Midtown International Theatre Festival Ends After 18 Season

Creator and executive producer of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, John Chatterton, announced today that he will be retiring the MITF until further notice. In a statement to the press, Chatterton said:

"On looking back over 18 seasons of the MITF, I have many memories, most of them good, some not so much, and some hilarious. But I've had some reverses in recent years that have forced me to hang up the gloves. Hence, this retirement memo.

When you get to be 71, you accumulate a few dings on your person -- with some people, more dings than others, some dings going deeper than others. When you start to feel like my first car, a '65 Dodge Dart (this was in '79), you know it's time to re-evaluate your priorities.

The financial situation has also grown more parlous. When I started the MITF (in 2000), I was making $65 an hour as a tech writer on Wall Street. Now I'm on Social Security. I can no longer underwrite the Festival budget out of my own pocket.

(A few years ago I moved back to Massachusetts, for personal reasons, and the strains of commuting to NYC also take their toll.)

The last straw was recent lawsuit. It was one of those cases where you're damned if you win and damned if you lose, because either way you have to pay legal costs.

I have lots of energy and ideas left. Also an increasing urge to travel the world, starting with a farewell tour (in a much better car) down the East Coast to Florida. So, as the Governator said, 'I'll be b-a-a-a-c-k!'

Thank you, New York, for giving my life meaning for 24 years. Thank you for the opportunity to serve that occasionally fickle muse, the Theatre, in all the roles I've experienced. Good luck and God bless. We'll be in touch!"

In the summer of 2000, in midtown Manhattan, the Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) began celebrating the diversity of theatre.

MITF emphasizes imaginative, low-tech staging. In addition to offering a safe environment to develop innovative theatre, the MITF is devoted to keeping costs for participants down. This means there are now no participation fees for any of our festivals!

The MITF welcomes submission of any kind of stage play, musical or otherwise, new or revived, mainstream or focused on an ethnic or cultural niche.

The Festival is the brainchild of John Chatterton, creator of OOBR ("the off-off-broadway review"), which for many years was the only publication exclusively devoted to covering the Off-Off-Broadway scene. Mr. Chatterton started the MITF as a way to present the finest Off-Off-Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. He also produces the Short Play Lab and the Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival.