The Contemporary Theater Company

The Contemporary Theater Company (CTC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit theater company based in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Founded by Artistic Director Christopher J. Simpson in 2005, the company presents a range of plays throughout South County with an emphasis on reaching first-time theatergoers. The company presents an annual holiday show at the historic waterfront Towers in Narragansett and produces an annual 24-Hour Play Festival at the South Kingstown High School. Additionally, the company presents classes at its Studio located in the South County Commons and opened a new theater at 327 Main Street in historic downtown Wakefield in July 2012.

Mission Statement

The board-approved mission of the theater governs the organization's decision making from the highest level down. Every undertaking must adhere to one or more of the tenets espoused within.

The Contemporary Theater Company believes that art is essential to our well-being as individuals and to the betterment of our community. Through live performance we provide opportunities for all people to enjoy art, and in so doing bring a comprehensive arts experience to South County.

We provide opportunities for established artists to refine and present their craft.

We provide opportunities for students and aspiring artists to acquire skills and grow.

We provide opportunities for first-time participants to experience the arts in ways they can be proud of and enjoy.

We provide opportunities for everyone to experience live performance regardless of circumstances

History

The Contemporary Theater Company started as an unincorporated group in 2005 known as The Courthouse Summer Theater Company. Its first production was Rumors by Neil Simon in the summer of 2005. The company incorporated on May 30, 2006. The company continued to present shows under the name The Courthouse Theater Company at the Courthouse Center for the Arts until the end of 2007, when the center established an in-house theater group.

In 2009, The Courthouse Theater Company renamed itself The Contemporary Theater Company. It has since produced shows including The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and The Gift of the Magi.

Past Seasons

2013 Season

• 8th Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• Springboard Season
• God's Ear by Jenny Schwartz
• Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire
• A Flea in Her Ear by George Feydeau, translated by David Ives
• Bob by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
• Testing Testing 1234 with the South Kingstown High School Drama Club
• Assassins (musical) by Stephen Sondheim

2012 Season

• 7th Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• Your Friends and Neighbors Present: Paradise Park by Charles Mee
• Is He Dead? by Mark Twain
• The Foreigner by Larry Shue
• The Cmpleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) by The Reduced Shakespeare Company
• Testing Testing 1234 with the South Kingstown High School Drama Club
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - in partnership with GEAR productions
• The Gift of the Magi by Andy Hoover

2011 Season

• 6th Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• Composition by Andy Hoover
• 30 Neofuturist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by The Neofuturists
• Red Herring by Michael Hollinger
• Peter Pan by Shawn Fennell
• Testing Testing 1234 with the South Kingstown High School Drama Club
• Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
• Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge by Christopher Durang

2010 Season

• 5th Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown
• The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
• Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
• Rumors by Neil Simon
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - in partnership with GEAR Productions
• The Gift of the Magi by Andy Hoover

2009 Season

• 4th Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by The Reduced Shakespeare Company
• Noises Off by Michael Frayn
• Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring
• Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
• The Gift of the Magi by Andy Hoover

2008 Season

• 3rd Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• Color Theory - an original production
• 30 Neofuturist Plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by The Neofuturists

2007 Season

• 2nd Annual 24 Hour Play Festival
• The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder
• Set & Drift by Andy Hoover

2006 Season

• 24 Hour Play Festival
• Proof by David Auburn
• You Can't Take It with You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart

2005 Season

• Rumors by Neil Simon

Awards & Nominations

"Rhode Island Monthly Editor's Pick" 2012 Arts Revitalization Award

Providence Phoenix: The Best of RI 2011

Best Theater Company (won)

MoreTeeth's Most Teeth Theater Awards May 2010 - May 2011

Best Play (Drama): Romeo and Juliet (nominated)

Waiting for Godot (nominated)

Best Director: Ryan Hartigan, Waiting for Godot (won)

Amy Lee Connell, Shawn Fennell, Nevan Michael Richard & Christopher J. Simpson, Romeo and Juliet (nominated)

Best Dramatic Performance (Female): Amy Lee Connell, Romeo and Juliet (nominated)

Best Dramatic Performance (Male): Stephen Strenio, Waiting for Godot (won)

Best Supporting Dramatic Performance (Female): Amy Lee Connell, Romeo and Juliet (nominated)

Best Supporting Dramatic Performance (Male): Maxwell Matthews, Waiting for Godot (nominated)

2011 Motif Magazine Theatre Awards

Best Supporting Male: Christopher J. Simpson, Waiting for Godot (won)

Southern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce's 2011 Chamber Impact Awards

Excellence in Innovation Award (won)

Providence Phoenix: The Best of RI 2010

Best New & Yummy Theater Troupe (won)

2009 Motif Magazine Theatre Awards

Best Supporting Female: Meghan Rose Donnelly, Noises Off (nominated)

Organization

The CTC is led by an eleven-member board of directors and Artistic Director Christopher J. Simpson. In 2009, Simpson won a fellowship from Princeton University to help grow the company.

External links

• The Contemporary Theater Company