Oppenheimer and Groves at Trinity

Roundabout Theatre Arts

Touring Live Theatre in the NW

Sharon and Roger Briggs
Roundabout Theatre Arts
8902 W. Grand Ronde Ave.
Kennewick, WA 99336

Monthly playreadings, monodramas, small cast shows, readers theatre, fundraisers..

April 2009 Playreading

The Cover of Life

by
R. T. Robinson

Happy Valentine's Day

contact Roundabout Theatre Arts or call Roger or Sharon Briggs at 783-2080

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January Playreading

4 pm, Sunday, January 20, 2008

Lovely Day

by Leslie Ayvazian

The Guys
by Anne Nelson

Roundabout Theatre Arts highly recommends the following area theatres

 Projects

A Season of Staged Readings 2000-01

Roundabout Theatre Arts performed a staged reading of the play The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project on Saturday, November 11, 7:30 PM, 2001 at the Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland.  An audience of 65 and cast discussed the play following the performance.

This was the first of a series of live staged readings on the theme of Science, Society and the Bomb. Other plays in the series were:

The Physicists by Fredrick Durrenmatt 
In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Heimar Kippardt
Galileo by Bertolt Brecht 
The Crucible by Arthur Miller 
An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen (Arthur Miller's adaptation) 

The Hiroshima Project is about the United States' use of the world's first nuclear weapon in war using historical and fictional voices involved in those events. Seven actors read multiple roles including Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, Harry Truman, FDR, and General Leslie Groves to name a few. The eighth actor reads the Physicist, a narrator much like the Stage Manager in Our Town. Cast in these roles are Bob Allen, Kari Allen, Sharon Briggs, John Hubbe, Marty Bensky, Linda Fergestrom, Bob Watrous, and Marve Hyman. The staged reading was directed by Roger Briggs with technical assistance from Bert Tolman.

Email: Roundabout Theatre Arts

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Mission

Roundabout Theatre Arts (RTA), a non-profit corporation (#601-532-187) in the state of Washington, is organized to provide alternative live theatre in the Northwest. RTA depends on uncomplicated, fundamental theatrical forms using one-person shows or monodramas, small cast shows, reader's theatre, poetry readings, story telling or others as appropriate to accomplish its task. RTA's format is to present live theatre in a variety of locations with or without elaborate technical support systems to an audience of any size.

The goal of RTA is to focus on human relationship issues by relying on a simple presentation of story, which places an emphasis on the playwright's or author's words, and the development of character. Our goal will also be to attract members and audiences that share a quest for understanding and improving the human condition through involvement with each other.

Productions in 2000-01

Three Hotels by Jon Robin Baitz originally scheduled for production by Roundabout Theatre Arts in 1998 at the WSU Tri-Cities Campus Auditorium was performed 8 PM Saturday, March 11, 2000, at the Battelle Auditorium in Richland, WA.

Three Hotels premiered on April 6, 1993, in New York City. It was presented by the Circle Repertory Company. Directed by Joe Mantello, Ron Rifkin played the part of Kenneth Hoyle and Christine Lahti was cast in the role of Barbara Hoyle.

Kenneth Hoyle makes his living selling defective baby formula in third-world markets. A former Peace Corps volunteer and 1960s idealist, Hoyle has succumbed to the bottom line in a corrupt and nefarious business. Barbara, his wife, is about to make a speech to other corporate wives urging them to help bear their husbands' nefarious burdens in the quagmire of the third world.

Three Hotels shows us how responsibility to self, to ideals, to a family, to a community, to a country, to a planet, can quickly go awry. The play begins with irresponsibility, flows into soul-searching accountability, and finally arrives at a place of atonement.

The length of the production was approximately 60 minutes followed by post play discussion on themes of the play.

Love Letters by A. R. Gurney, is produced by Roundabout Theatre Arts each season as a 45 or 90 minute touring show, performed in 1999 at the Tri-Cities ala carte festival.

It was performed again February 12, 2000, Saturday, at 7:30 PM at the Washington State University (WSU) Tri-Cities Auditorium. This production was sponsored by the Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities.  And on Valentine's Day 2001, Love Letters was performed as a fund raiser at the Battelle Auditorium in Richland for local guilds of Seattle Children's Hospital.  

It is a story of a man and a woman told through letters to each other. The story of their bittersweet relationship gradually unfolds from what is written (and what is left unsaid) in their letters. Both funny and moving, it is a theatrical valentine, truly one from and for the heart.

Performed since 1993 in theatres across the state, Roundabout Theatre Arts production placed third overall in the 1995 Washington State Community Theatre Competition. It was performed as a part of the inaugural Tri-Cities First Nights celebration on New Year's Eve 1996.

Contact Roger or Sharon Briggs, Roundabout Theatre Arts, at 509-783-2080 if you are interested in booking either of these plays for your organization.

Activities for 2002-08

Roundabout Theatre Arts memberships meeting are held the second Sunday of each month in member homes. The focus of monthly meetings is a playreading, read aloud by attendees. These meetings are open to anyone interested.

What:A playreading is simply a gathering of people for the purpose of reading a play. A play is suggested and copies obtained. A group leader will select readers to read parts in the play. Readers need not be familiar with the play. It can be read without preparation. This is not a performance. It is simply a reading to hear the words and the story of the author. Short discussions are held after the reading.

Why: Playreadings are fun! Playreadings offer a chance for people interested in the same activity to meet, get to know each other, and possibly work together on theatre productions or other activities in the community.

Playreadings are a way to hear the voices of the characters in the story to better understand their inter-relationships and motivation. This brings greater clarity to the story and the author's intent.

Who: Participation is open to anyone interested in reading plays or listening to the reading of plays.

Where: Playreadings are typically be held in homes, but can be held at most any location where space is available.

When: Playreadings are held at different locations (in homes, churches, schools, libraries, wherever space is available) on the second Sunday of each month. Playreadings typically begin at 6:30 PM and will conclude following a short discussion before 10 P.M.

Cost: None.

Contact Roger or Sharon Briggs, Roundabout Theatre Arts at 783-2080 for further information.

Roundabout Theatre Arts has put together a variety of performance pieces to offer schools, other theatre organizations, fund raisers, civic and charitable organizations, libraries, museums, shopping malls, clubs, coffee houses, wineries and breweries, and private parties.

The performances are entertaining, intriguing, and insightful. If you would like more information about hiring Roundabout Theatre Arts for your special interest group, please contact:

Roger or Sharon Briggs
Roundabout Theatre Arts
8902 W. Grand Ronde Ave.
Kennewick, WA. 99336
(509) 783-2080

crbriggs@verizon.net (email)
Contact Roundabout Theatre Arts

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