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Friday, July 8, 2011 The Shepherdstown Chronicle 7
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By Ed HerendeenSpecial to The
Chronicle
When you are in your20s, you don’t imagineanything lasting 20-plusyears.In 1991, the stars
aligned perfectly overShepherdstown, W.Va.Those of us in theaterknow that the starsalmost never align, letalone perfectly. There isalways something that’soff; something you wishyou’d done better; some-thing that went wildlyoff-track. But in 1991,everything shifted intoplace, and theContemporary AmericanTheater Festival pro-duced its first season.That was only 21 yearsago. And let me tell you:place matters.Twenty-one years ago
my theater friends were
in disbelief when Iannounced that I wasgoing to West Virginia tostart a professional the-ater dedicated to produc-ing and developing newwork. They said,“…Seriously?” In fact,our geography —Shepherdstown in WestVirginia’s EasternPanhandle and on thecampus of ShepherdUniversity — plays anessential role in the suc-cess of the ContemporaryAmerican TheaterFestival. For the past 21years we have created anartistic haven for profes-sional theater artists tooperate outside the glareof the urban spotlight.This historic hamlet
nestled along the banksof the Potomac Riverprovides the ideal envi-ronment for innovationand creative risk-taking.Shepherdstown offers
artists an intense interac-tion with a vibrant andeclectic community thatengages — from businessto private citizen — inthe creative flow of mak-ing theater.Shepherdstown is sim-
ply the perfect communi-ty for what we do.Some people possess
the commonly held beliefthat Broadway is the cen-ter of the American the-ater. Yet every summer,playwrights and theaterartists from aroundAmerica converge here tonurture, develop andproduce five newAmerican plays in rotat-ing repertory.Shepherdstown virtuallybecomes the summerhome for the future ofthe American theater.Since 1991,Shepherdstown has beenan incubator for 90 newAmerican plays.
Place matters!Richard Florida writes
in his bestseller “Who’sIn Your City,” “It is truethat where we live andwork does matter. Wherewe live affects everyaspect of our lives … Itcan determine theincome we earn, the peo-ple we meet, the friendswe make, the partnerswe choose, and theoptions available to ourchildren and families.”The power of place
has everything to dowith our happiness.Aristotle observed that
human beings seek hap-piness above all else.Most who study happi-ness say that true well-being comes from socialrelationships—close andloving connections withfamily and friends andfrom doing work that haspurpose and aboutwhich you are passion-
ate. Place is essential tofulfilling these basicneeds.In his captivating best-
seller “Stumbling OnHappiness,” Harvardpsychologist DanielGilbert writes that “mostof us make at least threeimportant decisions inour lives: where to live,what to do, and withwhom to do it.” Notethat he lists the “where”question first. It is clearthat “place” plays a fun-damental role in ourendeavors to be happy.Choosing the right placeto live can make all thedifference in our questfor happiness.Twenty-one years ago,
when Dow Benedict wasrecruiting me to move toShepherdstown to start aprofessional theater, heand my wife Sue weresitting on a bench at theFrank Center overlook-
ing the Shepherd cam-pus. Sue remarked,“Wouldn’t it be nice togrow old inShepherdstown?”Decades later we feel sovery fortunate that wechose to live, raise threechildren and create arthere in a community thatvalues open-mindedness,tolerance and self expres-sion.Place matters.For me, the work
never gets old. Everysummer is a new begin-ning. This week we putinto motion the 21st sea-son of the ContemporaryAmerican TheaterFestival. And I share withyou a profound beliefthat this repertory of newAmerican writing isimportant and necessary.It demonstrates what Icare about most in my
For CATF, location makes a difference
See Location page 8