The Essential Theatre is pleased to announce that Vynnie Meli’s play JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS has been chosen as the winner of the 2009 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition. Vynnie will receive a cash prize of $600.00 and her play will be produced as part of the Essential Theatre’s 2009 Power Plays Festival, to be presented in July of 2009 at the Actor’s Express performance space.

The story of JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS centers on the members of an all-female jazz band, touring through the Deep Sou th during World War Two. The musicians are all African-American except for one Jewish woman,

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Dramatists Guild of America

Regional Report from Atlanta

Pamela Turner

July 2, 2008

New Play Festivals can be a playwright’s best friend or they can be the crassest means for a theatre to benefit on the backs of the eternally hopeful. In the first case, the playwright can get exposure and a chance to learn more about her work. In the latter, the play is just fodder for someone else’s money cow: be it a grant, a newly oriented mission statement, or some coins toward last season’s deficit. Fortunately, there are Forces of Good positioned throughout the country to face off the forces of evil (those guys will get no capital letters from me).

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October 19th 8:00pm
Playreading
Me Own Personal Hero by Pamela Turner
As part of Georgia Open Arts Month,Go ARTS    the Essential Theatre in conjunction with Working Title Playwrights will be hosting a FREE playreading of Pamela Turner’s ME OWN PERSONAL HERO, a script we’ve been workshopping.  It will be held at Horizon Theatre 8:00 p.m., Oct. 19, .  A discussion lead by playwright Pamela Turner, director Peter Hardy and James Beck will follow the reading.
Cast
Musician — Patricia McLaughlin
Seamus Monaghan – Alex Van
Padraic McCarry –

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I know the Power Plays Festival is underway, and I have told all my WTPers that I intend to see all three plays after Tuesday (once I have the first of my two readings accomplished), but I’m hoping to entice you to one of the two of Daphne Mintz’s play, In Lieu of Flowers. It’s the first of our two Summer Reading Series selections will be read at Actor’s Express this coming Monday and Tuesday, 7:30pm.

Daphne Mintz’s romantic drama, In Lieu of Flowers, asks many questions about love and commitment and the possible moral ambiguities inherent in both.

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“West of Eden“

“West of Eden by Letitia Sweitzer World Premiere July 8, 2008
Essential Theatre

www.EssentialTheatre.com

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The 2008 Metropolitan Atlanta Theater Awards is proud to nominate the following people/theaters:

Leading Actor, Play:
Spencer G. Stephens – “Man” – Fix Me So I Can Stand – The Essential Theatre

Leading Actress, Play:
Johanna Linden – “Mrs. Bob Cratchit” – Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge – The Essential Theatre

Major Supporting Actor, Play:
Bobby Labartino – “Fezziwig, etc” – Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge – The Essential Theatre

Major Supporting Actress, Play:
Sarah Falkenburg – “Little Nell, etc” – Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge –

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One of the most enjoyable, thought provoking plays I’ve seen in a long time. Times past and present merge so artfully that every time I thought I knew where this play was going it moved in an unexpected direction, as life, past and present, does. The acting, staging, direction of “Valhalla” have put this script on my “must read” list. Congratulations, Peter, for a grand kickoff for Essential Theatre’s 2008 Festival!
Valetta Anderson

I’ve just come home from opening night of “Valhalla,” the first play in the Essential Theatre Power Plays Festival. Script, direction, cast and crew —

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Check out the 2008 Festival Videos to learn more about our productions.

Before After Ashley

Valhalla Behind the Scenes

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The support, encouragement and development of new plays by Georgia writers have always been an important part of the Essential Theatre’s mission. Ten years ago we committed to producing an annual festival that would always present at least one World Premiere by a resident Georgia playwright – after a couple of years, the selection process evolved into an actual contest, the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition. The first winner of the award was 18-year-old Lauren Gunderson of Decatur, whose play PARTS THEY CALL DEEP went on to win national prizes and was produced Off-Broadway.

In the past ten years we’ve also produced new plays by Georgia writers such as Karen Wurl,

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“West of Eden” has been a long time in the making. Indeed, I began, finished, and had produced another full-length play and several shorter ones between the beginning of “Eden” and now.

After raising four children, I took up writing as a career, freelancing for magazines, and then writing nonfiction books with experts. In 2000, the Village Writers Group had a rather new ten-minute play contest, and they were encouraging people to enter. I’d never done a play. However, I had loved plays since childhood. I thought maybe I could do this. My little comedy about Adam,

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