Atlanta, June 2016 – Tickets are now on sale for the 18th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival, which kicks off in less than two months!
This summer, Essential Theatre continues its tradition of premiering the best new work by Georgia playwrights for Atlanta audiences with the 18th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival, the eighteenth since its inception and the fifth consisting entirely of Georgia-created world premieres.
The festival runs July 29 through August 28 at the West End Performing Arts Center, located at 945 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
This summer, audiences will see the World Premieres of Dispossessed by Karen Wurl and When Things Are Lost by Derek Dixon, the 2016 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award co-winners, as well as three readings from the Bare Essentials Play Reading Series, co-presented this summer with Working Title Playwrights, the premiere playwright development organization in Atlanta.
Shows are performed in a rotating repertory. To view the performance schedule or purchase tickets, go to EssentialTheatre.com/Buy-Tickets-Now.
“Since its first festival in 1999, the Essential Theatre has presented 27 new works by 23 different Georgia writers, all receiving productions of the highest artistic quality through Essential and many going on to receive future productions elsewhere in Atlanta and across the country. This will be our fifth all-Georgia festival, and we want to celebrate with you!”
About each play:
Dispossessed by Karen Wurl, premiering July 29, 2016
Directed by Peter Hardy
Featuring the acting talents of: Amelia Fischer, Jake Krakovsky, Kathleen McManus, Scott Rousseau, Alyssa Caputo, Chris Schulz, Christie Vozniak, Marc Gowan and Tyler Hayes
Creative Design Team: Danyale Taylor (set), Harley Gould (lights), A. Julian Verner (props), Jane Kroessig (costumes), Dan Bauman (sound). Technical Direction provided by Elisabeth Cooper.
A romantic comic fantasy about a Yiddish theater company in the 1920s. A young actress trying to decide between two suitors and her dreams of a career finds herself confronted with the living embodiment of the character she is portraying – a bride possessed by the spirit of a dead lover. Girl talk ensues. Written by Karen Wurl, winner of the 2005 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award for MISS MACBETH.
When Things Are Lost by Derek Dixon, premiering August 5, 2016
Directed by Amber Bradshaw
Featuring the acting talents of: Kerwin Thompson, Alex Towers, Anthony Goolsby, Alex Van, Jill Perry, Barrett Doyle, Chelsea Steverson and Gina Rickicki
Creative Design Team: Danyale Taylor (set), Harley Gould (lights), A. Julian Verner (props), Jane Kroessig (costumes), Nathan Brown (Sound). Technical Direction provided by Elisabeth Cooper.
If someone you loved went missing, how far would you go to find them? A man goes on a dream quest to figure out what happened to his best friend, who seems to have disappeared. Derek Dixon’s WHEN THINGS ARE LOST is a funny and moving play about friendship, loss, understanding and forgiveness.
Bare Essential Play Reading Series
Co-Produced with Working Title Playwrights
Selected from Playwriting Competition entries, all readings in the Bare Essential series are free and open to the public.
Now in its seventeenth year, the Essential Theatre Playwriting Competition is the only contest exclusively dedicated to the work of Georgia playwrights. The winning play receives both a full production and a $600 cash prize. Playwrights must be current Georgia residents, and the plays must be previously unproduced. There are no restrictions as to style, length or subject matter. Plays are accepted year-round, and the deadline for the 2018 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition is April 23, 2017. For more information or to submit your play, visit EssentialTheatre.com/Playwriting-Competition.
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For media inquires
Jennifer Kimball, Managing Director
[email protected]
(404) 587-3853
Calendar Listing
Essential Theatre Play Festival
July 29-August 28, 2016
at the West End Performing Arts Center
945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30310
Essential Theatre: Giving Georgia Playwrights a Voice since 1999
The 2016 Essential Theatre Festival continues Essential’s tradition of premiering the latest and best new works by Georgia playwrights this summer with this year’s playwriting award winners, Dispossessed by Karen Wurl and When Things Are Lost by Derek Dixon, and the Bare Essentials Play Reading Series.
The Festival runs July 29 through August 28 at the West End Performing Arts Center, 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, Atlanta, GA. Tickets at www.EssentialTheatre.com.
