The Essential Theatre Play Festival Celebrates 25 Years!

 The Essential Theatre Play Festival will celebrate 25 years this August with a full schedule of new work by Georgia writers. 

Though many Atlanta theaters are proud to showcase local writers, Essential was the first and is still the only theater company exclusively dedicated to producing the work of Georgia playwrights, bringing a special significance to this milestone.

Since its founding, Essential has produced over 40 World Premieres through its annual play festival and helped to launch the careers of nation-wide successes like Lauren Gunderson and Topher Payne. 

“They produced my first plays and basically started my professional career,” shares Gunderson, who has been named America’s most-produced playwright multiple times by American Theatre Magazine. 

“Getting a piece through Essential has become sort of a rite of passage for the Georgia playwright,” 2015 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner Joshua Mikel states. “It’s an amazing and necessary thing to have a company that pulls from the local talent here, and I’m so stoked to be a part of it.”

"I'm a playwright myself,” says Essential’s Founding Artistic Director, Peter Hardy, “so when I started Essential, I wanted to do something to be supportive of writers in the area and give them an opportunity. At that time, there were not very many new plays by Georgia writers being produced in the Atlanta area. That's something that has changed a lot over the years, which is wonderful."

But the Essential Theatre Play Festival isn’t just for playwrights. “Programs like this are vital for the survival of Georgia theatre,” one audience member declared after attending last year’s Festival. ““The delight of discovering new talent is a major draw, and connecting with stories close to our own communities and backyards is a wonderful gift,” shared another.

“Peter Hardy truly cares about cultivating Georgia talent,” asserts 2021 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner Erin K. Considine. “He has spent decades giving voice to local playwrights and actors, creating a venue for artists, designers, directors, and technicians to call home.” 

The Essential Theatre Play Festival runs August 9-September 1 at 7 Stages in Little Five Points and includes world premiere productions of 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner Emily McClain’s The Rock & the Hard Place and Peter Hardy’s own award-winning new play, The Other Part of the Picture, alongside play readings and one-night-only presentations of other Georgia artists’ work. 

Tickets go on sale July 3 at EssentialTheatre.Tix.com. Performance schedule and other details are available at www.EssentialTheatre.com.

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