By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Ellen McQueen
ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE press kit with photos

Regional premiere opened July 28, 2017.

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 Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer. Described by the Huffington Post as “a rare and special artistic achievement,” this delightful play gives you plenty to think about whether you’re a poet, a programmer, a history buff, a technophile or a hopeless romantic.

Continue reading →

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!

We’re happy to announce the three Bare Essentials Readings that will occur during the run of the 2016 Essential Theatre Play Festival. All readings will take place at the West End Performing Arts Center and will start at 7:30 p.m., followed by a discussion. Co-produced by Essential Theatre and Working Title Playwrights, all readings in the Bare Essentials series are free and open to the public. Playwrights whose work is featured in a Bare Essentials reading also receive a complimentary one-year membership to Working Title Playwrights.

Continue reading →

Click here for an interview with Derek Dixon

If someone you loved went missing, how far would you go to find them? A man goes on a dream quest to figure out what happened to his best friend, who seems to have disappeared.  Derek Dixon’s WHEN THINGS ARE LOST is a funny and moving play about friendship, loss, understanding and forgiveness.

CAST: Kerwin Thompson, Alex Towers, Anthony Goolsby, Alex Van, Jill Perry, Barrett Doyle, Chelsea Steverson and Gina Rickicki

Advisory: Some adult themes and situations

Derek Dixon is a writer and actor who resides in Atlanta,

Continue reading →

downloadable press kit
Dispossed Dramaturgy Board
Click here for an interview with Karen Wurl

August 6 Talkback following DISPOSSESSED
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).  The actress playing the leading role is being pressured by her parents to marry the handsome leading man who wants to take over the company,

Continue reading →

New this summer! Be sure to visit the Essential Marketplace when you come to see the show. Our company members and friends have many talents besides the ones you get to see onstage. 
Marketplace Calendar and Artist Profiles coming soon!

Essential Marketplace FAQ

Continue reading →

Click here for video trailer.

A warm, touching play about the members of a small African-American church, struggling to keep its doors open and adapt to changing times. Mama Gwen is a beloved elder who feels the burden of others who depend on the strength of her faith, and Quincy is a young man who loves his church but is beginning to realize that he’s gay.  A Professional World Premiere about people searching for a spiritual life in trying times.  With lots of music!

Featuring the acting talents of: James G. Smith,

Continue reading →

Starting out as a satirical look at the world of social media, this quirky comedy takes a turn into deeper territory when Lillian thinks she may have found the perfect guy — unfortunately, he’s dead, but does that really matter if she can still chat with him online? The World Premiere of the Winner of the 2015 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award.

Featuring the acting talents of:  Alyssa Caputo, Tyler Hayes, Antonia LaChe, Christie Vozniak, Ben Silver and Pat Young

Joshua Mikel is an actor,

Continue reading →

All readings in the Bare Essential series are free and open to the public. Be sure to stay after for exciting conversation with the director, cast and playwright!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve now set the three Bare Essentials Readings that will take place during the run of the 2015 Essential Theatre Play Festival. All readings will take place at the West End Performing Arts Center and will start at 7:30 p.m., followed by a discussion.  The readings will be open to the public with no admission charged.

2015 Bare Essentials Reading Selections

August 4: DELI by Diane Dexter,

Continue reading →

Founding Artistic Director Peter Hardy will be overseeing the Bare Essentials reading series and directing three of the six readings himself. 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.

Three women face the final days of their ailing sister’s life in this moving family drama. Emotionally raw and sometimes painfully funny, it’s a transcendent study of love and mortality and survival. One of the co-winners of the 2014 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award.

Featuring the acting talents of: Teresa DeBerry, Patricia French,  Jill Perry, Gina Rickiki, Sam Traquina, Sarah Wallis and Suzanne Roush.*

Click here to read the 7/31 AJC review, here to read the 8/8 ArtsATL review, and here to read the 8/13 Atlanta Theatre Fans Q&A.

Continue reading →