2024 Festival - Essential Theatre

Showcasing Georgia’s Best Playwrights

August 9 – September 1
at 7Stages in Little Five Points

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, along with staged readings and other special presentations.

Opening the Festival on August 9 will be The Other Part of the Picture, a World Premiere by Essential’s Founding Artistic Director, Peter Hardy.

Entering the repertory on August 16 will be Emily McClain’s The Rock & The Hard Place, winner of the 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award!

The Festival will also feature three evenings of staged readings of new Georgia plays in our Bare Essentials series, a partner presentation with Hush Harbor Lab, and other special presentations which will be announced soon.

Get your Festival Pass before April 30 for exclusive priority access to individual tickets to Essential’s Silver Anniversary Festival:

Get Your Festival Pass

*Reservations are required. Tickets are subject to availability at the time of reservation.
To redeem your Festival Pass, email [email protected]
Questions? EssentialTheatre.com/festival-pass-faq/

Named Best New Play Incubator by Atlanta Magazine in 2018, Essential Theatre has given Georgia playwrights a voice for the past twenty-five years, producing or presenting 45 World Premieres by 36 different playwrights and helping launch the careers of nation-wide successes like Topher Payne and Lauren Gunderson.

In the press:

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Audience Response:

“If you love Atlanta theatre, Essential always makes August the best part of summer.” – Pat Hurley

“This a wonderful festival. It’s great to have an organization supporting Georgia playwrights.” -Brenda Niforth

“Thank you Essential Theatre for making this platform available for Georgia writers and actors.”

“My favorite theatre to see…are the stories that I don’t expect. The stories that are new/old/different/weird and I have had that every time I’ve been to the festival.” – Casey Gardner Ford

“I really enjoyed the whole experience. Love the focus on Georgia writers.” – Marsha Moore Harding

You won’t want to miss ANY of what we’ve got in store for you at the 2024 Essential Theatre Play Festival:

Join Us!

August 9 – September 1

This summer, Essential Theatre returns to 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

Get Your Festival Pass

Showcasing Georgia’s Best Playwrights