Year in Review: 2017 was for playwrights to shine . . . and Serenbe’s “Cabaret,” old chum

Andrew Alexander and Jim Farmer – Dec 26, 2017

This was a busy year of theater, with world premieres popping up in every corner and local companies flexing their creative muscles. ArtsATL critics Andrew Alexander and Jim Farmer saw most of the major shows during the year, and share their reflections on the productions and trends that defined 2017 in Atlanta theater…[read more]

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the seventeenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2015.

The 2015 Essential Theatre Festival was our second one at the West End Performing Arts Center, and we had a big bump in attendance as more and more people learned about this lovely performance venue! Josh Mikel’s LILLIAN LIKES IT took a comic look at social media and Natalia Temesgen’s OLD SHIP OF ZION was about the member of a small church who begins to realize that he’s gay.

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the sixteenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2014.

This was our first year at West End Performing Arts Center, and we went from doing three plays in repertory to two, so we could put more time and resources into our World Premiere productions. The Essential Theatre Playwriting Award was split between Theroun Patterson’s THAT UGANDA PLAY (his second win) and Karla Jennings’ RAVENS & SEAGULLS (it would have been her second win if we had started the contest back when we premiered her IMAGES IN SMOKE back in the 2000 Festival).

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the fifteenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2013.

Our second year of all-Georgia-written plays. MYSTERIOUS CONNECTIONS, which Artistic Director Peter Hardy took to the Eugene O’Neil Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference, got a splendid production from director Ellen McQueen. Hardy directed the World Premiere of STRAY DOGS by Matt Myers, and Katie Grant Shalin’s SWIMMING WITH JELLYFISH was directed by Bill Murphey (who acted in the very first Essential Theatre production, back in 1987).

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the fourteenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2012.

Continuing our look back at 20 years of Essential Theatre Festivals …
2012 was a big, big year for us, with our highest attendance and box office records ever. Not conincidentally, it was also our first year of doing ALL new work by Georgia writers!
There was Topher Payne’s EVELYN IN PURGATORY, which is now published by Samuel French and has had at least two further productions.

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the thirteenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2011.

The 2011 Essential Theatre Festival was another great year for us — three shows we’re still proud of today. Lee Blessing’s GREAT FALLS, Melanie Marnich’s A SLEEPING COUNTRY (Blessing and Marnich are married, which we didn’t even know when we chose those plays!) And the World Premiere of Theroun Patterson’s A THOUSAND CIRCLETS, the first of two Essential Theatre Playwriting Award wins for him. This play went on to be produced again at Detroit Repertory Theatre —

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the twelfth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2010.

The 2010 Essential Theatre Festival was a big one for us. We did Poet Laureate Rita Dove’s epic THE DARKER FACE OF THE EARTH, and Ms. Dove was gracious enough to come to our opening night! Then we did Artistic Director’ Peter Hardy’s prize-winning SALLY AND GLEN AT THE PALACE, which went on to another production at Out of Box Theater, and Gabriel Jason Dean’s QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT, which went on to four further productions around the country,

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the eleventh Essential Theatre Festival, in 2009.

Continuing our celebration of 20 years of the Essential Festival — 2009! This was the year we moved from 7 Stages to Actor’s Express, and suddenly we could have sets!
Our prize-winning World Premiere, that year, Vynnie Meli’s JIM CROW AND THE RHYTHM DARLINGS, was described by one of our patrons as “the most powerful play I’ve ever seen.”

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Continuing our look back at the past 19 years of Essential Theatre festivals, today we take a look back at the tenth Essential Theatre Festival, in 2008.

2008 was the last of the four Festivals we presented in the back space at 7 Stages. Along with Letitia Sweitzer’s WEST OF EDEN, our Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner, we produced Paul Rudnick’s beautiful epic comedy VALHALLA and Gina Gionfriddo’s searing drama AFTER ASHLEY.

(VALHALLA remains one of Artistic Director Peter Hardy’s favorite shows he has ever directed.)

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THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO OUR 2018 ESSENTIAL THEATRE PLAY FESTIVAL THIS FALL THROUGH

Mark Perloe and Mary Perloe in honor of Chris Mann’s Dec 21 performance at the Strand in Marietta; Doug Shipman; Ellen McQueen; Sherry Shaw; Pamela Rooks; Nina Jones; Johnny Thigpen; Sarah Wallace; Erin Lavallee; Barbara O’Haley; Chris Carlsten; Adena Brumer; Thom, Lori, and Sydney Stanley; Alex Van; Brittany Harper; Hank and Barbara Kimmel; Cathy Jamison; Pamela Turner; Daniel Guyton; G Morgan Timmis; Alissa Scherb; John and Amy Babcock; Leonard Pallats; Melissa Hardy-Trevenna in honor of Martha Nell Hardy; Lee Raines; Josh Mikel; Natalie Karp; 

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