Blog
Meet the Playwright: Ben Thorpe
Ben Thorpe is the man behind the final Bare Essentials reading in this summer’s festival, Baby Shower for the Anti-Christ, happening this Wednesday August 22 at 7:30pm.
Hi Ben! We’re looking forward to your upcoming reading. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a local Atlanta actor and playwright, originally from Snellville, GA. I went to Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA and lived in New York City before moving back to Atlanta in 2015. I’ve acted in productions around town including ‘Hand to God’ and ‘Candide (Alliance)’, ‘Titanic’ (Serenbe), ‘Nobody Loves You’ (Horizon), and ‘Big Fish’
Meet the Playwright: Courtney Earl
Courtney Earl wrote tonight’s Bare Essentials reading, Aposteriori. Read on to learn a little more about tonight’s playwright and play!
Hi Courtney! Can you tell us a little about yourself, both personally and professionally?
I got hooked on playwrighting in college when I entered Kennesaw State University’s “Ten Minute Play Festival.” I have been submitting my work to festivals at professional theatres ever since then. I graduated with a BA in Philosophy and a BA in theatre. I got the philosophy degree to improve my writing, and through the marriage of these two degrees I have tried to produce meaningful work.
What’s Essential in July 2018?
The 2018 Essential Theatre Play Festival opens THIS MONTH!
The twentieth annual Essential Theatre Play Festival is almost here! Festival passes and individual tickets are now on sale. Get yours today!

Essential Artists Onstage
Are you an Essential artist? Would you like us to feature your work in our email newsletter? Let us know! Email [email protected] with details about projects you’d like us to share.
In Atlanta:

The latest scripted show at Dad’s Garage, Black Nerd opens Friday July 13 and runs through August 4.
ANOTHER MOTHER, written by G. M. Lupo: PROFESSIONAL WORLD PREMIERE
ANOTHER MOTHER press kit with photos
Join Essential Theatre for the professional world premiere of Another Mother, by Atlanta playwright G. M. Lupo, opening August 4.
Winner of the 2017 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, Another Mother follows the journey of Genevieve as she pieces together the mysterious identities and relationships between her biological mother, her birth mother and the mother who raised her.
Featuring the acting talents of: Rylee Bunton (Genevieve Duchard), Nina Jones (Rosalind Duchard), Kristin Storla (Abigail Worthy), Christine Vozniak (Alyssa Caine), Trey York (Steven Asher,
ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE by Lauren Gunderson: REGIONAL PREMIERE PRODUCTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE press kit with photos
July 2017 – Join us for the regional premiere production of Ada and the Memory Engine by Lauren Gunderson, opening July 28.
One of the latest plays penned by our very first Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner and the Most Produced Living Playwright in America in 2016, Lauren Gunderson, this play is about the world’s first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. Described by the Huffington Post as “a rare and special artistic achievement: an intelligent play about intelligent historical people that has been crafted by intelligent theatre artists for an intelligent audience,”
2017 Festival Announcement Event Photos
Thanks to everyone who came out to this year’s Festival Announcement Event. We had a great time!
Meet the Playwright: Jacobi Howard
Jacobi Howard is the playwright and actor featured in Monday night’s Bare Essentials reading, Pants on Fire!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Jacobi Howard, 32 years old. I am an actor and playwright from Charlotte, NC. Fairly new in town and making my rounds to become acquainted with the very spectacular arts community here in ATL. I graduated with my BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the arts in 2011. Favorite food: Avocado and wheat crackers.
Please share in your own words a little about the play we’ll be seeing.
Festival Announcement Event: February 25!
JOIN ESSENTIAL THEATRE AND FRIENDS ON FEBRUARY 25 AT GET SCENE STUDIOS FOR OUR 2017 FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENT EVENT!
Meet and congratulate the 2017 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner.
Be there when the 2017 Festival lineup is revealed!
Mix and mingle with past Essential playwrights and company members.
Be first in line to get your 2017 Festival Pass, which go on sale Feb 25!
Celebrating 19 years of the Essential Theatre Festival, during which we’ve produced 29 new works by 24 different Georgia playwrights, with readings of over 25 more.
Celebrating Essential’s – and Georgia’s –
PROFESSIONAL WORLD PREMIERE: DISPOSSESSED
DISPOSSESSED // ESSENTIAL THEATRE PLAY FESTIVAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- ATLANTA, GA
downloadable press kit
DISPOSSESSED, written by Karen Wurl:
PROFESSIONAL WORLD PREMIERE
Join us for the professional world premiere of Dispossessed, by Atlanta playwright Karen Wurl, opening July 29.
Dispossessed is a romantic comic-fantasy, set in 1928 New York City, about a Yiddish theater company that is rehearsing the classic play “The Dybbuk” (in which a bride is possessed by the ghostly spirit of her dead true love on the day she is supposed to marry another man).
