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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”

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

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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,

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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,

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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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