Contemporary American Theater Festival Unveils 2026 Season Lineup

The Contemporary American Theater Festival has revealed its 2026 season, featuring five new plays by award-winning playwrights that include four world premieres. The festival will also host more than 30 talktheater events adding context to the experience, including discussions, lectures, and opportunities to mingle with the artists and fellow theater lovers. CATF will run from July 10 through August 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112. As of 2026, CATF remains the only summer festival in the United States dedicated to producing new, fully staged American plays.

The Smoker

The Smoker by Lisa D'Amour — a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her 2010 play Detroit — explores the possibility for community-building under unlikely circumstances. A cohort of under-employed, underinsured dreamers on a New York street corner have one thing in common: their need for a cigarette. As different as they are in their aspirations, vocations and avocations, they come to know each other's joys, sorrows, disappointments, and hopes. “Eventually, we in the audience start to learn the things about each other that they've learned, and we become a part of that community too,” remarked McKowen. “It touches on the ways we move through society and our need to have social interaction and to connect to each other as humans.”

Refugee Rhapsody

Yussef El Guindi's Refugee Rhapsody is a 2025 recipient of the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Citation of Excellence. El Guindi's work frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures, and politics that face immigrants, Arab Americans and Muslim Americans in particular. In Refugee Rhapsody, a chance meeting of a pair of young Arab Americans framed by their refugee experience and an impossibly rich patroness sets in motion a chain of events that leads to a violent crime. “As soon as I read it, I was really struck by the extraordinary writing in this play, as well as the fascinating parallels it draws between the immigrant experience today and the journey of the enslaved in this country,” commented McKowen. This play is produced as a rolling world premiere with Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre (PA) and Artists Repertory Theatre (OR). CATF's production is in partnership with The Keegan Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols

Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols, by USA Today bestselling author and 2024–2025 Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellow Beth Kander, follows the story of Nichols & May, one of the most beloved comedy duos of all time. When they parted ways, Mike Nichols's career took off while Elaine May struggled. Decades later, when Mike approaches Elaine with a new opportunity, she must wrestle with what matters more: succeeding on her own, or reuniting with the partner who knows her true worth. “This is the ideal play for an audience member who's starting to come to CATF for the first time,” said McKowen. “It also tells the very important story of the struggles women face in Hollywood or in any artistic form that their male counterparts don't necessarily experience.” Set in the complex intersection of creativity, competition, and gender disparity, this laugh-out-loud play examines the power of lifelong friendships, thorns and all.

¡VOS!

¡VOS! by Christina Pumariega follows Annie as she returns to her estranged birthplace of Buenos Aires to undergo IVF treatments with the renowned Dr. Cossi — a journey toward motherhood that unexpectedly uncovers the lives of two women who vanished during Argentina's Dirty War. Inspired by Las Madres, past, present, and hopeful, the play becomes an exhilarating search for home, family, and the Disappeared. Told by two Latina actors who whirl through characters and decades in a heart-pounding theatrical tour de force, ¡VOS! is the 2025 winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. “The events depicted in this play feel very relevant to things happening in our world today,” explained McKowen. “The journey of these women speaks to how society lives with itself.” ¡VOS! was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and received its world premiere at Two River Theater.

My Favorite Sociopath

Aurin Squire — winner of the 2017 Helen Merrill Prize for Emerging Playwrights — makes his CATF debut with My Favorite Sociopath, a razor-sharp world premiere. In this biting comedy set at the dawning of the 24-hour news cycle era, three ambitious journalism students bond over their shared love of storytelling, only to see their friendship spiral into a dangerous game of ambition, seduction, and betrayal. As they race to launch their careers, the line between reporting and manipulation dissolves, exposing the sociopathy embedded in the media — and in human desire itself. McKowen added, “I think we all wonder what is happening in the world of journalism today. This play, based on a true experience, sheds light on the challenges and desperate measures that young emerging journalists encounter in a competitive and shrinking field.”

Talktheater Events

In addition to the five mainstage productions, the 2026 festival includes numerous educational and community engagement activities as part of CATF's talktheater series. The vibrant pairing of contemporary works and invigorating discourse fosters a unique and unforgettable experience. This season's talktheater offerings include:

Backstage Tours: take a peek behind the curtain and learn what goes into the mounting of a production at CATF.

Breakfast with Peggy: get to know CATF's Artistic Director, Peggy McKowen. Peggy shares her extensive experience producing new plays, her rich history with CATF, and her plans for CATF's future.

Lunch & Art: meet and chat with members of CATF's Acting Company. The actors will share their professional journey and their insights on this year's productions.

In Context & Lectures: deep dives where resident artists share their creative process, and industry experts explore the constructs and context of the plays.

Aftertalk: a new approach to the post-show discussion providing an intimate opportunity for in-depth conversations about the plays and the questions they raise.

Public Changeovers: get a step-by-step walkthrough of how the scenic elements transform from one show to another.