22
Topher Payne

You know him for his recent prolific writings: the Lakebottoms (Proper and Prime), Angry Fags, Swell Party and more, to include his 2012 Essential premiere, Evelyn in Purgatory.

Or maybe you know him because you’ve seen him onstage, or because of the column he’s written for years.

Regardless of HOW you know him, it’s likely that, in some capacity, you DO know him. So for today’s post, here’s a “baby picture” of one of Atlanta’s favorite playwrights and personalities, Topher Payne, who has appeared on Essential’s stage many times over the years but was first cast in our 2001 production of Lauren Gunderson’s PARTS THEY CALL DEEP.

Continue reading →

23
Bill Gibson

Bill’s play, WARTS, was the winner of the 2002 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award.

WARTS was set in 1950s Philadelphia (the boyhood home of writer Bill Gibson), and it established the rule that, while only Georgia resident playwrights could be submitted to Essential’s contest, the plays themselves did not have to be set in Georgia, or even in the south.

DID YOU KNOW?
2002 was the first year we specifically articulated our mission of supporting Georgia playwrights. Since the first Essential Play Festival in 1999, however, we have presented 23 new works by Georgia playwrights,

Continue reading →

24
Theroun Patterson

Just this past summer, Theroun’s THAT UGANDA PLAY was co-winner of the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award and was produced in our Festival. Inspired by an interview between Rachel Maddow and David Bahati, the Ugandan Parliament member who proposed the notorious Anti-Gay bill that year in Uganda, Theround began writing this play in 2010 and developed it with Working Title Playwrights and Academy Theatre over the next couple of years. THAT UGANDA PLAY became newly relevant this year with the passing of a version of the bill whose proposal inspired the play.

We are proud to have supported Theroun’s work.

Continue reading →

25
Lauren Gunderson

Lauren was our first award winner in 2001 with PARTS THEY CALL DEEP. She won again in 2004 for BACKGROUND, and she is currently based out of California and boasts a very successful playwriting career.

“The Essential Theatre has been fundamentally important for my career. When I was very young and unsure of how to sustain my work in theatre, they gave me strength. I speak from experience when I say that I will always credit them with my early success and confidence.”

PARTS THEY CALL DEEP wasn’t “submitted”

Continue reading →

It’s a great day for a movie, so here’s your post for today:

26
Peter Hardy, founding artistic director and author of several plays, to include SALLY AND GLEN AT THE PALACE, which we produced in 2010.

“Peter Hardy’s SALLY AND GLEN AT THE PALACE is a lovely valentine to the movies, a trivia buff’s dream and a sweet coming-of-age story about friendships made in unlikely places.”

Creative Loafing Critic’s Pick for 2010 Best Local Playwright, Peter created the characters of Sally and Glen in the late 1990s, but they continue to live on in his head,

Continue reading →

27
Katie Grant Shalin, author of SWIMMING WITH JELLYFISH,
produced by Essential in 2013

Katie produced this play herself, with her playing the lead, in a production at the school where she taught. We produced it the next summer, and our audiences loved it.

Sadly, Katie passed away earlier this year from brain cancer. She received her diagnosis just as rehearsals were beginning for our production of JELLYFISH. This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for all the great playwrights whose work we’ve had the pleasure of producing, and for all that are yet to come,

Continue reading →

28
Matthew Myers

Winner of the 2013 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award with his play, STRAY DOGS

Matt went to school for performance and worked primarily as an actor his first few years in Atlanta, but now he is writing about as much as he is performing. He has had plays produced by Dad’s Garage, the Collective Project, the Academy Theatre and the Essential Theatre, among others.

We are proud to have supported Matt’s work. Won’t you support ours? 28 days left to give: https://www.power2give.org/go/p/8445

Continue reading →

29
Vynnie Meli

Vynnie won the 2009 Playwriting Award Contest with her play, JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS. After the opening night, we all agreed to cut what had been the final scene of the show, feeling that the next-to-last scene would make for a more powerful ending. Apparently audiences agreed: the play went on to be produced again that winter in Stone Mountain and won Best Original Work from the Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Awards.

We are proud to have supported Vynnie’s work. Won’t you support ours? 29 days to go: https://www.power2give.org/go/p/8445

Continue reading →

30
Karen Wurl

Many of our writers have two, three or even more plays produced by Essential: Karen wrote ONLY CHILDREN, the Georgia play we produced in our first festival in 1999, as well as MISS MACBETH, which premiered with Essential in 2005. She also wrote a very popular segment from NIGHT TRAVELS, which we produced in 2007.

“Essential Theatre’s mission is one much needed — to champion and showcase promising work by Georgia playwrights, and my experience with the Festival was terrifically satisfying. By the way, Peter Hardy has been working for years in support of new plays and new playwrights.

Continue reading →

31
Karla Jennings

Her play IMAGES IN SMOKE was produced by Essential in our 2000 Festival and named one of the year’s best productions by Creative Loafing…A young actress named Lauren Gunderson was in Essential’s cast for IMAGES IN SMOKE — the next year, she won our very first playwriting contest afor her play, PARTS THEY CALL DEEP, at the age of 18.

We are proud to have supported Karla’s AND Lauren’s work. Won’t you support ours? 31 days to go: https://power2give.org/go/p/8445

Continue reading →