The deadline for the 2025 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award competition is April 23, 2024.
The only competition exclusively dedicated to the work of Georgia playwrights, the winning play will receive both a full production and a $1,000 cash prize.
Now through April 16, submit your video submissions for our General Auditions!
Submit your video audition to [email protected] by April 16, 2024. Auditions should consist of two contrasting monologues with a total length of no more than four minutes.
Join Essential Theatre on Sunday April 28 for a Celebration of Georgia Playwrights!
Meet the 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award Winner, Emily McClain, and celebrate Essential’s – and Georgia’s – rich theatre tradition and the community in which our playwrights grow and thrive.
Now through April 30, purchase a Two-, Four-, or Eight-Ticket Festival Pass to guarantee priority access to your preferred dates for this summer’s shows.
Festival Pass holders will have 48 hour early access on July 1 and 2 to redeem your pass for individual tickets and ensure you get seats according to your preferred schedule
We’re excited to announce the lineup for the 25th Annual Essential Theatre Play Festival, which will be running from August 9 – September 1 at 7 Stages! For our Silver Anniversary Festival we will continue our long tradition of bringing new work by Georgia playwrights to the stage by producing a repertory of two World Premiere productions,
We are pleased and excited to announce that the 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner is Emily McClain, with The Rock & The Hard Place! Her play will receive a full production in this summer’s Festival as well as a $1,000 cash prize.
Great News! We have selected our 7 playwrights for the First Annual Southern Fried Bake-Off taking place on January 5-6, 2024 at Core Dance in downtown Decatur!
Congratulations to John Mabey,
Join Essential Theatre on January 5 and 6 as we launch a new 24 Hour Play Festival at Core Dance in downtown Decatur!
With a SOLD OUT closing weekend and rave reviews for the record 15 new plays by Georgia playwrights that audiences saw at the Festival this summer, thank you for a fantastic Festival experience that reminds us of all the reasons why we do what we do.
Essential Theatre brings back the 24 Hour Play Festival this January, in partnership with Decatur Arts Alliance and Core Dance
December 2023 – Essential Theatre hits the ground running for their 25th Anniversary season on January 5-6,
