The Essential Theatre

🎭🎭🎭 Attention Theater Lovers!

🎟️ Do head over to EssentialTheatre.Tix.com for your tickets not our website, we are currently working on a temporary glitch and appreciate your patience.

Tickets are on sale at essentialtheatre.tix.com 🎫🎫🎫

From the opening night of THE ROCK & THE HARD PLACE — two wonderful Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winning writers,John Mabey and Emily McClain! And

The Rock .. continues at 8pm tomorrow .. essentialtheatre.tix.com

We continue our festival tonight at 8pm with The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy
a comic drama about a group of students who find a mysterious batch of old letters in the house two of them are living in. Written by Essential’s Founding Artistic Director Peter Hardy, it’s won playwriting prizes from the New York Script Awards and the Best Script Awards – London. It was also chosen for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, where it was given a staged reading. This will be the play’s World Premiere production.

Audience Advisories: Adult language and sexual situations

Upcoming Dates

Saturday August 10 (8pm)
Saturday August 17 (8pm)
Sunday August 18 (2pm)
Friday August 23 (8pm)
Sunday August 25 (7pm)
Monday August 26 (8pm Industry Night)
Friday August 30 (8pm)

Cast:
Matt: Caleb Wilkinson
Maddie: Ash Anderson
Cynthia, New Female Tenant: Iniki Roberts
Roger, Various Guys: Brock Kercher
Taylor, Various Guys: Tommy Sullivan-Lovett
Glenda: Rebecca Van Kirk
Liz: Ellie Styron
Voice of Unknown Woman: Carolyn Cook
Voice of Radio D.J.: Matt Cook

Artistic Team:
Playwright: Peter Hardy
Director: Ellen McQueen
Stage Manager: Amanda Brooks
Assistant Stage Manager:
Intimacy Director: Kristin Storla
Scenic Designer: Adam Pagdon
Lighting Designer: Harley Gould
Sound Designer: Joshuia Campbell
Composer: George Kotler-Wallace
Costume Designer: Savannah Cobb
Props Designer: Victoria Nation

Get your tickets at essentialtheatre.tix.com

🎉🎉🎉 What an incredible and moving opening night of The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain at the Essential Theatre Festival! Emily McClain’s powerful modern tragedy, winner of this year’s Essential Theatre Playwriting Award—Georgia’s only competition dedicated solely to local writers—debuted to a sold-out crowd. This prestigious award includes a full production and a $1,000 cash prize.

Missed tonight? Don’t worry! Tickets are still available for Sunday’s 7 PM show, and Monday’s 8 PM industry night, with special $15 tickets. Don’t miss out!

Link to purchase tickets -> essentialtheatre.tix.com while you are at it get tickets to tomorrow's 8pm show of The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy

🎭 Don’t Miss Out on These Amazing Performances during our silver anniversary Essential Theatre Play Festival! 🎉🎉🎉

Thank you to everyone who made the opening nights of The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain and The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy a huge success! We’re thrilled by the incredible turnout and energy. 🙌

*BUT the show isn’t over yet!* 💥

✨ Next Chance to Catch The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy is Tomorrow night at 8 PM! Seats are filling up, so grab yours now and experience this powerful performance.🎭

The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain continues on Sunday 7 PM show and it still has seats available! Perfect for a night out before the new week starts.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of these unforgettable evenings. Get your tickets before they’re gone!

Link to purchase tickets -> essentialtheatre.tix.com

8/21 is the last day to buy 25th Anniversary Essential swag and pick it up at the Festival (available for pickup 9/1 only):

https://www.essentialtheatreshop.com/

https://www.essentialtheatre.com/essential-theatre-shop-faq/

(Closing Day 9/1 is the last day at ALL. Orders placed between 8/22 and 9/1 are ship only)

Home | EssentialTheatreShop

Yet another win from Essential Award winner Lauren Gunderson! 🎉🎉🎉

Four Theatres Co-Commission Lauren Gunderson LITTLE WOMEN Lauren Gunderson's adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN has been co-commissioned by four theatres, bringing a fresh take on the classic novel to the stage. Learn more about the productions.

🎭 Happy Opening to the incredible cast and crew of The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain

Entering the repertory tonight at 8pm (August 16) will be Emily McClain’s The Rock & The Hard Place, a powerful drama about a young woman’s desperate efforts to free her innocent father from Death Row. Emily’s play is the winner of the 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award.

Audience Advisories: This play deals with serious issues regarding injustice and the death penalty. There will be physical violence and a gunshot onstage.

Performance Schedule
Friday August 16 (8pm Opening) SOLD OUT 💥
Sunday August 18 (7pm)
Monday August 19 (8pm Industry Night)
Saturday August 24 (8pm)
Sunday August 25 (2pm)
Saturday August 31 (8pm)
Sunday September 1 (2pm)

Cast:
Alan Tully: Roger Payano
Elsie Tully: Indya Bussey
Russell Wyatt: Chase Steven Anderson
Jeremy Hollingbrook: Durell Brown
Lauren Jacobson: Jennifer Brown
Rashida Mahmoud: Mala Bhattacharya
Lance Matthews/Guard: Ali Bhamani

Artistic Team:
Playwright: Emily McClain
Director: Kyle Brumley
Stage Manager: Moira Dean
Assistant Stage Manager:
Intimacy Director: Kristin Storla
Scenic Designer: Adam Pagdon
Lighting Designer: Harley Gould
Projections Designer: Victoria Nation
Sound Designer: Fred Philp
Costume Designer: D’Mya Tabron
Props Designer: Kyle Brumley

Don’t miss out! Grab your tickets for the upcoming performances here Essentialtheatre.tix.com

What an awesome review 😇 thank you Bradley Rudy 🙏:

Peter Hardy’s The Other Part of the Picture or, Letters from the House of Fate is so full of extraordinary performances that what stuck with me the longest were the words we didn’t hear, the emotions left unexpressed, the letters we did not hear read aloud.

Peter Hardy’s The Other Part of the Picture or Letters from the House of Fate is a perfect piece to open this year’s Festival and it bodes great things for the remaining productions.

Tickets at essentialtheatre.tix.com

08/09 Other Part | Atlanta Theatre Buzz In this delightful program Wendy & Ritchie, with help from the audience, present scenes from treasured broadway musicals including A Year with Frog and Toad, The Cat in the Hat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Secret Garden.

The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain Previews tonight!! 🎭🎉

🎭

Get your tickets to upcoming shows at essentialtheatre.tix.com

🎭🎭🎭🎉🎉🎉 The Essential Theatre Silver Anniversary Play Festival runs August 9-September 1 at in Little Five Points

‼️ Four 4️⃣ packed weeks of new work by Georgia playwrights, including two world premiere productions, readings, showcases, and presentations of Georgia playwrights’ work.

Tickets are on sale now! Visit EssentialTheatre.Tix.com or call 404-212-0815.

Performance schedule, info and other details are available at www.EssentialTheatre.com

See you at the theatre 🎭

Director Spotlight ✨ Kyle Brumley

Kyle Brumley - Director of The Rock & The Hard Place By Emily McClain is an Atlanta based actor/director. Directing: 4,000 Miles, The Diviners, and A New Brain (Dramatech), Cabaret (Oglethorpe University), and Dogfight: The Musical (Woodstock Arts).

Acting includes Equus, The Whale, and An Octoroon (Actor’s Express), Camelot (Georgia Ensemble), The Navigator (7 Stages), The Book of Will (Theatrical Outfit), and The Curious Incident...(The Hippodrome). Kyle received his BA in theatre from Oglethorpe University in 2012, became an Actor's Express intern and later spent three years with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Highlights there included Octavius Caesar in Antony & Cleopatra, and Dr. Seward in Dracula. Kyle has been a member of Actor’s Equity since 2017, and is supported in all he does by his wonderful wife, Hannah. www.kylebrumley.com

Winner of the 2024 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, Emily McClain’s The Rock & The Hard Place is a powerful drama about a young woman’s desperate efforts to free her innocent father from Death Row.

Don't wait to get your tickets to one of the remaining performances:
Thu 8/15 (8pm) Preview, Sun 8/18 (7pm), Mon 8/19 (8pm), Sat 8/24 (8pm), Sun 8/25 (2pm), Sat 8/31 (8pm), Sun 9/1 (2pm)

Essentialtheatre.tix.com

Director Spotlight ✨Ellen McQueen

Ellen McQueen feels especially blessed to be directing The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy for the Essential Theatre Festival’s Silver Anniversary Season. In an artistic collaboration that has extended over decades (in various combinations and forms) this is the fourth of Hardy’s plays that she has directed. Each time is a joy.

Audience feedback:

"I had the good fortune to attend Peter Hardy’s play THE OTHER PART OF THE PICTURE as part of a rotation of works during The Essential Theater Festival’s 25th Anniversary. Beautifully written, it is a comic and poignant exploration of our ability to fill in missing pieces of information, sometimes successfully but, more often, creating a flawed picture of the whole truth. The talented cast was expertly directed by Ellen McQueen. I highly recommend catching this lovely production at 7 Stages before it closes. You’ll be thinking about it long after you’ve seen it." ~ Nevanne Hensley-Thomas

Don't miss out! Grab your tickets for the upcoming performances here Essentialtheatre.tix.com

Saturday August 17 (8pm)
Sunday August 18 (2pm)
Friday August 23 (8pm)
Sunday August 25 (7pm)
Monday August 26 (8pm Industry Night)
Friday August 30 (8pm)

2024 Bare Essentials Play Reading Series - Silver Anniversary Edition one down, two to go, congrats 🎉 to Jacob Ryan Martinez on the reading of his wonderful play , ‘False Awakening’

Check out other plays on the lineup of our silver anniversary play festival at essentialtheatre.tix.com 🎭🎭🎭

🎭🎭🎭🚀
・・・
This week marks the opening of my play THE ROCK & THE HARD PLACE at

It’s particularly special because this play has been such a journey for me since I started it in 2019 as a single scene written for the Courtroom Drama Series, evolved into a full length play modeled in the style (and getting to the semi-finals of the competition in 2021!), revising again to receive a Bare Essentials reading in 2023 and finally coming to this world premiere production.

The cast and production team are phenomenal. It’s especially special that two dear humans, ._brown and are having their Atlanta “debuts” in this play. I’m so very lucky!

If you haven’t gotten tickets yet, opening night is SOLD OUT but I would love to see you at any of the other performances. 💜🎭

Ticket link in my bio!

Tonight at 7:30pm!! 🎭🎭🎭 2024 Bare Essentials Play Reading Series - Silver Anniversary Edition

Tonight at 7:30!
The first Bare Essentials Play Reading
of the summer:
False Awakening by Jacob Ryan Martinez

In shards of glass like the pieces of a shattered mirror, we see a man running away from his feelings of failure as a husband and father and from the fear of his own sexuality.

Directed by Lilliangina Quiñones and featuring the reading talents of Luis Hernandez, Kate Arthur, Kevin Arbona, Imani Quiñones, and Braian Rivera.

*All readings in the Bare Essentials series are free and open to the public.

Reserve your FREE tickets here at EssentialTheatre.Tix.com

💥⚡️

Essential Theatre Festival opens Aug. 9 with world premiere The 2024 Essential Theatre festival will kick off Aug. 9 with the world premiere of Peter Hardy's The Other Part of the Picture

Thanks Creative Loafing Atlanta for the feature

2024 Essential Theatre Play Festival: Bare Essentials Play Reading Series: False Awakening by Jacob Ryan Martinez | Creative Loafing FALSE AWAKENING by Jacob Ryan Martinez In shards of glass like the pieces of a shattered mirror, we see a man running away from his feelings of failure as a husband and father and from the fear of his own sexuality. The Bare Essentials Play Reading Series is curated by Essential’s Founding Artisti...

Tomorrow, Monday’s 2024 Bare Essentials Play Reading Series - Silver Anniversary Edition is 'False Awakening' by Jacob Ryan Martinez. 7:30pm on Monday August 12 at 7 StagesTheatre.
Reserve your FREE ticket at EssentialTheatre.Tix.com!

Meet the Playwright.
Jacob Ryan Martinez is an actor, writer and director originally from San Antonio, Texas. He grew up as the son of a theatre teacher and has been acting since childhood.

Jacob graduated from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi in 2022 with a B.A. in Acting/Directing through their Honors Program. Shortly after, he moved to Atlanta with his beautiful fiancé and their dog. He has since been collaborating on many projects in theatre, film, and education.

Read more here https://www.essentialtheatre.com/meet-the-playwright-jacob-ryan-martinez/?

False Awakening, by Jacob Ryan Martinez, will take place at 7:30 on Monday August 12 at 7Stages Theatre.

Reserve your free ticket at EssentialTheatre.Tix.com!

Check out some snapshots from yesterday’s 10 Minute Play Bootcamp showcase! 🎭

Huge kudos to all the talented playwrights, our amazing education associates, and and the brilliant reader-actors who brought the stories to life.

The showcase was a success, thanks to each and every one of you for making it happen.

To see a lineup of the other shows for our silver anniversary festival, visit essentialtheatre.com

📸 Photo credit : and

🎉👏🎉 If you’ve been to an Essential Festival performance in the past, chances are you’ve had the opportunity to meet Carla, one of our most tried and true volunteers.

She is a treasure and we are so grateful she chooses to spend her summer with us.

Happy Birthday Carla, thank you for being a dedicated and Essential volunteer! 🎉 We’re so grateful for all that you do. Wishing you a day as amazing as you are! 🎂🎈

🎉🎉🎉🎭 Our first audience review for The Other Part of the Picture By Peter Hardy is in:

“Wonderful play. Woke up thinking about it in the middle of the night.”

We continue tonight at 8pm at 7 Stages in the Essential Theatre Play Festival!

esentialtheatre.tix.com for tickets 🎫