UPDATE: Readers Theatre is Tonight at Clear Heart

Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States is showing at tonight at 8 p.m.

“Rebel Voices,” a production of Petaluma Readers Theatre, kicked off last Friday, and holds three performances this weekend of this theatrical walk through history, complete with original speeches and letters by historical figures who fought for social change, like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.

Shows are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., plus a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. for details.

Different periods are delineated in chronological time, from the U.S. Revolution to the Iraq War, and even include anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, according to company founder Jennifer March.

“It’s timely. The current rebel voices are the people involved in the Occupy Movement," says March, 52, who brought Readers Theatre to Petaluma three years ago and puts on several shows each year. "It’s their story.”

Director Roger Marquis, 63, and also a playwright, calls Readers Theatre a cross between storytelling and acting. He likes the form, in which literature—including narration, not just dialog—is read rather than memorized, because it allows people to act out roles without the stage blocking and scripts of traditional plays.

There are no sets or costumes, forcing the audience to use their imagination to paint the scenes.  

But Readers Theatre goes beyond just reading aloud.

“It’s putting emotions behind the words and having it come alive for people,” March says.

In the process of becoming a nonprofit, Petaluma Readers' Theatre recently formed a board of directors. March has stepped back from acting and directing, working instead as artistic director to help the company get off the ground.

The group plans to offer workshops in the future to teach techniques, generate interest and get more people involved in the theater.

“Readers Theatre awakens an interest in literature--poetry, essays or stories--that people may not have known about before,” said Hilary Moore, who is directing an upcoming spring show "Sweet and Sour," a script she developed about relationships, based on the work of local writers. “It also brings something to the writers, who can see their work interpreted in a different way.”

Rebel Voices plays Jan 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 8 pm with Saturday matinees at 2 pm at Clear Heart Gallery, located at 368 Petaluma Blvd North. $12. For more info, visit www.petalumareaderstheatre.com

Petaluma Readers Theater is looking for a donated community stage, since Clear Heart Gallery must move its venue soon to make way for a new senior housing development.