Celise Kalke is the Director of New Projects at the Alliance Theater and has always been an avid supporter of Essential’s work and mission. Here is how she describes the value she sees in Essential:

Essential Theatre plays a vital role in the Atlanta theatre ecosystem. Writers lead this city, and Atlanta is increasingly exporting talent to the national theatre scene. Their work is indeed essential!

Become a part of the Essential tradition – support our power2give campaign today!

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Jordan Pulliam won the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award for 2012 with the wildly popular Bat-Hamlet, which has gone on to have an impressive five more productions around the country following its premiere with Essential.  (We still occasionally get asked when we’re going to remount it, in fact – by cast and audience alike!)

Here is what Jordan had to say about his experience with us in 2012:

Seeing my play, Bat-Hamlet, produced by the Essential Theatre was one of the greatest thrills of my life. I’d hardly imagined any theatre anywhere could take the spectacle that was parading through my head and put it onto a stage for others to see,

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Today’s inspiration comes from Karla Jennings,  2014 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award co-winner and author of Images in Smoke, produced by Essential in 2000, the year before the Playwriting Award was created.

Most theater groups won’t risk producing new plays by unknowns; such productions usually require personal contacts or payments. Essential Theatre’s an exception. It’s dedicated to choosing new plays solely on merit and giving them professional treatment. It takes a risk so that Southern voices can be heard. Essential’s faith in playwrights strengthens their faith in themselves, which keeps them writing. Essential Theatre helps Georgia speak for itself.

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Here’s the first of our daily inspirations, from the very first Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner, and the most-produced living playwright in America in 2016: Lauren Gunderson.

So proud to be an alumna of Essential Theatre, run by the inestimable Peter Hardy. They produced my first plays and basically started my professional career. Support them if you value new plays, Georgia artists, and intimate/vibrant theatre!

Become a part of the Essential tradition – support our power2give campaign today!

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-contributed by Jennifer Kimball
Managing Director (2012-present)

Ordinarily, we at Essential spend a lot of time this time of year celebrating the accomplishments of playwrights whose work we’ve premiered over the years. This tradition began as a means of building excitement around the crowdfunding campaign we’re usually also running this time of year, but it’s also something I’ve come to really enjoy curating as part of my job with Essential.

We hope you enjoy this year’s series! And of course, we sincerely hope you’re moved to support our power2give campaign,

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We enjoyed reading this post from 2010 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner Gabriel Jason Dean today and thought you might too:

It’s finally here! QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT published by Dramatic Publishing.

Family dysfunction makes a great stocking stuffer. Just sayin.

This play is intensely personal and took a long time to write (they all do). The script grew through production. In 2010, Instead of developing the play through a reading, Peter Hardy and the Essential Theatre took my first draft and showed me the play I had written (warts and all).

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Don’t dismay, Essential friends! Topher Payne’s holiday special play, Let Nothing You Dismay, returns to Stage Door after its record breaking sold out run last season, complete with the whole original cast.

This year’s production runs December 2-18. Last year’s tickets went fast, so don’t wait to get yours this holiday season! Buy now…

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In 2005, Essential Theatre was awarded our first-ever grant – by the Fulton County Arts Council.

Since that time, Fulton County has been a steadfast supporter of Essential’s work – and 2016 was the third summer in a row that we partnered with a Fulton County Performing Arts Center to produce the festival, in addition to receiving a grant from the FCAC.

Fulton County has been a vital part of the fabric of our support network over the past 10+ years, helping us to grow and remain true to our commitment to bring Atlanta what’s new and give Georgia playwrights a voice.  

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