Article

Celebrating 20 Years: A Look Back At The 2011 Festival

Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the thirteenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2011.

The 2011 Essential Theatre Festival was another great year for us — three shows we’re still proud of today. Lee Blessing’s GREAT FALLS, Melanie Marnich’s A SLEEPING COUNTRY (Blessing and Marnich are married, which we didn’t even know when we chose those plays!) And the World Premiere of Theroun Patterson’s A THOUSAND CIRCLETS, the first of two Essential Theatre Playwriting Award wins for him. This play went on to be produced again at Detroit Repertory Theatre —

Continue reading →

Celebrating 20 Years: A Look Back At The 2010 Festival

Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the twelfth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2010.

The 2010 Essential Theatre Festival was a big one for us. We did Poet Laureate Rita Dove’s epic THE DARKER FACE OF THE EARTH, and Ms. Dove was gracious enough to come to our opening night! Then we did Artistic Director’ Peter Hardy’s prize-winning SALLY AND GLEN AT THE PALACE, which went on to another production at Out of Box Theater, and Gabriel Jason Dean’s QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT, which went on to four further productions around the country,

Continue reading →

Celebrating 20 Years: A Look Back At The 2009 Festival

Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the eleventh Essential Theatre Festival, in 2009.

Continuing our celebration of 20 years of the Essential Festival — 2009! This was the year we moved from 7 Stages to Actor’s Express, and suddenly we could have sets!
Our prize-winning World Premiere, that year, Vynnie Meli’s JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS, was described by one of our patrons as “the most powerful play I’ve ever seen.”

Continue reading →

Celebrating 20 Years: A Look Back At The 2008 Festival

Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the tenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2008.

2008 was the last of the four Festivals we presented in the back space at 7 Stages. Along with Letitia Sweitzer’s WEST OF EDEN, our Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner, we produced Paul Rudnick’s beautiful epic comedy VALHALLA and Gina Gionfriddo’s searing drama AFTER ASHLEY.

(VALHALLA remains one of Artistic Director Peter Hardy’s favorite shows he has ever directed.)

Continue reading →

Thank you!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO OUR 2018 ESSENTIAL THEATRE PLAY FESTIVAL THIS FALL THROUGH

Mark Perloe and Mary Perloe in honor of Chris Mann’s Dec 21 performance at the Strand in Marietta; Doug Shipman; Ellen McQueen; Sherry Shaw; Pamela Rooks; Nina Jones; Johnny Thigpen; Sarah Wallace; Erin Lavallee; Barbara O’Haley; Chris Carlsten; Adena Brumer; Thom, Lori, and Sydney Stanley; Alex Van; Brittany Harper; Hank and Barbara Kimmel; Cathy Jamison; Pamela Turner; Daniel Guyton; G Morgan Timmis; Alissa Scherb; John and Amy Babcock; Leonard Pallats; Melissa Hardy-Trevenna in honor of Martha Nell Hardy; Lee Raines; Josh Mikel; Natalie Karp; 

Continue reading →

A Gift to Remember

Last weekend, Hallmark rolled out its latest holiday movie, A Gift to Remember by none other than our beloved Topher Payne. Check here (top right corner of the page) for repeat showtimes throughout the holiday season!

Topher’s thoughts on seeing his words on the small screen again this holiday season?

Four million people watched A Gift to Remember on Sunday. We were second only to The Walking Dead.
My playwright brain still can’t fathom a story reaching that many people at once.
TV is so neat.

Continue reading →

A LITTLE ROOM AT THE INN premieres Nov 30

Opening at the end of this month at Onion Man in Chamblee and also directed by Julie Skrzypek is the world premiere production of A LITTLE ROOM AT THE INN by Atlanta playwright and long-time Essential supporter and friend, Hank Kimmel. Billed as “a lighthearted Christmas play for adults,” this play tells the story of Bill Greenwalt, a successful CEO who’s nearing retirement, his protege Julie Schaffer, and a host of colorful characters who are all caught in an inn during a snowstorm.

Kimmel offers the following observation about his latest play:
“On the surface,

Continue reading →

Who is this Ashley Anderson????

So many of the people (including critics) who came to see Essential’s East Coast Premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE this past summer,came out into the lobby afterwards wanting to know “Who is this Ashley Anderson????”  Well, she’s continuing to light up the Atlanta theater scene, opening this week In CARDBOARD PIANO at Actor’s Express, while during the day she’s been performing at middle schools with the Alliance Theatre’s Young Audiences project ALICE BETWEEN.

Continue reading →