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Valetta Anderson

Her play LEAVING LIMBO was produced as part of the 2006 Essential Theatre Festival. Anderson’s full productions include HALLELUJAH STREET BLUES by Horizon Theatre, LEAVING LIMBO by Essential Theatre, TODAY (AT&T: Onstage Award) and SHE’LL FIND HER WAY HOME by Jomandi Productions, Kuntu Repertory Theatre, and Fisk University.

“The Essential Theatre was the essential ingredient in furthering my career as a playwright and expanding my voice into film by providing the one thing that is missing from most new play development processes, namely a full production. Without the Essential production, LEAVING LIMBO would be as unrealized as a pre-digital-era photograph languishing on a developed but not-printed roll of film.”

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Gabriel Jason Dean, whose play QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT has gone on to two other productions since it premiered in the 2010 Essential Theatre festival.

This show had perhaps the most complex set of any Essential Festival play, including a trash-filled mobile home (that magically became immaculate in one scene change), an abandoned automobile and a scuppernong arbor. Doing this in a three-play repertory was an intense experience for Essential’s tech crew!

But we are extremely proud to have supported Gabriel Jason Dean’s work. Won’t you support ours? 33 days to go: https://power2give.org/go/p/8445

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Bill Gibson, winner of the 2002 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award

In 2002, Bill Gibson won the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner with his play, WARTS. We also saw his work onstage this summer in the Bare Essentials Play Reading Series (CHRIST AMERICA). Bill had this to say about his experience in 2002:

“The production of ‘Warts’ was superb under the wonderful direction of Lee nowell, and with the performances of a first-rate cast! It was truly exciting to see ‘Warts’ brought to life onstage.”

We’re proud to have supported Bill’s work.

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The Local, curated and directed by Ellen McQueen and written/created by over two dozen local writers and story contributors (2012)

THE LOCAL, curated by Ellen McQueen and produced by Essential in 2012, was actually comprised of dozens of short plays, songs, poems and personal stories about the City of Atlanta. Writers and contributors included Margaret Baldwin, Matthew Myers, Carlton Molette, Barbara Molette, Karla Jennings, Sarah Satola, Topher Payne, Peter Hardy, Stephanie Schrag, Chris Buechner, Jessica Bodiford, Ellen McQueen, vynnie Meli, Oliver Turner, Ashley McQueen, Dre Camacho, John Dull, Julia Dahlia, Robin Bloodworth,

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The 2003 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner,
Karen Page

The 2003 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner was Karen Page, for her play SPEAKING NAZI. After the Essential Theatre premiere of this play, Karen had her script “Dracula, Re-Vamped” workshopped at the Mountainside Tehatre in North Carolina.
Does anybody out there know Karen? We’ve lost track of her and would love to get back in touch!

We’re proud to have supported Karens work. Won’t you support ours? 36 days to go: https://power2give.org/go/p/8445

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2006 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winners:
Larry Larson & Eddie Levi Lee

Larry Larson & Eddie Levi Lee wrote CHARM SCHOOL, the 2006 Playwriting Award Winner. CHARM SCHOOL won the Suzi’s Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award in 2007 and was later produced by Horizon Theatre as well.
Why is producing new plays by Georgia playwrights important?
“Performing before an audience can teach you things about a play. After watching the first few performances, the authors and director decided to cut an entire scene from the play, for the rest of the run.”

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2007 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner:
Jean Sterrett!

Jean Sterrett won the 2007 Playwriting Award with her play FIX ME SO I CAN STAND, a powerful fact-inspired story about injustice to African Americans in the South. One of the characters, a young lawyer, was based on a real man from Clayton County, now a judge. He came to see the play on his own — and then returned with friends and family in tow!
An Atlanta resident at the time the play was written, Jean originally hails from Australia. After Essential’s production of this play,

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Running Nov 13th-15th and Nov 20th-22nd at The Big House on Ponce (368 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30308), How to Survive Being Human” by Lee Nowell is Ex Somnium’s latest production. Featuring an entire cast of Essential veterans in addition to the playwright: Blaire Hillman, Jeffrey Zwartjes and Bobby Labartino.

Purchase tickets online at 
 http://htsbh.bpt.me
and use code THEA5OFF to get $5 off

     “Your mind will tell you that you’re alone. But separation is an illusion. Ask a scientist. Read a book. We’re all made of carbon.

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2008 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner:
Letitia Sweitzer!

The 2008 Playwriting Award Winner was Letitia Sweitzer, with WEST OF EDEN. This play grew from a one-act (which won the 2005 Georgia Theatre Conference’s One-Act Competition) to the full-length work produced by Essential.

We’re proud to have supported Letitia’s work. Won’t you support ours? 39 days to go: https://power2give.org/go/p/8445

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Today, to spice up the final 40 days of our fall power2give campaign, we’re kicking off a new series of Facebook and website posts:

“40 Days of Essential Playwrights”

Join us every morning at 10am for our next post celebrating a fun fact about one of the fantastic playwrights whose work we have produced over the past — can you believe it? — 27 years!

To kick off the countdown:

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Prolific playwright and Atlanta personality, Topher Payne!

Among his many other, wildly popular accomplishments, Topher acted in our first prize winning play (Lauren Gunderson’s PARTS THEY CALL DEEP) and has gone on to appear in four other Essential productions.

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