Essential’s artistic director, Peter Hardy, doesn’t just work hard to give Georgia playwrights a voice. He’s also a playwright himself. A play of his is opening this weekend, in fact: read on as he shares some reflections on SALLY AND GLEN’s journey to the present day:

SALLY AND GLEN AT THE PALACE is a very special play for me, a deeply personal one, and it took a long time to grow up. When I was in college at UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I worked at a movie theater from 1972-1976, and years later (sometime in the early-mid 1990s) I was walking on the beach and thinking back to my college years,

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As we are gearing up for this summer’s festival, it seems like an appropriate time to feature long-time Essential sponsor and supporter, the Fulton County Arts Council.

The Fulton County Arts Council grant is actually the first grant that Essential ever applied for – and the first grant we ever received, back in 2005. Since that time, Fulton County has been a steadfast supporter of Essential’s work – and 2015 is the second summer in a row that we’ve partnered with a Fulton County Performing Arts Center to produce the festival, in addition to receiving a grant from the FCAC.

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You already know about our annual Playwriting Competition, open to all ages as long as you’re a resident of Georgia. But did you know that there are playwriting opportunities across Atlanta geared to students ages 8 through out of school?

Check out some of the opportunities we’ve found:

Playwriting Camp at Georgia Tech with Suehyla El-Attar

Registration is still open for the Georgia Tech Office of the Arts Playwriting Camp,  June 1-12. For students age 8-14, the play created in this camp will be performed at the end of Drama Camp on July 2.

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We’ve been updating you for months now on the world premiere production of Daryl’s Split in Three, which closed last weekend at Florida Rep, but now Daryl is going international! Actors Repertory Theatre Luxembourg is producing the European Premiere of her play, Greyhounds, June 2-7.

This is tremendously exciting news, and we’re not the only ones who think so. Here is just some of what Actors Rep has to say about Daryl and their upcoming production:

So who is Daryl Fazio?
She is an amazing playwright, the author of the wonderful play ‘Greyhounds’,

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Essential Theatre owes a lot to one very special mother: Martha Nell Hardy, the mother of our founder and artistic director, Peter Hardy. Though she passed away in 2005, she still has a tremendous presence. For those of you who never met Martha Nell, here are some of Peter’s reflections on her life and her influence on Peter and Essential:

I was blessed to have remarkable people for my parents – Bill and Martha Nell Hardy. Two great people of theatre , winners of numerous awards and honors.  I’ll be lucky to achieve a quarter of what they did. 

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Piano player needed for the play The Old Ship of Zion, premiering this summer at the West End Performing Arts Center from July 24-August 21 (14 performances in all). We need someone familiar with gospel and church music and available to record rehearsal tracks for the cast as well as attend rehearsals the week before the July 24 opening night. All rehearsals are evenings and weekends. $200 stipend. Please contact Peter Hardy if interested.

To see more summer employment opportunities with Essential, click here.

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The latest from Paris Crayton III’s Rising Sage Theatre, Crazyanity opens May 7 at the West End Performing Arts Center — and includes, among others, a familiar face from Essential’s stage: Kenneth Camp II, from our 2010 production of Darker Face of the Earth by former poet laureate Rita Dove.

Named one of the 30 Under 30 by ArtsATL in 2013,  in addition to running his own theatre company and being a prolific playwright and performer in his own right, Crayton is active with Working Title Playwrights and also joined Essential and West End Arts Center as the drama instructor for WEAC’s summer camp last year.

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We’ve got terrific casts for both our shows this year, and we are very happy to welcome the acclaimed Shannon Eubanks to our directing team as well! We’re still looking for a few good company members, if you’re a stage manager or piano player and are interested in joining our team this summer. Check out this great lineup of artists you’ll get to work with!

Old Ship of Zion, written by Natalia Naman

directed by Peter Hardy, Elin Rose Hill asst director
cast: James G. Smith, Jimmica Collins, Sharan Mansfield, Lydia Frempong,

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There’s no doubt that getting your play produced is one of the most challenging tasks of a playwright, and we at Essential are proud of our role as facilitators in this pivotal part of the development process for Georgia playwrights.

But there’s a lot that goes into developing a play before it gets its first production. Atlanta boasts a diverse but supportive network of individuals and organizations that offer opportunities for readings and play development, and our Bare Essentials play reading series is part of that tapestry. Traditionally taking place on “dark” nights during our festival, in 2015 Bare Essentials is breaking free of the festival and taking place year-round.

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