Author Archives: jennifer

ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE by Lauren Gunderson: REGIONAL PREMIERE PRODUCTION

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ADA AND THE MEMORY ENGINE press kit with photos

July 2017 – Join us for the regional premiere production of Ada and the Memory Engine by Lauren Gunderson, opening July 28.

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 the world’s first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. Described by the Huffington Post as “a rare and special artistic achievement: an intelligent play about intelligent historical people that has been crafted by intelligent theatre artists for an intelligent audience,”

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The 2017 Essential Theatre Play Festival Is Right Around the Corner!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2017 ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL press kit with photos

Atlanta, July 2017 – Tickets are now on sale for the 19th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival, which kicks off in just a few weeks!

This summer, Essential Theatre continues its tradition of premiering the best new work by Georgia playwrights for Atlanta audiences with the 19th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival. The festival runs July 28 through August 27 at the West End Performing Arts Center, located at 945 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.

This summer, audiences will see the World Premiere of Another Mother by G.

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Meet the Playwright: Anna Denise Millard

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Anna Denise Millard (left) wrote the play we’ll be reading tonight, What My Mother Told Me.

Tell us a little about yourself.
After graduating from Emory University with a degree in Playwriting, I have spent the first few years of my career working in publishing in New York City, as an Assistant Editor with Oxford University Press and the Speakers Bureau Director for the Hachette Book Group. I’ve recently decided to shift paths, starting a new journey focused on pursuing artistic endeavors and working in hospitality. I live in Bushwick, Brooklyn where I collaborate on podcasts,

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Meet the Playwright: G. M. Lupo

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G. M. Lupo is an author and playwright native to Atlanta, GA. His work has been performed at Sketchworks, Atlanta Fringe Fest 2015, Out of Box Theatre, and OnStage Atlanta. He was born in and spent most of his childhood in West End, and learned to read in the library that once resided in what is now the West End Performing Arts Center. He’s a graduate of New York University’s Graduate Creative Writing Program and Georgia State University. His website is lupo.com. He is a member of Working Title Playwrights, where Another Mother had a First Light Reading in February 2016.

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Dramatic Structure: a Playwriting Class

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A cross-post from HowlRound, the second in a series by Lauren Gunderson that asks, “Why Theatre?”

Dramatic Structure: a Playwriting Class

 

The second video in this series “Why Theatre?” starts with an exploration of the ancient, primal origin of story and how it can serve playwrights in their creative process. What is the point of telling and receiving a story? Why do we do it? Why have we always done it?

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Next Bare Essentials May 22: What My Mother Told Me, by Anna Denise Millard

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What My Mother Told Me
BY ANNA DENISE MILLARD
DIRECTED BY ANNA G. RICHARDSON
MAY 22, 2017
7:30 pm
WEST END PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
945 RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY BLVD, ATLANTA, GA

Faced with a life-altering secret and no one to trust, Hester Bennett makes an unannounced visit to her estranged daughter’s college dorm with hopes of mending their relationship. Using humor and nods of magical realism, What My Mother Told Me explores how generations of lingering puritanism affect women in the 20th century Protestant South.

Featuring: Lane Carlock, John Benzinger, Brooke Owens, Annie Cook, Allan Edwards, Tad Cameron,

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Mark your calendars for May 5!

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Join Essential Theatre, the Atlanta Region Dramatist’s Guild and the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library System – Central Library on May 5 from 4-6pm for a Dramatist’s Guild “Conversations With” featuring playwright, screenwriter, and short story author Lauren Gunderson in an open discussion of her approach to writing, career strategy, and current projects. The event will be led by the Guild’s Atlanta Regional Rep Pamela Turner and will include time for audience questions and a short meet-and-greet.

Originally from Atlanta, Gunderson was the first recipient (2001) of the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, and in 2016 she was honored with the Dramatists Guild’s prestigious Lanford Wilson Award.

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2017 General Auditions

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The Essential Theatre will be holding General Auditions for its 2017 season from 1-5 p.m. on March 25.
Auditions will be held in Room 210 of the Rich Building on the Emory University campus, at 1602 Fishburne Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322. This is at the corner of Fishburne Drive and Fishburne Lane, across the street from the Fishburne Parking Deck.
Please bring headshot/resumes and two contrasting monologues of not more than 4 minutes total length.

To make an appointment, contact [email protected], or call 404-212-0815.
All roles will be stipend-paid.

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