CATF And SU Participate In International Women's Voices Day

The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) and Shepherd University's Department of Contemporary Art & Theater will host a FREE play reading in conjunction with International Women's Voices Day. The reading of Ripe Frenzy by Jennifer Barclay will take place on Sunday, January 21st at 6 p.m. in the Shipley Recital Hall of Shepherd University's Frank Center.

Ed Herendeen, Founder and Producing Director of the Contemporary American Theater Festival and Shepherd University's Artist in Residence, has always been "vigilant" about telling diverse stories, one of CATF's core values.

"First and foremost, we are looking for plays that deserved to be witnessed. The stories we want to tell reflect the current issues, ideas, and emotions of our world today. We want to hold a mirror up to society, as a reflection of who we are as a people, inclusive of races, genders, religion, orientation, and creeds. We are a melting pot of stories."

Since its founding in 1991, the Contemporary American Theater Festival has produced 121 new plays. Sixty of those plays have been written by women and sixty-one were written by men. The Festival's inclusive nature does not stop with playwrights. Forty-five percent of CATF directors have been women. "We are committed to producing work written by diverse playwrights, the diversity of our artists on stage, and in our administrative offices," Herendeen continues.

The free reading of Ripe Frenzy by Jennifer Barclay will take place on Sunday, January 21st at 6 p.m. in the Frank Center's Shipley Recital Hall. The reading will be directed by CATF's Public Relations Manager, Gabrielle Tokach and the cast will consist of Shepherd University students and faculty as well as community members.

For more information about CATF's and Shepherd University's staged reading, email info@catf.org or call 900-999-CATF (2283).

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