2025 Season Archives
Kevin Kling: Unraveled by Kevin Kling
July 9, 2025 – August 3, 2025
Magdalene by Mark St. Germain
July 9, 2025 – August 3, 2025
Side Effects May Include… by Lisa Loomer
July 9, 2025 – August 3, 2025
Did My Grandfather Kill My Grandfather? by Cody LeRoy Wilson
July 9, 2025 – August 3, 2025
Embrace the festival experience by attending and participating in talktheater events!
Meet artists and other patrons as you explore the many stages of new play development and enrich your knowledge surrounding the repertory.
Free events presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council.
2025 Lecture Archive
Hear from experts as they explore the constructs and context of the shows, and meet resident artists as they share their creative process and discuss how they got to where they are.
- July 12: The Playwrights’ Panel
- July 19: Fights, Falls, and Fakery: Meet the Stunt Directors
- July 26: Is Storytelling Theater? Is Theater Storytelling?
- Aug. 2: An Openly Gay Stuntman: Changing Stereotypes in Hollywood
2025 Lecture Archive
2025 CATF in Context Archive
This scholarly approach to the festival takes a deep dive into the worlds of the plays.
- July 12: Who was Mary Magdalene
- July 19: Children of Reunion: Vietnamese Adoptions and the Politics of Family Migrations
- July 26: Women in the Church: A Panel with Faith Leaders
- Aug. 2: Are Psychiatric Diagnoses and Drugs the Answer?
2025 CATF in Context Archive
CATF Press
Theatre News: ‘Stories with Purpose,’ Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATF) DC Sneak Peek
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Playwright from first season of CATF to return with new, autobiographical play
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
WVU alumnus to be first to have play featured in Contemporary American Theater Festival
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Summer Stock: A Vibe Check
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Review: Contemporary American Theater Festival’s Summer 2025 Season Announced
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Theatre News: ‘Stories with Purpose,’ Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATF) DC Sneak Peek
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Contemporary American Theater Festival welcomes new grant writer, managing director
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
‘Stories With Purpose’: Five new American plays to be premiered at Contemporary American Theater Festival in July
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions
Five new American plays to be premiered at Contemporary American Theater Festival in July
Well-established as one of the world’s top theater festivals, the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) held a sneak preview on April 1 in Washington, D.C. of “Stories with Purpose,” this summer’s lineup of new works. The festival will take place at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from July 11-August 3, 2025, and feature 40 special events including lectures, backstage tours, and post-show discussions