The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) is an American annual professional theatre festival held at Shepherd University, located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. According to the New York Times (in 2015), it is one of "50 "essential" summer festivals". In 2016, Germany's World Guide identified the festival as one of the "Top 10 theatre festivals not to miss this summer". A representative of the Theatre Communications Group in its publication "American Theatre" stated that "(CATF's) forward focus has helped ... change the American theatre conversation, bringing "new voices" and "pressing topics" to the stage ..."
The Festival specializes in premieres and second or third productions of new plays, currently producing six plays each summer in rotating repertory.
History.
A 2010 NPR segment stated: "For 20 years, in the oldest town in West Virginia, new plays have had a home and a loyal audience. The Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University is a dream for the writers of those plays."
The festival was started in 1991 "on a wing and a prayer and a $90,000 budget" by producing director Ed Herendeen. It was modeled after the Williamstown Theatre Festival, located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It has the goal of producing and developing new American theater, specifically plays that deal with contemporary issues and strive to challenge and entertain audiences. In addition to finding new scripts which could be either premieres or on a second/third production, the festival has also commissioned works since 1998. Through the summer of 2013, the festival has produced 100 plays, by 73 American playwrights, including 37 world premieres, 9 of which were commissioned. It had an operating budget for 2013 of $1 million. In 2017 the New York Times picked it as "one of the top festivals in theater ... that we think you should see this spring and summer around the country".
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused officials to scrap the festival and defer to 2021.
Facilities.
Housed on the university's campus, the CATF uses three performance spaces. The first is the 416 seat Frank Center for the Arts Stage, a conventional proscenium performance space without a curtain. The second is The Stanley C. and Shirley A. Marinoff Theater, a 180-seat flexible seating space, located in the recently completed Center For Contemporary Arts II(CCA II). This space replaced the Studio Theater, an adapted space in Sara H Cree Hall. The third space is a smaller adapted black box space in Room 112 of Center For Contemporary Arts I. The CATF scene shop and costume shop are also located in the new CCA II.
As part of the National New Play Network Rolling World Premieres, CATF transferred their production to 59E59 Theaters in New York City from October 2 – 26. The production received favorable reviews.
This production was one of six finalists for the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2013
This world premiere production received a Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play citation as one of the top three new plays of 2012. The play has been published by Dramatists Play Service and had 14 productions scheduled for 2014 around the USA. According to "American Theatre" magazine, it is the 11th most-produced play in the 2013-2014 theater season.
This play was adapted for the screen as "The Ides of March" starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling.
This production was notable because of the controversy surrounding the play (see the play's article in Wikipedia for details of the controversy). The festival playbill contained a two-page ad, "My Name is Rachel Corrie Does Not Tell the Whole Story: Don't Be Misled", which included photos of six other women named Rachel who were killed by Palestinian suicide bombers. A member of the festival's board of trustees resigned in protest and several regular patrons decided not to attend the festival in response to the selection of this work. The Artistic Director "was flooded with letters urging the board members to remove the play". The actual production was without incident and no drop in attendance.
This production was notable as it was one of the early works commissioned by the festival which then went on to be regularly produced and was adapted by the playwright (Jeffrey Hatcher) into a film version Stage Beauty starring Claire Danes, Billy Crudup, and Tom Wilkinson.
This play by Cherylene Lee – and the festival's first commissioned work – focused on the beating death of Vincent Chin in 1982 Detroit. The play's production became the impetus for a state-wide discussion on race and served as the backdrop to the governor's year-long efforts on this issue, which began with a town-hall discussion, in the theater, following a production of the play. The festival was recognized for its role as catalyst for this important dialogue with the 1999 "Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts."
Complete production history.
The following is a complete list of the festival's productions.
2019 Festival 
"My Lord, What a Night" by Deborah Brevoort*^; "Support Group for Men" by Ellen Fairey; "Wrecked" by Greg Kalleres*; "A Welcome Guest: A Psychotic Fairy Tale" by Michael Weller**; "Chester Bailey" by Joseph Dougherty; "Antonio' s Song / I was dreaming of a son" by Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez*
2018 Festival 
"The Cake" by Bekah Brunstetter; "Berta, Berta" by Angelica Cheri*; "Memoirs of a Forgotten Man" by D.W. Gregory*^; "Thirst" by C.A. Johnson*; "A Late Morning (in America) with Ronald Reagan" by Michael Weller*; "The House on the Hill" by Amy E. Witting*.
2017 Festival
"The Niceties" by Eleanor Burgess, "Welcome To Fear City" by Kara Lee Corthron,*, "Wild Horses" by Allison Gregory*, "Byhalia, Mississippi" by Evan Linder, "Everything Is Wonderful" by Chelsea Marcantel*, "We Will Not Be Silent" by David Meyers*.
2016 Festival
"pen/man/ship" by Christina Anderson, "Not Medea" by Allison Gregory*^, "The Wedding Gift" by Chisa Hutchinson*, "20th Century Blues" by Susan Miller*, "The Second Girl" by Ronan Noone.
2015 Festival
"World Builders" by Johnna Adams*, "Everything You Touch" by Sheila Callaghan, "On Clover Road" by Steven Dietz*, "We Are Pussy Riot" by Barbara Hammond**, "The Full Catastrophe" by Michael Weller*, based on the novel by David Carkeet
2014 Festival
"The Ashes Under Gait City" by Christina Anderson*, "One Night" by Charles Fuller, "Uncanny Valley" by Thomas Gibbons*^, "North of the Boulevard" by Bruce Graham, "Dead and Breathing" by Chisa Hutchinson*.
2013 Festival
"A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World " by Liz Duffy Adams*, "Modern Terrorism, or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them" by Jon Kern, "H2O" by Jane Martin**, "Heartless" by Sam Shepard, "Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah" by Mark St. Germain**.
2012 Festival
"Gidion’s Knot" by Johnna Adams*, "The Exceptionals" by Bob Clyman, "In a Forest, Dark and Deep" by Neil LaBute, "Captors" by Evan M. Wiener, "Barcelona" by Bess Wohl*
2011 Festival
"From Prague" by Kyle Bradstreet*, "Race" by David Mamet, "Ages of the Moon" by Sam Shepard, "We Are Here" by Tracy Thorne, "The Insurgents" by Lucy Thurber**
2010 Festival
"Breadcrumbs" by Jennifer Haley*, "The Eelwax Jesus 3-D Pop Music Show" Book &amp; Lyrics by Max Baker, Music by Lee Sellars*, "Inana" by Michele Lowe, "Lidless" by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, "White People" by J.T. Rogers
2009 Festival
"Dear Sara Jane" by Victor Lodato*, "Farragut North" by Beau Willimon, "Fifty Words" by Michael Weller, "The History of Light" by Eisa Davis*, "Yankee Tavern" by Steven Dietz
2008 Festival
"The Overwhelming" by J. T. Rogers, "Pig Farm" by Greg Kotis, "Stick Fly" by Lydia R. Diamond, "A View of the Harbor" by Richard Dresser*, "WRECKS" by Neil LaBute
2007 Festival
"1001" by Jason Grote, "Lonesome Hollow" by Lee Blessing*, "The Pursuit of Happiness" by Richard Dresser, "My Name is Rachel Corrie" from the writings of Rachel Corrie, edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner
2006 Festival
"Augusta" by Richard Dresser*, "Jazzland" by Keith Glover**, "Mr. Marmalade" by Noah Haidle, "Sex, Death, and the Beach Baby" by Kim Merrill*
2005 Festival
"The God of Hell" by Sam Shepard, "American Tet" by Lydia Stryk*, "Sonia Flew" by Melinda Lopez, "Father Joy" by Sheri Wilner*, "Augusta" by Richard Dresser+, "Jazzland" by Keith Glover++, "On the Verge" or "The Geography of Yearning" by Eric Overmyer~
2004 Festival
"Homeland Security" by Stuart Flack, "Flag Day" by Lee Blessing*, "Rounding Third" by Richard Dresser, "The Rose of Corazon: A Texas Songplay" by Keith Glover**, "Amazing" by Brooke Berman~, "Father Joy" by Sheri Wilner+
2003 Festival
"Whores" by Lee Blessing*, "The Last Schwartz" by Deborah Zoe Laufer, "Bright Ideas" by Eric Coble, "Wilder" by Erin Cressida Wilson, "Flag Day" by Lee Blessing+, "The Clandestine Crossing" by Keith Glover+
2002 Festival
"Thief River" by Lee Blessing, "Silence of God" by Catherine Filloux**, "The Late Henry Moss" by Sam Shepard, "Orange Flower Water" by Craig Wright*, "Rounding Third" by Richard Dresser+, "Melissa Arctic" by Craig Wright+
2001 Festival
"Tape" by Stephen Belber, "The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa" by John Olive*, "The Occupation" by Harry Newman*, "The Pavilion" by Craig Wright, "Carol Mulroney" by Stephen Belber+, "Orange Flower Water" by Craig Wright+, "Silence of God" by Catherine Filloux++"
2000 Festival
"Hunger" by Sheri Wilner*, "Mary and Myra" by Catherine Filloux*, "Miss Golden Dreams", A Play Cycle by Joyce Carol Oates*, "Something in the Air" by Richard Dresser
1999 Festival
"Compleat Female Stage Beauty" by Jeffrey Hatcher**, "Coyote on a Fence" by Bruce Graham, "Tatjana in Color" by Julia Jordan*, "The Water Children" by Wendy MacLeod, "Flo's Ho's" by Julia Jordan++
1998 Festival
"BAFO" by Tom Strelich, "Carry the Tiger to the Mountain" by Cherylene Lee**, "Gun-Shy" by Richard Dresser, "Interesting Times" by Preston Foerder**
1997 Festival
"Below the Belt" by Richard Dresser, "Demonology" by Kelley Stuart, "Lighting Up the Two Year Old" by Benjie Aerenson, CATF Dance Ensemble
1996 Festival
"Bad Girls" by Joyce Carol Oates*, "Octopus" by Jon Klein*, "The Nina Variations" by Steven Dietz, "The Nose" by Elizabeth Egloff, "Tough Choices for the New Century" by Jane Anderson
1995 Festival
"Beti the Yeti" by Jon Klein, "Maggie's Riff" by Jon Lipsky, "Psyche Was Here" by Lynne Martin*, "Voir Dire" by Joe Sutton
1994 Festival
"Forgiving Typhoid Mary" by Mark St. Germain, "Shooting Simone" by Lynne Kaufman, "Spike Heels" by Theresa Rebeck, "What are Tuesdays Like?" by Victor Bumbalo*,
1993 Festival
"A Contemporary Masque" by Stephen Bennet, "Alabama Rain" by Heather McCutchen, "Black" by Joyce Carol Oates, "Dream House" by Darrah Cloud
1992 Festival
"Static" by Ben Siegler, "Still Waters" by Lynn Martin*, "The Baby Dance" by Jane Anderson, "The Swan" by Elizabeth Egloff
1991 Festival
"Accelerando" by Lisa Loomer, "Welcome to the Moon" by John Patrick Shanley
Production Notes
^ National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere
+ staged reading
 staged reading; commissioned by CA.
~ CATF Actors' Lab Workshop
Notes.
The plays are professionally produced using the LORT D contract of the Actors' Equity Association (AEA). The festival operates under agreements from AEA, United Scenic Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
The festival is a member of the Theatre Communications Group.
The festival is a member of the National New Play Network.
Annually, CATF holds Hostel YOUTH! - a theater immersion program for young adults (ages 14–18)
In 2013, the festival hosted the American Theatre Critics Association Annual Conference.
In 2008, the first phase of the new Center for Contemporary Arts was dedicated. Phase One houses the CATF administration offices and one of large studios has been adapted for a third performance space.
In 2013, Center for Contemporary Arts Phase Two opened, adding a 180-seat studio (black-box) theater as well as dressing room, scene shop and prop shop facilities.
A future Phase Three will contain two 250-seat theaters, one thrust stage and one end-stage.
In 2008, the festival had an economic impact of $2.1 million to the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia.
In 2013, the festival brought $3 million of revenue to Shepherdstown, and attracted nearly 14,000 people — primarily from the D.C. region, but also from 30-plus states and various foreign countries.
The Festival is a Blue Star Theatre - part of a collaboration between the Theatre Communications Group and Blue Star Families offering discounted admission to all military personnel and their families.
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;