Our History
Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET) provides first class theatre productions and educational opportunities on a year-round basis
and is the resident professional theatre at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.
The Theatre has earned a reputation for the quality and diversity of its plays.
Since its first production of Kaufman and Hart’s
You Can’t Take It With You in 1993,
GET has produced 20 regular seasons of plays and musicals with 133 productions on the main stage at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center
and on tour to elementary and middle schools throughout Georgia.
Notable productions have included a world premiere of
The Invisible Man by Larry Larson and Eddie Levi Lee, commissioned by the Theatre.
Our Southeastern premiere of
The Living was the kickoff event for AIDS Awareness Month in the Atlanta metro area in '97.
Having Our Say was part of our cross-cultural promotion with downtown's Seven Stages and Jomandi Theatres.
In the 1999-2000 season, GET's ambitious
The Lion in Winter, directed by world-renowned Russian actor and director Eugene Lazarev,
marked great strides for the Theatre both technically and artistically.
During the 2001-2002 season, Georgia Ensemble added a series of school matinees for our production of The Miracle Worker,
playing to approximately 2100 students.
This initiative has been replicated in seasons since then with critically acclaimed productions of the American
classics To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Our Town and Great Expectations
all playing to large student matinee audiences.
The Theatre also produces one or two plays annually for Elementary School students as part of the Theatre for Youth program and plans to present
Ramona Quimby and
Beauty and the Beast in the coming season to students through field trips to the Cultural Arts Center,
as well as tours to schools in surrounding counties.
Since 1998, GET has taken the powerful, multi-media Holocaust drama
And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank on tour annually to many elementary and middle schools in the region.
The story follows the lives of childhood friends of Anne Frank – Eva Geringer and Ed Silverberg – both Holocaust survivors.
Students see Eva (now Schloss) and Ed share their stories in their later years on screen while actors portray them as children during the Holocaust.
The Conservatory serves the diverse community in north metro Atlanta.
Ongoing educational opportunities are offered throughout the year in a conservatory setting.
Classes include curriculum for youth as well as adults in all levels of theatre crafts.
Sessions are offered throughout the year, and many of our most popular courses are unique and not offered elsewhere in the area.
In 2007, Georgia Ensemble Theatre was awarded two CABY Awards: one for Outstanding Organization, and one for Excellence in Arts Education.
The Theatre has been nominated for numerous Suzi Bass Awards for artistic excellence in theatre and received awards from
Atlanta Magazine for Best Theatre Company (Readers’ Choice) in 2008 and Best Suburban Drama in 2011.
GET’s Artistic Director Robert J. Farley has been honored with the 2011 Flourish Award from Kennesaw State University and a
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pasadena Playhouse.
Bob and Anita Farley were honored as Lexus Leaders of the Arts by PBA Atlanta in 2006 and
received the Leitalift Foundations’ Valued Leaders in the Arts Award.
Georgia Ensemble Theatre enjoys a strong relationship with many of its corporate and foundation partners.
Organizations that have been instrumental in the development and continued growth of the Theatre and Conservatory are:
the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Macy's, The Abreu Charitable Trust,
Bank of North Georgia, Fulton County Arts and Culture, Georgia Council for the Arts,
the Georgia Power Foundation, Publix SuperMarkets Charities, The Rich Foundation, Interdev Technologies,
Niolon Lumber, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Magazine, Alpharetta/Roswell Revue,
Northside Hospital, Neighbor Newspapers, the City of Roswell and the Roswell Cultural Arts Board.
GET is also proud to be affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, Atlanta Coalition for the Performing Arts,
the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Theatre Communications Group, Roswell Rotary, Roswell Woman’s Club, the Mimms Company,
and several other local organizations.