I thought you guys would appreciate knowing this. One of my short plays, PigSkin, was accepted to the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival this summer in July. YAY! The week before QOS opens.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough good news, I got offered a residency at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca NY to work on my new play The Freeman Elegies. Then, I’m going to the O’Neill for a week long residency.

I’m feeling pretty darn good today!

Cheers,

~Gabriel Jason Dean

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If you are interested in being an usher for our festival, we are seeking two ushers for each performance. Please visit our online Festival Usher Calendar to determine performance dates and availability. Click HERE to volunteer.

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The submission deadline is coming up for the 2011 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition. Unproduced plays by Georgia playwrights are eligible; there are no restrictions as to style, subject matter or length (though preference is given to plays with a running time of at least an hour). The winning playwright will receive a cash prize of $600, and the play will be given a full production as part of the 2011 Essential Theatre Play Festival.

The script submission deadline is April 23, 2010.

Submissions for the 2011 festival can be e-mailed to [email protected] in pdf or MSWord format or sent by regular mail to the address below.

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Essential Theatre is grateful to support from the International Hotel Group and Atlanta Hotel Indigo in their support for the 2010 Essential Theatre Play Festival. Ms. Rita Dove, “Darker Face of the Earth” playwright, and Pulitzer prize winning US Poet Laura will attend our opening festival.

A big thank you to the International Hotel Group for their support. Please visit their website to learn more.

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Some of this advice was given to me over the years by smart people, but I don’t really remember who said what, so you should just do it. It’s good advice, most of it. There are other things to do too, probably. Also, this is advice for starting out. You might do different things after you playwright a while. Remember that everyone has their own path. These might not all be helpful for you. So find what works for you. Good luck! ~ Adam Szymkowicz

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If you have a passion for theatre and want to help support our mission, please consider becoming a board member. MORE INFORMATION

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An interesting discussion on what makes a play new.

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Many of your poems involve historical events and figures, like the “Not Welcome Here” poems in your American Smooth volume. Do you write historical poems any differently than the others?
I do research, but I don’t think I approach those poems differently than I do others. The research is driven by curiosity more than anything else. When it’s done, while writing the poem I try to forget the research, although I have to make sure I get my facts straight. When I wrote the play Darker Face of the Earth, I had to do the research first,

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The Essential Theatre will hold General Auditions for the 2010 Essential Theatre Play Festival, three full-length plays to run in repertory (with separate casts) from July 8 – August 8, performing in the Actor’s Express space. (Performance schedules for the individual plays to be announced.) Non-union, most performers will be paid a stipend. General Auditions will be held on February 20 and 21 (location and time to be determined). Call 404-212-0815 or e-mail [email protected] to schedule an audition appointment. Website www.EssentialTheatre.com. For audition, bring headshot and prepare two contrasting monologues (comic, dramatic, contemporary, classical – whatever) not totaling more than 4 minutes in length.

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“Ten years ago, on a trip to London, I saw a wonderful production of an extraordinary play at the National Theatre — THE DARKER FACE OF THE EARTH, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (and former Poet Laureate of the United States), Rita Dove. It re-imagined the myth of Oedipus, from Greek Tragedy, setting it on a slave plantation in the American South. I fully expected this play to take America by storm but, to date, it hasn’t received a professional production in the Southeast. The Essential Theatre is thrilled to be bringing this stunning play to Atlanta audiences, this summer,

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