2009 Essential Theatre Festival Update 

In just a few weeks, the 11th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival will be opening, playing for the first time at the King Plow Art Center at Actor's Express. Visit our festival photo gallery.

FOOD FOR FISH by Adam Szymkowicz, Regional Premiere, opening July 5.
Directed by Peter Hardy

[WARNING: adult content and language]
Featuring: Kelly Criss, Kate Graham, Eve Krueger, Brent Nicholas Rose, Charles Swint and Sarah Falkenburg Wallace.
Bobbie is a lonely young man living in New York, trying to write about three sisters who long to escape the city and return to their childhood home of New Jersey … or is he really just an imaginary character in the mind of Sylvia, the youngest sister? Middle sister Alice is hopelessly in love with the husband of her older sister, and so she goes out on dates with a different man every night, working in her lab by day to isolate the human gene that makes us fall in love … so she can control it! Oldest sister Barbara (played by a man) and her husband (played by a woman) can’t figure out how men and women are supposed to relate to each other. This is the kind of play we love to do at the Essential – funny and beautiful and just about impossible to describe. The New York Times did it best, calling it “Fabulously weird and weirdly fabulous.” [Watch FOOD FOR FISH trailer]

Next to open, on July 10, will be ICE GLEN by Joan Ackermann. Regional Premiere.
Directed by Ellen McQueen
Featuring: Jo Howarth, Dina Shadwell, Jayson Smith, Spencer G. Stephens, Jim Starbh and Ann Wilson.
Sarah Harding lives in an isolated country cottage, surrounded by a warm circle of quietly eccentric friends. She may be America’s greatest poet, but no one’s ever seen her work … which is just the way she wants it. But now an editor has arrived from Boston, wanting to publish her poems and bring her the fame and fortune she has never sought. With unforgettable characters, this wonderfully funny romantic drama -- about the frozen places in our hearts coming back to life again -- is like the best Emma Thompson movie you never saw. “Beautifully written.” Talkin’ Broadway. “A lovely play.” CurtainUp

Opening July 15 will be JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS by Vynnie Meli. World Premiere.
Directed by Betty Hart
Featuring: Rachel Bodenstein, Enisha Brewster, Daniel Burnley, DeAndrea Crawford, Nadir Mateen, Delesa Sims
It’s World War Two, and with so many men going off to serve, the previously all-male world of jazz is opening up to women for the first time. The International Rhythm Darlings are an all-female African-American band touring the Deep South, which would be a tough situation in the best of times … but now they’ve got a last-minute replacement in the group, a white Jewish woman, and integrated bands aren’t allowed to play together on stage. Not in the South, not anywhere.

Inspired by the real-life experiences of musicians from that era, Vynnie Meli’s play takes a fascinating look at some extraordinary women who make their way past fear and hatred to find the common threads that bind them together. Winner of the 2009 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition, the only prize exclusively dedicated to the work of Georgia playwrights. The Essential Theatre is proud to have developed this play (along with Working Title Playwrights, Jewish Theatre of the South and the Alliance Theatre playwriting class) and to be bringing it to the stage for the first time. [Watch JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS trailer]

[YouTube Video with artistic director Peter Hardy, playwright Vynnie Meli and director Betty Hart] Inspired by the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, this play tells a story every bit as interesting today as during the 40's Jim Crow era.

Click here to learn about this year's cast and crew

Essential Theatre News

It's been a great year for this years playwriting award winner Vynnie Meli. Her musical PLAGUED, A LOVE STORY will be featured at the 2009 NY Musical Theatre Festival. Congratulations Vynnie.

The Essential Theatre also wants to congratulate Atlanta playwright Karla Jennings on winning the Pillars Playwriting Prize for her script THE SMILES. This award is sponsored by the Creative Writing Program in the Department of English, Speech and Journalism at Georgia College and State University.  Karla will receive an honorarium of $2,000.00 and her play will be produced at the College.

The Essential Theatre chose Karla’s play IMAGES IN SMOKE for production in 2000, making it the second winner of our annual competition for Georgia playwrights (though we weren’t officially calling it the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award yet).  That production was named by Creative Loafing’s Curt Holman as being one of the fifteen best shows of that year.

Karla went on to win the Playwrights First Award (given by New York’s National Arts Club) for her play THE RUBY VECTOR   We wish her all the best in her continued success.

In more good news for Essential Playwrights, Lauren Gunderson (winner of the 2001 and 2004 Essential Theatre Playwriting Awards, for PARTS THEY CALL DEEP and BACKGROUND) just had the World Premiere of her play EMILIE at the very prestigious South Coast Repertory in California.  Congratulations to Lauren as well!

On Feburary 5, Essential Theatre's Artistic Director Peter Hardy took part in a panel discussion on new play development, along with celebrated national authors Thomas Gibbons and Joseph Skibell.  This was for a theatre class at Emory University and was connected to Brave New Works, a new play development program that is presented by Theatre Emory every two years, bringing in playwrights from around the country.

Artistic Director Peter Hardy's play FLOOR PILLOWS was recently performed in the Nantucket Short Play Festival.  Both that play and Hardy's MOON ACTION were finalists in that Festival's Short Play Competition.This past fall his play LUBRICANT was produced in New York City, while COUPLES THERAPY premiered at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival.

Essential Theatre Playwriting Award-winner Lauren Gunderson has a play running through Nov. 3 at Atlanta's Dad's Garage Theatre.  "Class" is a different kind of political comedy, about high school students running for Class President at a Christian high school.

A Decatur native, Lauren won the Essential Theatre award for "Parts They Call Deep", when she was just eighteen years old.  Since then she's gone on to win awards and be produced around the country.  She's currently in the M.F.A. playwriting program at New York University.  She says: "Essential Theatre is the future of southern writing. I speak from experience when I say that I will always credit them with my early success and confidence."

With strong reviews and great audiences, things got even better when we were awarded Theatre Emory's $2,000 Pat Miller Playmaking Award for our work to develop and produce new plays by Georgia writers! We’ve also received a grant from Fulton County – the first government funding we’ve ever applied for.

In 2007, the Essential Theatre was selected to become a client of Community Consulting Teams-Atlanta ("CCT").  CCT is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization of Atlanta area MBAs and senior professionals whose purpose is to help nonprofit and public sector organizations in our communities address some of the strategic issues they encounter in furthering their missions.  CCT is currently reviewing the Essential's strategic and marketing initiatives.  The Essential awaits CCT's recommendations, which will be finalized in Summer 2007.

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Essential Theatre Blog

For the latest information about the Essential Theatre and to take part in the conversation, please visit our blog.

Essential Multimedia

Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts Podcasts with artistic director, Peter Hardy

Part I
Part II

Essential Theatre Festival YouTube Videos

	Jim Crow and the Rhythm Darlings 2009
	Valhalla: a behind the scenes look 2008
	Before After Ashley 2008
	West of Eden  2008 Playwriting Award
	Mrs. Bob Behind the Scenes 2007
	Fix Me So I Can Stand 2007 Playwriting Award
	Night Travels 2007

Wish List
If you are a professional photographer and videographer and would like to help us document the upcoming festival, please contact Peter Hardy. If you'd like to help the Essential Theatre, there are lots of ways you can get involved! We're always on the lookout for free (or inexpensive) copying or printing services. Free or inexpensive paint, wood and other building materials are needed every year. Free rehearsal space can help us save money and get our productions ready to open. Free storage space (cool and dry) for set pieces, costumes and lighting equipment would be very useful to us.

And, of course, cash donations are always welcome! As ticket prices cover a small fraction of our productoin costs we especially appreciate our donors. Essential Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization so your donations are tax deductible. Please help us to support new work by Georgia Playwrights! Make a donation or become a sponsor today!

The Essential Theatre is a proud member of the

Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts.

Funding is provided by the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council and the Georgia Council for the Arts

Performance Location:

Actor's Express

King Plow

BOX OFFICE:

404-607-SHOW [7469]

day of show info only,  call

404-212-0815

All shows run in repertory. Please check the online calendar for a performance schedule