Barter Theatre to host a drive-in movie concept for their live performances, using the FM transmitter from Broadcastvision Entertainment.
Barter Theatre, located in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933, making it the nation’s longest-running professional theatre. In 1933, when the country was in the middle of The Great Depression, spare money for a theatre ticket was not easy to come by. Robert Porterfield, the founder of the theatre, offered a unique solution to allow locals to attend shows. Rather than traditional money, patrons could pay for admission to the theatre by bartering food, livestock, or other goods. For 40 cents or the equivalent in bartered goods, anyone could see a show. In 1946, Barter Theatre was designated as the State Theatre of Virginia. Today, Barter is one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theaters remaining in the United States. 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, Larry Linville, John Glover, Jim Varney, and Wayne Knight. Will Bigham, the 2007 winner of On the Lot, acted at Barter Theatre for several years.
The current epidemic has created yet another challenge, but Barter Theatre is adapting and using technology to keep its doors open. Tony Angelini, Resident Sound Designer of Barter Theatre, reached out to Mark Blake, Chief Operating Officer at Broadcastvision Entertainment to learn more about the FM transmitter (AXSFMTD) and how it could be used to host a drive-in movie concept for their live performances. Tony wanted to create a safe and easy way for people to attend live performances, and the FM transmitter was the solution.
The AXSFMTD is very easy to set up and use. You simply connect it to the audio output of your audio device; for example, a soundboard, mixer, projector, TV, etc., plug it in for power and then program the FM station using the easy-to-read LED display. Broadcastvision recommends selecting FM stations that are not currently being used by local radio stations, so there is no interference. The easiest way to find an available radio station is to do a channel search in the area where you will be hosting the service using your car radio. Simply scroll from 88.1 up to 107.9, and write down all the stations that have complete static (white noise). These are the stations that are available for use in your area. The other key factor in getting a quality signal is installing the transmitter at least seven feet from the ground since it’s much easier for the signal to travel downward.
Due to the size of their lot, Barter Theatre decided to purchase two FM transmitters and broadcast on two separate FM radio stations that customers can tune to depending on where they are located on the lot. In addition to using FM transmitters to broadcast the audio, they are also simulcasting the performance on a large screen.
Barter Theatre is calling their drive-in event the “Barter at the Moonlight Drive-In,” and their first production will be The Wizard of Oz on July 14, 2020. For more information about Barter Theatre and their upcoming productions, CLICK HERE. For more information about the FM transmitter, CLICK HERE to contact Broadcastvision Entertainment.