In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many people could not afford to pay for theater tickets, and many actors had trouble finding employment.

A review by Paul Dellinger in the December 17, 2006 issue of The Roanoke Times summarized the situation as follows: But Broadway was not doing so much swinging during the Depression, when theaters went dark and actors found themselves out of work.

[2]Beginning with "some twenty of his fellow actors",[3] Robert Porterfield, founder of the theatre, offered admission by letting the local people pay with food goods, hence the name "Barter".

[5] Referring to the barter concept, an article in Life magazine's July 31, 1939, issue reported, "What sounded like the craziest idea in the history of the U.S. theater is now a booming success.

[8] An Associated Press news story reported that the production "was played to a capacity audience that came laden with cakes, fruit, vegetables, poultry" and a live pig.

[5] While remaining based in Abingdon, Barter Theatre has presented plays over a broad geographical area.

That same year it had a touring company that did one-night stands in localities in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.

[11] Initially, the theatre's plays were performed in the Abingdon Opera House, and actors stayed at the Martha Washington Inn.

Productions branched out into the surrounding area after three nights on campus, going "on a ten-day tour of mountain towns and resorts in an ancient bus widely known as 'Bessie.

"[2] Many well-known stars of stage, screen and television have performed early in their careers at Barter, including Gregory Peck, Ernest Borgnine, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Hume Cronyn, Gary Collins, Frances Fisher, Kevin Spacey, Larry Linville, John Glover, Jim Varney, and Wayne Knight.

[23] Indoor performances resumed at Gilliam Stage in September 2021, with protocols in place to keep actors, staff, crew, and audience as safe as possible during the ongoing pandemic.

Each winner received an acre of mountain land near Abingdon and a Virginia ham and selected two actors to perform with the theatre.