Join us for a scenic 2 hour ride to Shepherdstown... the oldest town in picturesque West Virginia doing the newest plays in America. If you want to be engaged... entertained...inspired…transformed…transported by the power of a good story…there is no place like the... Contemporary American Theater Festival. For over  22 years its been the summer home for the American playwright, both up-and-coming  and big names—Sam Shepard and Joyce Carol Oates have premiered works here. Prepare for a theatrical adventure and discover 3 of the boldest new plays in America.

 GIDION’S KNOT by Johnna Adams    Directed by Ed Herendeen (80 min.)  Over the course of an unexpected parent/teacher

conference in a 5th grade classroom, a mother and her son’s teacher have a volatile conversation about Gidion. Was he a
bully? A victim? A protector? Or, was his imagination too powerful a tool for the adults around him? As his story is uncovered, the women try to construct an explanation for his behavior and come to terms with who, or what, is at fault. Gidion’s Knot is
a heart-wrenching, devastatingly beautiful work about the power of words and freedom of expression. It explores the
dangerous, emotional, and often painful world of elementary school. Johnna Adams is the 2011 recipient of the prestigious

Princess Grace Award for playwriting. Her plays include Sans Merci, Cockfighters, and The Secret Geometry of S&M Porn.
 

BARCELONA by Bess Wohl   Directed by Lucie Tiberghien (100 min.) In the shadows of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s famous cathedral, an American woman drunkenly goes home with a Spanish stranger. In what begins as a
wine-drenched, carefree one-night-stand of cross-cultural lust and libation, soon embarks on a dangerous lesson in consequence, truth, and moving on. In this funny, sensual, and elegant work, there unfolds a surprising story that tears down the artificial borders of a global world, while proving the universal struggle of healing the human heart. Bess Wohl writes for theater, film, and television. Her play Touched was recently produced at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and other work has been seen at The  Vineyard Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Northlight Theater. Also an actor, she received her MFA from Yale.
 

IN A FOREST, DARK AND DEEP by Neil LaBute Directed by Ed Herendeen (100 min.) In this compelling new play by the dark prince of the American stage and indie cinema, all Bobby thinks he is doing is helping his sister, a university dean, clear out her cottage in the woods on a dark and stormy night. But in this cabin of lies, nothing is as it seems and the truth refuses to
be packed away. Love, lust, and sibling rivalry escalate into a psychological thriller that bursts with savage conflict and insight into human relationships and moral failings. Neil LaBute’s plays include The Shape of Things, Reasons to be Pretty, Fat Pig, and Wrecks (CATF ’08) His films include In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Possession.
In A Forest, Dark and Deep premiered on London’s West End to glowing reviews.

Saturday, July 14 @ $295   Here’s the plan: Depart 9:30am serving brunch ~  Gidion’s Knot 12pm ~ Time to visit town ~ Barcelona 2:30pm ~  Behind the scenes lecture followed by a relaxing  3-Course dinner served at the renowned Bavarian Inn where Founder and Producing Director Ed Herendeen joins us for theater talk.
In a Forest, Dark and Deep starts at 8pm. Home by 11:30pm with cold drinks and chocolate apricots en route.

                                        “THIS IS THEATRICAL HEAVEN!”