Interview: Theatre Life with Peggy McKowen

Today’s subject Peggy McKowen is currently living her theatre life as the Artistic Director for one of the most important theatre festivals for new plays in the country Contemporary American Theatre Festival (CATF). Located at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia this year’s festival will present five new plays in repertory between July 10th and August 2nd. 2026 marks CATF’s 36th season.

Peggy McKowen started her association with CATF in 2006 as a Costume Designer. Her design credits for the festival include Mr. Marmalade and Jazzland, Antonio’s Song: I was dreaming of a son, The Welcome Guest, The Wedding Gift, Not Medea, Everything You Touch, 1001, H2O, and Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah. She also designed the scenery for From Prague, Wrecks, and Gidion’s Knot.

In 2007, Peggy joined the full-time staff as the Associate Producing Director. Since then, she has produced new works by: Johnna Adams, Christina Anderson, Lee Blessing, Angelica Chéri, Kara Lee Corthron, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, Lydia R. Diamond, Steven Dietz, Richard Dresser, Charles Fuller, Keith Glover, Allison Gregory, Barbara Hammond, Chisa Hutchinson, Dael Orlandersmith, J.T. Rogers, Antonio Edwards Suarez, Lucy Thurber, Michael Weller, Beau Willimon, Bess Wohl, and others.  She was instrumental in expanding the festival’s season from four to five, and from five to six plays. She was a driving force behind transferring CATF’s Uncanny Valley by Thomas Gibbons to 59E59 Theaters in New York, CATF’s first Off-Broadway production.

Not even a pandemic could stop Peggy’s artistic visions for CATF. She led the Festival’s quick switch to digital programming. She envisioned CATF art in new ways for patrons and artists.  She created both the CATFUNMUTED and playcastplus series that included online engagement between audiences and artists, interviews with designers and directors, audio dramas, and community celebrations.

Prior to joining CATF, Peggy was the resident designer for the Obie-award-winning Jean Cocteau Repertory in NY and The Phoenix Theatre Ensemble. Her regional theatre work has been seen at Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Barrington Stage; Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Tennessee Repertory Theatre; Texas, Dallas, and Houston Shakespeare Festivals; and Perseverance Theater. International theater work includes the B.A.T. Studio Theatre (Berlin, Germany); the Teatro Alfa Real (Sao Paulo, Brazil); and the E.T.A. Hoffmann Theatre (Bamberg, Germany). Peggy designed the first full-length English-speaking production of The Tempest in Beijing, China and the first Mandarin translation of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying for the Seven Stages Production Company in Beijing.

If you are looking for a way to get your theatre fix while getting out of the city’s heat, please consider making the trip to Shepherdstown, West Virginia and see all the CATF has to offer your theatrical palate. You might be seeing the start of the next big play for Broadway or regional theatres, and you can say that you saw it first at CATF.

Peggy McKowen’s artistic vision and drive help to make CATF what it is. Her commitment to producing new plays is awe inspiring and something every theatre in the country and the world should be taking a lesson from. She is truly living her theatre life to the fullest.

How did your theatrical journey begin?

My mother was an artist that believed deeply in the power of art and the necessity of art in our lives. She worked in many mediums including theater and introduced me to the theater when I was a small child. I grew up backstage and occasionally on-stage and never considered doing anything else.

What was your first professional theatrical job?

My first professional gig was doing props, weapons, and animal care for an outdoor drama.

How did you come to CATF?

I first came to CATF as a Costume Designer for two shows during the summer season. While I was here the Producing Director, Ed Herendeen, discussed the possibility of a full-time position with me.

At what point did you know you wanted to transition from designer to the management side of things?

My first step in leadership occurred when I served as Chair for a university theater and dance department. After doing that for five years, I knew that I wanted to explore a leadership position in the professional theater as well. But truthfully, very early on in my career an artistic director said: “I think you’d make a good producing director.” At the time, I didn’t quite understand what that entailed but the statement always stuck with me.

Can you please give us a brief overview of how CATF came to be?

In 1990 the Shepherd University president had an idea that the campus would be a good place to host a theater festival and invited a theater consultant in to meet with him. That consultant was Ed Herendeen and he was a new play artist and advocate. Ed encouraged the university president that a new play festival is what was most needed for the industry and the audiences. Ed was hired as a resident artist and CATF was born in 1991.

How are the plays for the festival chosen?

Plays come to CATF from literary agents, other playwrights or artists, and from other new play developments sources. Organizations that host writers' retreats or produce reading festivals share scripts with CATF. The artistic leadership reads over a hundred plays a year to determine which five plays will be in the summer season. Many aspects of the plays are considered. CATF looks for diverse stories and artists telling contemporary, uniquely compelling stories. The season is curated to ensure that audiences have a different experience in every theater and find something that connects to the story of their current lives. 

At a time when theatres are looking more and more at their budgets and income, why do you think it is so important for new works to still be produced?

Art is a reflection of society and new plays are the immediate reflection of who we are today and in real time. Exploring who we are on-stage gives us a perspective of our colleagues and neighbors that we miss living life from day to day. With an enhanced vision of each other, we understand each other better. New plays are the art form that invites us to a place of seeing, listening, and knowing ourselves and each other better. Our world needs more art, theater, and specifically new plays to gather people in conversation and community; to share an experience of understanding each other through the stories we tell.

Since starting at CATF, how has the festival changed and what are you most proud of since becoming Artistic Director?The festival has changed so much since I started here in 2007. New buildings, more plays, and more people are a part of the growth of CATF over the years. I am most proud of CATF's steadfast commitment to fearless art and the people dedicated to creating the work. CATF’s full-time staff is fearless, loyal, and deeply committed to the values of the institution. We are fortunate that talented artists from all over the county choose to come to CATF and come back, again and again. The same can be said of CATF’s audiences. Our patrons are invested in making  new work and assume ownership of the plays we produce as they appear in other theaters across the country. Consistently uplifting the people and the art while building a community of life-time new play makers is my greatest pleasure.

Special thanks to CATF's publicist Camille Cintrón Devlin for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

Need more Washington, DC Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...