Hostel YOUTH!
2023: July 18-20
Hostel YOUTH! brings bold, new American theater to teens. Based on a full immersion youth hostel model, Hostel YOUTH! provides 14-18 year old theater lovers a hands-on experience with some of the greatest talents working in contemporary drama today.
Questions about Hostel YOUTH!?
To register for CATF’s 2023 Hostel YOUTH! session, download the form below. You can fill it out electronically and send it to [email protected].
After your form is submitted and processed, you will receive a receipt and additional paperwork to complete.
Discover the New Play Experience
Since 1991, the Contemporary American Theater Festival has produced new, innovative, and compelling plays in Shepherdstown, WV on the beautiful campus of Shepherd University. The plays are professionally produced using actors and members of Actors’ Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
CATF has as produced great American playwrights such as: Christina Anderson, Dael Orlandersmith, Keith Glover, Johnna Adams, Chisa Hutchinson, Sam Shepard, J.T. Rogers, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, and Susan Miller.
What to Expect at Hostel YOUTH!
At CATF, you thinktheater and talktheater. You’ll be immersed in the new play experience as you see all of the plays in CATF’s season, participate in workshops lead by professional theater artists, and explore and unpack the themes in the plays.
- New plays – including world premieres!
- Acting, directing, and playwriting workshops
- Technical theater and stage management workshops
- Humanities events including post-show discussions
- Meeting with CATF’s Intern Company
Hostel YOUTH! Ambassadors are a group of local high school students or high school students who have previously participated in HY!, who serve as leaders for their peers.
Hostel YOUTH! Team
Theresa M. Davis
Director of Hostel YOUTH!
Theresa M. Davis is an Artist-Educator in 3-D (Dramaturg-Deviser-Director) working to expand the boundaries of creating culturally specific work in academic institutions and beyond. It is her steadfast desire to produce events that speak to diverse audiences and communities – revolutionary theatre that inspires growth and fosters intercultural communication. In addition to being to the Contemporary American Theater Festivals’ Hostel YOUTH! director, Theresa collaborated as a dramaturg for productions of The Ashes Under Gait City and Dead and Breathing. Tenured at three different institutions, Theresa has taught at Kalamazoo College, West Virginia University, and the University of Virginia where she joined the faculty in 2007 as an Associate Professor of Cross Cultural Performance. As a director she has also enjoyed Guest Artist residencies at Macalester College and Purdue University. Her directing credits include The Colored Museum, The Miser, A Piece of My Heart, Flyin’ West, The Canterbury Tales, Twelfth Night, Mo Pas Connin, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Seven Guitars, The African Company Presents Richard III, Day of Absence, Every Tongue Confess.
Auntais Faulkner
Education Director
With a deep passion for storytelling, Auntais sought to broaden his theatre knowledge over several years of college, including three years of graduate training at the University of Virginia, where he received his M.F.A. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where he won first prize in the 2019 Carolyn & Norwood Thomas Undergraduate Research and Creativity Expo for his performance in Terell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size as Elegba. Immediately after his undergraduate training, Auntais interned at the Portland Playhouse (OR), where he collaborated with Vanport Mosaics (OR) on his first professional writing and acting assignment, Soul’d: The Economics on Our Black Bodies. Auntais enjoys writing plays about social issues centering on the experiences of Black and Brown communities. He enjoys studying other languages when not acting or indulging in creative projects. He endeavors to bridge the gap between cultures and generations and aspires to leave a lasting impact on the world through his playwriting and success as an actor.
