Herendeen

What's unusual about CATF is that Herendeen says he's never tempted to do a popular play in order to draw more people.

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley 2010

BLAIR: Herendeen says on average he reads about 75 scripts a year.

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley 2010

Herendeen will direct "Inana" by Michele Lowe, in which a Baghdad museum curator at the start of the Iraq war devises a way to save an ancient statue.

Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' Jane Horwitz 2010

BLAIR: Herendeen says on average he reads about 75 scripts a year.

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley 2010

The festival's most accomplished play, and also -- as directed by Herendeen (how does he find time?) -- the most absorbing production, the suspenseful "Inana" is a mystery, thriller and romance set in the world of Iraqi antiquities.

'Eelwax Jesus' adds trippy dimension to Contemporary American Theater Festival 2010

Domestic fallout from the war on terror underlies "Lidless" by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, which Herendeen will also stage.

Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' Jane Horwitz 2010

Herendeen, who'll direct, says the piece shows that "whenever even good people attempt to talk about race, they screw it up."

Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' Jane Horwitz 2010

"We're choosing to call it an alternative musical," says Herendeen.

Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' Jane Horwitz 2010

That "squirm-a-little" factor ranks high with Herendeen, who often chooses plays with a political or social edge.

Backstage: Paul Scott Goodman and the rebirth of 'Son of a Stand Up Comedian' Jane Horwitz 2010

And this is something else about Herendeen: He doesn't suffer from what he refers to as world premiere-it is, because that can hurt living playwrights.

Festival Brings New Dramas To Shenandoah Valley 2010