The Chaffin Family

The Founders:

A.W. (John) and Edna Lou (Puny) Chaffin

John and Puny Chaffin started The Barn Dinner Theatre in March of 1967. It was an instant success as the only professional theatre bringing Broadway to Nashville. Now retired, they still never miss a show at the Barn.

Owners:

John and Janie Chaffin:

john@dinnertheatre.com

janie@dinnertheatre.com

John took over the theatre from his parents in January of 1976. The theatre continued with it’s success until 1979 when John sold it to Highland Inns. He moved to the Bahamas for the next three years until returning to Nashville and buying the theatre back. Here he’s been since. John and Janie were married July 7, 2002. After spending 40 years in the corporate world, Janie is now working with John at the Barn in Marketing In her spare time, Janie ‘plays’ in the flower gardens at the Barn.Together, John and Janie have four children and six grandchildren.

Artistic Director:

Martha Wilkinson:

martha@dinnertheatre.com

Martha Wilkinson, a native of Rome, Georgia, first came to Chaffin’s Barn in 1988 as a cast member in Chaffin’s production of ‘Chicago’. And we just can’t seem to get rid of her! Before coming to Chaffin’s, Martha was a resident actor at Cumberland County Playhouse - just a few miles down the road on I-40.

Martha was trained as a performer at Darlington School, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Berry College in Mt. Berry, Georgia. The apple truly does not fall far from the tree as Martha’s late father, Wallace, was a film and television actor for 20 years as well as the Marketing and Public Relations Director for Mead Paper Corporation. Her mother, Vera, is a visual artist and still lives in Rome, Georgia. She has an older brother, Knox, who is a nationally recognized folk artist with works in the National Museum of Folk Art. Her older sister, Sallie, lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband and four children.

Martha has performed regularly with Chaffin’s for the past fifteen years garnering nine local theatre awards for her performances in musical theatre. Martha and her husband, David Compton, pioneered the performance workshop for children called ‘Spotlighters’, which offers year-round intensive study at Chaffin’s for children interested in performing.

In addition to performing and directing she also enjoys quality time with her husband David and their three dogs; Gertie, Sammie, and Zeke. Martha attributes a great deal of her success to the support from David and the opportunities allowed her by John Chaffin. “John’s trust in my ability in all aspects of my association with Chaffin’s has been an invaluable part of my ability to succeed here.”

Group Sales:

Dietz Osborne:

chaffingroups@yahoo.com

Dietz is a native of Little Rock, AR where he attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and earned a BA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Children’s Theatre. Dietz began working for Chaffin’s Barn as an actor in the 1998 production of Guys & Dolls.  After many subsequent productions, Dietz began working in the Box Office and in 2003 he joined the management team as the Director of Sales. Dietz splits his time between the Sales office and the Stage.