Contemporary American Theatre Company

CATCO (formerly known as Contemporary American Theatre Company) is a regional professional theatre company in Columbus, Ohio. Operating under an Actors' Equity SPT 6+ contract, it produces a five- to six-show season that commonly runs from October through June and consists of contemporary, classic, and new works.

In January 1985, founding artistic director Geoffrey Nelson financed a production of Bill C. Davis's Mass Appeal at the YWCA under the company name Columbus Theatre Project.^[1] In 1986, CATCO was incorporated as a non-profit and the company converted a warehouse on Park Street in the Short North to a theatre. The Park Street location remained CATCO's home until 1997 when CATCO became a resident theatre company in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts in downtown Columbus.

CATCO produces a biennial Shorts Festival. The company chooses a common setting (recent settings include a gate at Port Columbus International Airport and a suite in the Great Southern Hotel) and accepts previously unproduced 10- to 15-minute plays. According to the company's 2006 call for submissions, "Playwrights who are Ohio residents or who have Ohio roots will be given preference, but any author may submit his/her work."

Key staff

• Steven C. Anderson - Producing Director^[2]
• Geoffrey Nelson – Artistic Director Emeritus^[2]
• Joe Bishara – Associate Producing Director^[2]

Notable productions

• The Last Smoker in America
• The Santaland Diaries
• The Exonerated
• The Pillowman
• "The Story of my Life"
• "Evil Dead: The Musical"
• "Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits: Volume One"
• "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"
• "Master Class"

External links

• Contemporary American Theatre Company Official Website

References