Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherdstown

Join us for a scenic 90 minute 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, and transported by the power of a good story ~ there is no place like the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.  Since its founding in 1991, it has been the summer home for both up-and-coming and big name American playwrights.  105 new plays have been produced, including 40 world premieres by 77 American playwrights including Sam Shepard, David Mamet and Joyce Carol Oates.   Once again, we were overwhelmed with the choices and lucky enough to get two world premieres by two fascinating playwrights. 

Wild Horses  - A World Premiere by Allison Gregory
Wild Horses is a savagely-funny play about a threshold summer that forever alters an adolescent girl, as portrayed by her grown-up self. Complex and timeless, it is a coming-of-age story for all generations. The pathos and hubris of her teenage years, the struggle for identity, independence, and authenticity, and the desire to find her place in a complicated world—it all comes rushing at us as she takes us on the ride of her life.    “We weren’t freedom fighters, we were freedom takers.”

Allison Gregory's plays have been produced all over the country, and she has received commissions, grants, and development from Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Kennedy Center and Indiana Repertory Theatre, just to name a few. Her awards are too numerous to list, but her play Not Medea, which was included in last year’s CATF line-up, was a finalist for the 2015 O’Neill Award.  Currently she is working on Darling Boud, a play of letters about the infamous Mitford sisters.  Perhaps we’ll see that next year!

WE WILL NOT BE SILENT  - A World Premiere by DAVID MEYERS
Sophie Scholl, a German college student led the only major act of civil disobedience during the Second World War. Sophie and her fellow students, members of a group called the White Rose, published underground anti-Nazi materials calling for the peaceful overthrow of Hitler. This timely and provocative play tells her story and explores the role that German citizens played in the rise of Hitler. This play examines the moral strength and clarity that led a group of students to risk their lives for a righteous, dangerous cause.  “Just because you repeat a lie, doesn’t make it true.”
 
David’s plays have been read, performed, and developed off-Broadway and at professional theatres across the country. His work has been published by Applause, Smith and Kraus, and Indie Theater Now, and he has been a resident playwright at the Abingdon Theatre Company and Project Y. He previously worked for three years in the West Wing of the White House, and later as a speechwriter in the U.S. Senate.

Saturday, July 29 @ $ 202.00
 
Depart 10:00 am serving brunch.   Wild Horses at 12:00 pm followed by We Will Not Be Silent at 2:00 pm.  We’ll end our time in Shepherdstown with a Q&A with a special guest to discuss ideas raised in both plays.  We depart for Baltimore at 5:00 pm serving happy hour and snacks with an arrival at Oheb at approximately 6:30 pm. 

For those who have been with us before, you understand the high demand and scarcity of seats. Please call or email to ensure your space.