thinktheater

Discover the ultimate theater experience in Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia, where the Contemporary American Theater Festival produces the newest plays in America.

Since its founding in 1991, Festival has produced over 144 new plays, including 66 world premieres and eleven commissions. Plays produced at CATF have gone on to have robust lives including regional productions, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and film adaptations.

The Festival

Named as one of the top theater festivals in the world, by publications such as The New York Times, American Theater, and World Guide, the Contemporary American Theater Festival shapes the future of American theater. Each summer, the Festival produces bold, new plays, allowing audiences to experience all of the plays in the season in as little as two days. The plays produced at the Festival spotlight daring and diverse stories, in a truly fearless fashion.

In addition to its dedication to storytelling, CATF celebrates the dynamic between the artist, the audience, and the work. Comprised of lectures, discussions, stage readings, and more, the talktheater series provides opportunities to discuss issues and themes raised in the season’s plays. This vibrant pairing of contemporary plays and invigorating discourse fosters a unique and unforgettable experience.

Shepherdstown

Along with thought-provoking theater, Shepherdstown and the surrounding area host historic sites, artistic and cultural events, outdoor recreational activities, and more. Stay in a charming, historic inn or surround yourself with sophisticated elegance; shop the locally-owned and unique boutiques; and treat yourself to the splendid taste of Shepherdstown’s numerous restaurants.

You’ll discover the ultimate theater experience and more in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

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THE MISSION:

To produce and develop new American theater

THE VISION:

The ultimate theater experience for artists and audiences

CORE VALUES:

Fearless art;
Diverse stories;
Inclusivity;
Community

 

CATF – a Quick History

  • Founded in 1991 by Ed Herendeen.
  • To date, 144 new plays produced by 104 playwrights (production history).
  • CATF has produced 66 world premieres, and commissioned and produced 11 new American plays.
  • 50% of all plays produced by women writers (well above national averages).
  • 2019 attendance: Issued over 18,500 tickets to 6,000 patrons from 38 states, DC, and around the globe.
  • 2018 independent economic impact survey conducted by Shugoll Research, reported that CATF generates $5.86 million for the local economy. Read more about CATF’s audience and economic impact visiting the our thinkimpact website page.
  • Operates under a LORT D contract with Actors’ Equity Association and in agreements with United Scenic Artists and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
  • Annual operating budget of $2 million
  • Proud member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG),  National New Play Network (NNPN), and Blue Star Theaters Network.
  • The 1999 CATF commission, Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher, was later adapted as the film Stage Beauty, starring Clare Danes, Billy Crudop, and Tom Wilkinson in 2004.
  • Presented the West Virginia Governor’s Award for Leadership in the Arts in March 2012.
  • Johnna Adams’s Gidion’s Knot premiered at CATF in 2012; it was published in American Theatre magazine, was a citation winner of the ATCA/Steinberg Award; and was one of the most produced plays in the 2013-14 season nation-wide.
  • Hosted the annual conference of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) in 2013.
  • Made its Off-Broadway debut with the transfer of CATF’s production of Uncanny Valley by Thomas Gibbons to 59E59 Theaters, October 2 – 26, 2014. Reviews appeared from Peter Marks and the Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and others.
  • Associate Producing Director Peggy McKowen presented with the West Virginia Governor’s Award for West Virginia Artist of the Year in 2018.
  • Plays by Women of the Contemporary American Theater Festival, an anthology of plays first produced at the Festival, was published by London-based Methuen Drama in 2019.
  • In 2022, the Fall Reading Series was established. The FRS provides playwrights the opportunity to continue to edit their script and calumniates in public staged readings.

Production History

The Contemporary American Theater Festival, an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit, is hosted on the campus of Shepherd University (Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix, President), a public liberal arts institution founded in 1871, and located in historic Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Situated along the banks of the Potomac River, and just 70 miles north of Washington, DC, and west of Baltimore, MD, Shepherdstown is a mixture of metropolitan thought and rustic ambience.  Drawing on populations of Northern Virginia, western and suburban Maryland, DC, and Baltimore, 60% of CATF’s audience comes from outside the State of West Virginia. The CATF season is truly America’s newest plays in West Virginia’s oldest town.