ThinkTheater
From the Producing Director: Ed Herendeen


“One must be something, in order to do something.” — Goethe

In an era of innovation, it is imperative that an arts organization has a well-defined purpose. Having a purpose will justify the risks associated with innovation. Purpose drives strategy and it helps shape the choices that we make. Purpose motivates our Board, staff and company members. Purpose reflects the importance people attach to our artistic programming. Purpose creates a direction for our company. Our mission: “dedicated to producing and developing new American theater” is about the output and impact of our work. If we follow our mission we will achieve our vision - to create the future of the American Theater. Our vision is our future. The key to our success is to have a collaborative team of people with fully aligned attitudes and values.

OUR CORE VALUES:
• To sustain an artistic process of innovation and daring.
• To tell diverse stories.
• To create a profound and ever-evolving relationship between the audience and the work.

The Contemporary American Theater Festival is driven by a purpose (a moral purpose); the vision, mission and core values flow naturally from that purpose. Our Board, staff, artists and patrons are already attracted to our organization because of our unique purpose.

We must continue to develop and deploy a clear and consistent organizational purpose. Purpose matters because it makes our work meaningful and integrates it into our lives. Purpose is preparation for doing what we believe in - doing work that is worthwhile and relevant. The real way to achieve success is to stand for something – to explicitly and consciously develop values that we embrace. People who aim high are the ones who go high.

CATF provides a high quality, artistic/cultural experience by producing provocative works of art that help us to understand our world and ourselves. We want to improve our society. Our purpose is to help people raise the standard of living meaningful lives. We enrich the community with excellent works of art. We utilize the power of theater to open discussion, touch hearts and question accepted notions. We are a community gathering place for an active exchange of ideas about our culture and society. We commit ourselves to exploring the most urgent human and social issues of our time by producing new work that encourages honest dialogue. Our work empathizes with others because empathy lies at the heart of morality and we are a theater company that embraces social responsibility. Our purpose drives our mission, which drives our vision, which is inspired by our core values.


ABOUT THE 2007 REPERTORY

The 2007 Repertory is about discovery. Discovery requires a constant openness, which brings pain as well as joy. This is a repertory of ideas that will challenge our audience to discover and question our contemporary society. We have chosen a bold and daring selection of New American plays stimulated by our passion for the truth and intellectual integrity.

Ideas are powerful – but stories are more powerful. Lee Blessing, Rachel Corrie, Richard Dresser and Jason Grote are contemporary storytellers with original voices and independent spirits. Their voices will broaden our minds by engaging, inspiring and ultimately connecting us with the power of their stories. They can help us to formulate questions that will stimulate a conversation and dialogue throughout our community.

Richard Dresser’s comedy PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS questions our concept of the American dream. What do we value . . . truly value? What makes us happy? Where do we find true happiness in today’s busy, competitive world? Is the American dream even possible?

Jason Grote’s new play 1001 explores medieval Persia and the ancient tales of the Arabian nights. This is his “alternative to war” play. How do we reach across the barriers that divide us in the post 9/11 era?

Lee Blessing takes a sober look into our future with his new play LONESOME HOLLOW . . . a radioactive story. Blessing asks unsettling questions about human nature, morality, ethics and civil rights. How should society punish sex offenders?

MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE tells the compelling story of a personal political journey told through Corrie’s own words. Through her writing, Rachel explored who she was in relationship to her community, her friends and family and her role as an American activist. The play embodies a human story of contradiction and a passionate plea to initiate change.

Four new American plays by four American voices who share their view of our American landscape.


WHY YOU SHOULD SEE THE 2007 REPERTORY

The theater is a democracy. It pushes – expands our notion of who the WE is. It creates a live, dynamic transaction between the performer and the audience. And this transaction is often controversial. We believe it is vital that CATF is a flash pot in today’s turbulent world.

The theater is a place where we can have a community dialogue about topics and issues that make us uncomfortable. CATF hopes that the 2007 Repertory will prompt a fruitful dialogue with our audience. We hope to open your hearts and minds with our work this summer. We hope that this season’s repertory will inspire you to reflect and investigate the issues that each of these plays raises.

Producing contemporary theater, especially in this moment, is a form of social activism. It is a statement of belief in the power of community, in the power of sharing the most private feelings in the most public of spaces – the theater. Contemporary theater by its very nature thrives on risk – the artistic moment cannot, in fact, come alive without it. This state of risk-taking can sometimes produce a collision of values between the audience and the risk-hungry artist.

The stage is where I want to tell profound stories that express my deepest core values. I believe that stories are more powerful teachers than abstract ideas. Stories told on stage are the way we learn, from the childhood fairytales to the fiction and non-fiction that we devour. I want to enrich our community by producing excellent works of art. I want to empathize with others and tell the stories, even when it makes us uncomfortable, because empathy lies at the heart of morality. I am constantly trying to develop a deeper capacity for empathy.

We are compelled to produce these plays because we share a passionate belief that a community without art has no voice, no memory of our stories and aspirations – a community without art is no community at all.



> print this page

> back