Richard Rose is the second-longest serving artistic director in Barter’s history, celebrating his 26th year here at Barter Theatre. He is only the third artistic director in the historic theatre’s 85-year history. Rick has led Barter to unprecedented growth in attendance and the expansion of programs serving the region in culture, education, economic development, and community building. Barter’s audiences know Rick’s work well as a director and an adapter. His original adaptations of plays have been extremely popular and include: It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, Dracula!, Frankenstein (acknowledged as one of the best new regional theatre plays of the year), A Modern Christmas Carol and the wildly popular Sherlock Holmes & the Hound of the Baskervilles. Last season, Rick directed Barter’s wildly successful production of White Christmas, along with The Music Man, The Cottage, Friendly’s Fire, Uncanny Valley, and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. He has directed 136 productions during his tenure thus far at Barter. Rick has served on many state and regional boards including currently on the board of Virginians for the Arts. Rick did post-graduate work at New York University, has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Norbert College in DePere, WI, where he was honored with the “Distinguished Achievement Award in Humanities.” Rick was also one of the first-ever recipients of the Town of Abingdon’s Arthur Campbell Award for extraordinary contributions to this community.