Bristol Riverside Theatre Announces 2010-2011 AMERICA RISING Series Of Readings

Bristol Riverside Theatre announces the 2010-2011 AMERICA RISING series of readings of four new plays. Programs begin at 5PM with a light supper followed by the readings at 6PM. All readings take place at Bristol Riverside Theatre located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

"AMERICA RISING is BRT'S thought-provoking look at new and contemporary work, opening the door to the hottest new voices of the American theatre," said BRT's Founding Director Susan Atkinson who curates the project and directs all the readings. "While not a full production, this innovative staged reading series provides an intimate "staging" of each play where the writer's words take center stage."

The series opens on October 4 with Betty Thorpe by James Armstrong. Betty Thorpe tells the true story of the American spy whose exploits led to the breaking of the Nazi military code ENIGMA. When a headstrong diplomat's wife is recruited by the British secret service to seduce a dashing Polish count and learn his secrets, the plan works brilliantly, until she starts to fall in love with the man she is betraying.

Next up is Clementine in the Lower Nine by Dan Dietz on November 22. Clementine in the Lower Nine is a blues riff on Aeschylus' tragedy Agamemnon, weaving together the larger-than life world of Greek myth with the harsh realities of life in post-Katrina New Orleans. The Chorus, a blues musician, sets the tone for the play through his monologues and his music that is both humorous and mournful, sultry and sad.

The spring brings Lay the Voodoo Down by Keith Glover on March 28. A contemporary love story of epic proportions, Lay the Voodoo Down takes place in New York's Lower East Side with an odd assortment of characters including a Street Witch, a villain and a Good Samaritan. What emerges from ensuing fire storm is truly heroic.

The series concludes on May 16 with Janey Miller's World Tour by John Cassel. Janey's father is dying under what appear to be mysterious circumstances, and her friend begs her to disappear as her stepmother approaches. In this modern- day fairy tale, Janey takes a world tour, where she meets extraordinary people, falls in love and "lives happily ever after".

Tickets to AMERICA RISING at $45 are available by calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100 or visiting brtstage.org.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 50 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts. BRT is currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker, Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, and Managing Director, Amy Kaissar.

For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

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