Contemporary American Theatre Festival

West Virginina Meeting of American Theatre Critics Association

By: Charles Giuliano - Jul 22, 2013

Critics and contemporary theatre merge in rural West Virginina.

We stayed in a series of chalets at the upscale Bavarian Inn.

The official conference hat is adorned with a signifier of each meeting. Giuliano photos

It is worn and possessed for one year here presented by Chris Rawson to Chicago organizer Johnathan Abarbanel.

Hats off to Shepherdstown organizer Tim Treanor of DC.

Tim is this year’s Mad Hatter.

Johnathan confers with Jay Handelman whose term as president of ATCA is now ended.

Abarbanel is now president of ATCA.

Handelman takes over as head of ATCA's important Foundation.

Shepherd University president Dr, Suzanne Shipley and CATF director Ed Herendeen.

Meeting with the critics.

A lively discussion about the state of contemporary theatre.

James McNeel of CATF efficiently coordnated a complex schedule.

Jacqueline A Proctor is Deputy Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Tourism.

Board Member Edward Rubin of New York.

Keynote speaker Jason Zinoman of the New York Times.

It pays to advertise of all the noive.

Herb Simpson always has thoughtful comments.

Florida based critic Bill Hirschman.

Erin Keane is a new member from Louisville where ATCA will meet next year.

Erin with Mark Dewey and Astrid Hiemer.

Members are tete a tete.

Mark Lowry from Dallas.

Sandra "Sandy" Lois Katz is always the life of the party.

Sandy’s husband Jerry Katz likes to take pictures.

Patricia Feldhaus composes and sings a song to close each conference.

Saying goodbye to Jason Zinoman.

Putting a suitcase in Tim’s car for a trip to the airport.

Happy trails to my new best friend Lorraine Treanor.

 

We have just returned from joining with some 75 members and guests of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

In addition to breakfast meetings at the Bavarian Inn, panel discussions, and informal events from Wednesday through Saturday we saw five new or second productions of the 23^rd annual Contemporary American Theatre Festival.

A busy schedule of events conducted during a brutal heat emergency was brilliantly coordinated by ATCA organizer, Tim Tranor, a DC based critic, and James McNeely representing CATF director Ed Herendeen.

During a Saturday “Dinner with Ed” he participated in a lively no holds barred discussion with the critics. The previous day I spent an hour with him and will post a full report.

Much of the best of ATCA meetings occurs between the lines and under the radar. Following the plays on the bus back to the hotel, or late night in the Ratskeller, there was an ongoing debate about the quality of the plays and the current state of American theatre.

On Friday afternoon we had options to tour the nearby historic sites of Harper’s Ferry where John Brown was captured or the Antietem battle field. A few left in the van for a visit to a distillery and returned relatively sober.

What follows is the ATCA press release.

Shepherdstown, WV, June 22, 2013:  On Sunday, the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) concluded its 40^th annual conference, spread over four days at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival.

A highlight of the final day was New York Times critic and author Jason Zinoman, who delivered ATCA’s Perspectives in Criticism lecture, the 32^nd in a distinguished series.

Zinoman’s talk, in effect the keynote address, was autobiographical, smart, funny and challenging – just what ATCA envisioned when it invited Clive Barnes to start the series in 1992. Previous speakers have included William Henry, Frank Rich, Henry Hewes, Richard Christiansen, Robert Brustein, Eric Bentley, Linda Winer and Terry Teachout. The full text of Zinoman’s talk is available here: http://americantheatrecritics.org/perspectives-in-criticism/

Elected President of ATCA’s separate charitable Foundation was Jay Handelman (Sarasota Herald-Tribune), previously chair of ATCA, with Wendy Rosenfield (freelance, Philadelphia Inquirer) elected as the Foundation’s Vice President. The Foundation primarily funds awards for playwrights and scholarships and travel for critics.

The ATCA membership meets twice each year, once for a four-day conference, once for a long weekend. The 2013 weekend meeting was in Indianapolis. In 2014, the main conference will be at Actors Theatre of Louisville, as part of its 38^th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays.

ATCA was founded in 1974 to raise critical standards and public awareness of critics’ functions and responsibilities. The only national association of professional theater critics, with several hundred members working for newspapers, magazines, radio, television and websites, ATCA is the American affiliate of the International Association of Theatre Critics, a UNESCO-affiliated organization that sponsors seminars and congresses worldwide.

For more information on ATCA, visit www.americantheatrecritics.org

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