The Contemporary American Theater Festival opens its 2026 season Friday with five new plays by acclaimed playwrights, including four world premieres. The festival runs through Aug. 2 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
The productions continue CATF’s long-standing commitment to developing and showcasing new American work.
This year’s season also underscores CATF’s unique place in the theater world. The festival is now the last remaining U.S. summer theater festival devoted exclusively to producing new, fully staged American plays, making it a critical incubator for new voices and stories on the national stage.
“If we don’t have new work, we don’t build the canon of work that people see on the theater stages across the country and even across the world,” said festival artistic director Peggy McKowen.
Now in its 36th season, CATF’s summer lineup features five contemporary plays — four of them world premieres — presented in repertory at Shepherd University.
McKowen said the festival’s close connection to the community is one of its greatest assets. In Shepherdstown’s intimate setting, audiences often find themselves sharing sidewalks, restaurants and coffee shops with actors, playwrights and fellow theatergoers between performances.
“We have a responsibility to our industry and the audiences who love theater to continue to provide that opportunity,” McKowen said.
“We know that arts organizations in general are suffering,” she added. “We feel the need to continue to produce so that we can continue to keep art alive in our cultures and community.”
Founded in 1991 in West Virginia’s oldest town, the festival invites audiences to delve deeper into the creative process through its extensive TalkTheater program. The series features more than 30 events, including backstage tours, scene-change demonstrations, artist talks, lectures, post-show discussions and opportunities to meet playwrights and performers.
