About CATF Dedicated to producing and developing new American theater. From Ed Herendeen, Producing Director New plays are the future. Giving birth to new plays assures the theater of a future. The American theater persists because of new plays.
Contemporary theater takes an immediate look at our society.
It is present. It is about now. The Festival was founded to provide a haven where, each summer, playwrights and theater artists might collaborate on new works for the theater, living together in residence on the campus of Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. In partnership with Shepherd College, CATF will become a critically needed national center for new play development and for the continued exploration of new American theater. Our goal is to create the future of American theater by producing provocative works and educating audiences to appreciate the value of contemporary theater.