this year. For instance, what could be crazier than Robert Porterfield returning to Southwest Virginia during the Great Depression to start a theatre with the idea of trading “ham for Hamlet.”

And, at just about the same time, in the same place, what could be crazier than a former fruit tree salesman, his wife, and her sister-in-law, traveling from Maces Spring, VA to the big city of Bristol, TN to audition for Ralph Peer. Those auditions became known as the Bristol Sessions and resulted in the Carter Family becoming known as the first family of country music.

Keep on the Sunny Side was read at our very first Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, our new play development program dedicated to celebrating the authentic Appalachian voice. And what better way to do that than with the Carter Family. Written by a local doctor, the play was nurtured and developed for years and, after premiering on both of Barter’s two stages, went on to tour the country and play for more than 100,000 people. Talk about crazy dreams.

But what I consider to be the craziest dream of all, is that this is the play that brought us together with the Carter Family. From the very beginning of this project, Janette and Joe Carter, Rita Forrester, and everyone at the Carter Fold took us into their family with a love and support that lasts to this day. And what I came to realize is that they do the same for everyone who walks through the doors of the Fold…everyone is welcomed into the family.

I love this play because it is about things that are important to us in Appalachia: music, family, home, community. And if we can make you feel half as warm and welcome as the Carter Family has done for us, then we’ll have done our job.

- Nicholas Piper, Director

AP Carter
Eugene Wolf*

Janette Carter
Angie Fisher

Sara Carter
Jill Anderson*

Maybelle Carter
Brandi Hart

Man 1
Matt Martin

Man 2
Ben Mackel*

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

Director
Nick Piper

Scenic Designer
Derek Smith

Lighting Designer
Andrew Morehouse

Costume Designer
Kelly Jenkins

Sound Designers
Matt Green and Nick Piper

Intimacy Coordinator
Ashley Campos

Production Stage Manager
Cindi A. Raebel*

Playwright
Douglas Pote

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

Audio Supervisor
Matt Green

Stage Carpenter
Franklin Hyder

Production Assistant
Lizzie Komosa

Wardrobe Supervisor
Emily Murray

Light Board Operator
L’Via Rodriguez

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Keep on the Sunny Side:

The Songs and Story of the Carter Family

Conceived and Written by Douglas Pote

Music and Lyrics by The Original Carter Family

Vocal Arrangements by Eugene Wolf

 Musical Arrangement by Doug Dorschug

The music performed in KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE is being licensed and performed in cooperation with Peer International Corporation.