The Essential Theatre

The Essential Theatre Essential Theatre’s mission is to nurture and produce new works by Georgia playwrights.

🚨 LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! 🚨Registration for Essential Theatre’s Introduction to Playwriting class closes at MIDNIGHT to...
05/28/2026

🚨 LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! 🚨

Registration for Essential Theatre’s Introduction to Playwriting class closes at MIDNIGHT tomorrow night!

Have a story you’ve always wanted to tell? Curious about writing for the stage? Essential’s flagship community playwriting course is the perfect place to begin.

Participants will explore the elements of playwriting through:
✨ Writing exercises
✨ Examples from great plays
✨ Guest professional playwrights from our own community
✨ Sharing work in a supportive environment

Classes meet weekly for 90 minutes, and writers of all experience levels are welcome.

Don’t miss your chance to find your voice and bring your stories to life on stage.

Register now at Essential Theatre:
https://www.essentialtheatre.com/program/introduction-to-playwriting/

Two-time Essential Theatre playwriting award-winner Lauren Gunderson will be back at Theatrical Outfit Via >>> Atlant...
05/28/2026

Two-time Essential Theatre playwriting award-winner Lauren Gunderson will be back at Theatrical Outfit

Via >>> Atlanta playwright Lauren Gunderson (Silent Sky & Christmas at Pemberley) returns to TO with THE REVOLUTIONISTS – an irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, and how we actually go about changing the world. It’s a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. THERE’S REALLY ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!

Ticket Link https://www.theatricaloutfit.org/revolutionists 🎭

Big thanks to for the shoutout and for continuing to champion Georgia artists. We’re excited for the Preview Party ton...
05/27/2026

Big thanks to for the shoutout and for continuing to champion Georgia artists. We’re excited for the Preview Party tonight

We’re honored by your partnership once again through the Homegrown Award at this year’s festival, celebrating the best work by Georgia artists and creating a pathway for continued performance at the Essential Theatre Festival.

We’re especially excited that this award will be chosen by the audience. There’s nothing more powerful than letting the community uplift its own voices.

See you at the Preview Party 🎉 and cheers to celebrating the incredible work being created right here in Georgia.

This Memorial Day, as we remember the heroes who have fallen, we also celebrate the spirit of unity and patriotism that ...
05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, as we remember the heroes who have fallen, we also celebrate the spirit of unity and patriotism that binds us together.

Whether you are spending the day reflecting quietly, gathering with loved ones, or simply enjoying the comforts of your home, we hope it is a meaningful time for you.

Auction Donation Opportunity!! 🤩✨We are seeking retail items, tasty treats, experiences, travel and more to auction betw...
05/22/2026

Auction Donation Opportunity!! 🤩✨

We are seeking retail items, tasty treats, experiences, travel and more to auction between July 16th and 23rd online and at the Essential Garden Party, a summer soirée bursting with theatrical flavor and Southern Sass to support the bold voices of Georgia Playwrights.

When you provide a donation to the auction by July 1, you give Georgia playwrights a voice by supporting the production of their work here at home.

Donated auction items valued at $100 or more will receive two complimentary tickets to the July 23rd Garden Party. Additional tickets are $25 each, $40 per couple.

DM any questions or if you’re interested in making a donation! 💰

Registration is now live for Essential Theatre’s flagship community playwriting course, offered free of charge on Tuesda...
05/17/2026

Registration is now live for Essential Theatre’s flagship community playwriting course, offered free of charge on Tuesday evenings this June and July as part of Fulton County Arts & Culture’s Community Partnerships program.

Learn about the elements of playwriting by studying examples, hearing from professional playwrights from within their own community, and sharing writing exercises of your own.

Don’t miss out on past participants have called “inspiring,” “amazing,” and “beyond my expectations!”

Register Now! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/introduction-to-playwriting?

Larry Larson won the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award in 2006 for CHARM SCHOOL, a script he’d collaborated on with Ed...
05/12/2026

Larry Larson won the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award in 2006 for CHARM SCHOOL, a script he’d collaborated on with Eddie Levi Lee. It was a big hit for us and went on to two successful runs at the Horizon Theatre, along with another production at the Springer Opera House in Columbus. But he was already an Atlanta theatre legend long before that, with plays produced all over the world and dozens (hundreds) of major roles played on Atlanta stages.

Just last summer he starred in a staged reading of his play THE KING OF CARIBOU LAKE for the 2026 Essential Festival and it was great to see him on stage again.

He was an irresistible force of boundless energy and theatrical vision, and the world was made a poorer place when, just a few days ago, he suddenly left us. All our best wishes to his friends and family.

Rest in Peace 🕊️ Larry Larson 🙏

From incubator to movement ✨DAY first met its public audience as part of Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare Arts Incu...
05/11/2026

From incubator to movement ✨

DAY first met its public audience as part of Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare Arts Incubator Program in January 2025. An expanded version followed in our Festival last summer, and since then, the journey has continued with several more performances along the way.

Now, with a summer tour on the horizon, it’s clear this work is resonating far beyond its beginnings. It’s going places 🎭

DM for this Saturday’s special presentation of DAY before Emma takes it on the road this summer ✨

A moving solo performance blending storytelling, shadow puppetry, and archival recordings — DAY is a funny, tender, and deeply human tale of chronic illness and grief.

Laughter, tears, and a bonfire hang to close the night 🔥

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Atlanta, GA
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