The 2016 Essential Theatre Play Festival opened Saturday with the world premiere of The Dispossessed and continues Aug. 5 with the opening of When Things Are Lost. But that’s not all.
In addition to the two-show repertory running through Aug. 28, the fest includes a new-play-reading series called Bare Essentials, to which admission is free. Yes, free. As with the two winners, all the plays are by Georgia playwrights.
This year’s readings are produced in partnership with Working Title Playwrights. Each begins at 7:30 p.m., is followed by a discussion and takes place at the West End Performing Arts Center, Essential’s summer home, at 945 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. S.W.
Here’s the rundown:
Aug. 8
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Considine PETE N’ WENDY | By Erin Considine. Directed by A. Julian Verner. Premise: Wendy stumbles off a bus and out of her safe, secluded neighborhood into an inner-city fairy tale. Surrounded by punk/bohemian artists and petty thieves, she wanders through the wild urban landscape discovering what it means to “grow up.” And there are rats. Many, many rats.
Aug. 15
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King THE MEMORY BOX | By Laura King. Directed by James Donadio. Premise: On the day of her mother’s funeral, Lydia sorts through Mom’s memory box and journeys from the realities of her own life to her mom’s struggles during World War II. As Lydia visits the past, she looks for the strength to face the future.
Aug. 24
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Bartholomai NEVER BEEN TO VIENNA | By Gerry L. Bartholomai. Directed by Nichole Palmietto. Premise: Living large in New York City, swinging gay couple Matt and Preston thought their lives were sweet. And then Grandma Anna moves in.
As the co-winners, both Dispossessed by Karen Wurl and When Things Are Lost by Derek Dixon receive fully staged productions.
Dispossessed visits a Yiddish theater company in 1920s New York, where a young actress trying to decide between two suitors and a career is confronted with the living embodiment of the character she’s playing — a bride possessed by the spirit of a dead lover. The cast: Alyssa Caputo, Amelia Fischer, Marc Gowan,Tyler Hayes, Jake Krakovsky, Kathleen McManus, Scott Rousseau, Chris Schulz and Christie Vozniak. Essential artistic director Peter Hardy directs.
When Things Are Lost asks, if someone you loved went missing, how far would you go to find them? A man goes on a dream quest to figure out what happened to his best friend. It’s not all serious but does include adult themes and situations. The cast: Barrett Doyle, Anthony Goolsby, Jill Perry, Gina Rickicki, Chelsea Steverson, Kerwin Thompson, Alex Towers and Alex Van. Amber Bradshaw, managing director of Working Title Playwrights, directs.
Details on all festival happenings HERE.
