Thanks to support from Georgia Humanities, all readings in the Bare Essentials series are free and open to the public. Be sure to stay after for exciting conversation with the director, cast and playwright!
Curated by Essential’s Founding Artistic Director, Peter Hardy. Peter is a national award-winning playwright himself, who’s had over 30 productions of his work done around the country, and was named Creative Loafing’s Critic’s Pick for Best Local Playwright in 2010.
Aug. 3 (2pm) – DAY OF SATURN by Leviticus Jelks III, directed by Najah Ali
The owner of a hardware store in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta struggle with conflicting emotions about the son he lost, with the help of a young employee who has his own painful past. Readers: Kerwin Thompson (Achilles), Anthony Nash (Icarus), and Markis Gallashaw (Odysseus).
Meet the Playwright: Leviticus Jelks III
Aug. 6 (7:30pm) – HENRY DARGER TAKES A WALK by Rosalind Sullivan-Lovett, directed by Natalie Fox
An intriguing journey into imagination and possible madness, as a young woman tries to find her way to healing.
Readers: Genevieve Leopold (Grace), Emih Abrahamson (Professor Croydon), Olivia Dawson (Colleen/Ellen), Brad Brooks (Uncle John), Brandon Deen (Owen), Joey Davila (Henry Darger), Brieanna Haberling (Stage Manager).
Meet the Playwright: Roz Sullivan-Lovett
Aug. 12 (7:30pm) – WAITING FOR BIG STUFF by Allan Dodson, directed by Kati Grace Brown
What starts out like a sitcom set in a fast food restaurant begins to turn into a kind of purgatory with fries.
Readers: Natalie Karp (Marianne), Charlie Thomas (Gerald), Jeff Morgan (Guy), Sean Kelley (Karl), Kirstin Kalvert (Katelyn), Betty Mitchell (Patsy), Sarah Newby Halicks (Beautiful Girl), Mike Pugh (Howard), Alex Pica (Lana), Bowen Fox (Philip), Danielle Hopkins (stage directions)
Meet the Playwright: Allan Dodson
Aug. 21 (7:30pm) – THE ODDS AGAINST DEATH by Ted Westby and John D. Babcock III, directed by Bill Murphey
It’s all fun and games until Death shows up (with an assistant named Milton) to raise the stakes in this funny new farce.
Readers: Mary Saville, Robby Owenby, Evan Cleaver, Diany Rodriguez, Steve Hudson, Christie Brumfield Baggett, Kathleen McManus, and Anne Stainback Davis.
Meet the Playwrights: Ted Westby and John D. Babcock III
In addition to our regular Festival sponsors, Essential Theatre is proud to announce that the 2019 Bare Essentials Play Reading Series is supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly. Thanks to all of our sponsors for helping Essential fulfill our mission to nurture and produce new works by Georgia playwrights and to actively engage our audiences in this process.
