“I’m enjoying this summer a little more,” says Peggy McCowen, artistic director of the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. “It was a rewarding time to get out of Covid, and I felt my mission was to keep us alive, to keep us at work, and to keep us moving forward, but that was about survival.
Event annually since 1991 on Shepherd University’s campus in Shepherd Town, West Virginia, CATF introduces a variety of plays and playwrights, and presents a completely step-by-step production of selected works each summer.
“They’re all fully produced and fully rehearsed,” says McCowen, who started working with CATF in 2006 as a designer. “Lighting, sound, scenery, projection, outfits – it’s one of the things that make us quite unique as a new play festival. I think we’re one of the few left in a country that’s fully produced all new pieces during the season.”
For example, in contrast to step-by-step measurements, the reason for creating a full-scale show is that, according to McCowen, “we really don’t know how the play will be on stage until you fully produce it. The audience can offer new works for us for us and offer new works to other theatres, helping us get other works. Their work isn’t even better.”
This year’s World Premier Production – Can be seen all weekends, says McCowen – Did my grandfather kill my grandfather? Cody Leroy Wilson, Regarding side effects… Lisa Rumer and Kevin Kling’s solo show It was solvedMark Saint-Germain’s Magdaleneand Happy Fall: Queer Stunt Spectacular By Lisa Sanai Doling.
The latter – a gay love story set in a closet world of movie stunt performers – is particularly complex, featuring wirework, elaborate stunt choreography, actors fighting for themselves via video projection, and even puppets.
“We’ve been working on that play for several years,” says McCowen. “We knew it would be a big lift, so we partnered with Rogue Artists Ensemble and the LGBT center in Los Angeles to make it happen. It’s very complicated.
“But it’s also exciting to try something that offers a new kind of experience in theatre. It’s artistically thrilling to take on such a project and bring together a group of extremely talented people to understand it.
The diversity of both content and presentation is a core value of the festival. “In addition to fearless art and diverse narratives, our other two values are community and inclusion,” says McKowen. “This is one of the institution’s promotion principles: to represent many communities and do work on stage with different stories.”
“It’s essential to us to do that, but it’s even more our responsibility to do it now,” she continues. “We feel an obligation to stand up in this moment. We continue to create opportunities to continue to hear, see and experience diverse voices and expressions. Now is the most important time for people to come together in our community and have a conversation about how we live together in humanity.”
The Contemporary American Theatre Festival will be held on Shepherd University’s campus in Shepherd’stown, West Virginia until August 3rd, with Washington, DC DC Single Ticket and Festival Pass available by emailing boxoffice@catf.org or by calling 681-240-2283. visit www.catf.org.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
