Dear Barnyardians,
Fourteen years ago Carla and Charlie Hunt enthusiastically agreed to allow a group of college students to convert their precious historic barn into a theatre for the summer to produce My Avisia Winger, written by Brian Oglesby and directed by Steven Schmidt. With $2,000 loaned by Linda Hendricks, borrowed platforms, lighting equipment and chairs, and the overwhelming support from the community, we transformed the Schmeiser barn for the first time. The generosity of the community and energy from the founding members launched a theatre company.
Over the years, the barn has been:
- A playground for young artists.
- A home that brought friends back to Davis.
- A training ground that launched careers.
- A community that shared a love for beautiful sunsets, starry night skies, and creating art from the ground up.
The Barnyard community is made up of all the people who were brave enough to drive out to the country and down a gravel driveway, and walk into a hot-dusty barn to experience live theatre in a unique place.
This unique place offered many opportunities, but also presented many challenges. Telling new stories responsibly in a found space requires an incredible amount of time and energy. While our passion for theatre and working together has not diminished, the hours we dedicated to transforming the barn is now taken up by other parts of our lives. We accept that it is time to dissolve Barnyard Theatre.
Relationships will continue. The barn will still be there. But it is time to say farewell to an organization that has been an important part of our lives for these past fourteen years.
We would like to invite our entire community to celebrate with us on July 6, 2018. In the style of the Nights of New Plays, we will honor the shows we have produced and developed; have some homemade hummus; and toast the many summers of memories. The evening will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Barn, 35125 County Road 31 (directions).
Thank you to all of you who have made Barnyard a part of your lives. We hope to see you out at the barn this July.
Sincerely,
Barnyard Theatre