Contemporary American Theatre Festival Inc

Programs: Catf was founded by ed herendeen and produced its first season in 1991. The theater festival is hosted on the campus of shepherd university, a state liberal arts university in shepherdstown, west virginia - approximately 70 miles from washington, dc and baltimore, md. Performed each summer during the month of july, catf's plays are professionally produced under agreements with actors' equity association, united scenic artists, and the society of stage directors and choreographers. It is the only lort d theater in the state of west virginia. In its 27 seasons, catf has produced 121 new plays, 47 world premieres, and 10 commissions. Continued on schedule othe 2017 season featured six plays in rotating repertory with over 100 total performances presented during the four-week festival that took place july 7th through july 30th. The plays produced were: the world premieres of "everything is wonderful" by chelsea marcantel and "we will not be silent" by david meyers, the nnpn rolling world premiere of allison gregory's "wild horses", and the wv premiere productions of eleanor burgess' "the niceties and evan linder's "byhalia, mississippi. " in addition to the plays, other programming included: catf in context, humanities lectures, pre & post show discussions with the artists, breakfasts with the producing director, lunches with artists, late night salons with full time staff, two staged readings, outdoor musical acts, art exhibitions, and multiple educational offerings. Total 2017 play attendance was over 17,500 (up again from ly). Since 1991, catf has grown in national reputation and is highly regarded as one of america's important new play developments centers. Each year patrons come from 37 states and multiple countries to participate in the birth of daring new work. Numerous reviews, articles, and feature stories have appeared in media venues across the country including the washington post, the baltimore sun, national public radio, the wall street journal, the new york times, american theatre magazine, and the new yorker.