The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: The Hiroshima Project

by Nicholas A. Patricca, Dwight Okita, Nicholas A. Patricca

Cast: 4m/4w. Radiance presents the events, persons & deeds involved in the making & 1st use of the atomic bomb. From the actual experiences of those involved, three separate stories are woven into a seamless fabric. The central narrative follows a physicist's lifework from when he leaves graduate school to work with Dr. Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project, to the time he visits Hiroshima to see for himself the devastating effects of his work. A 2nd follows the lifelong friendship of two women, one Scottish, one Japanese, from their childhood in Japan until they are reunited long after the war. The 3rd focuses on a Japanese minister & the hibakusha--those exposed to the radiation--to whom he devotes his life. All three culminate in the controversy over the Smithsonian's plan to exhibit the Enola Gay, the airplane used to drop it. Radiance provokes us into considering the ways in which history is made, remembered & forgotten, highlighting how difficult & yet necessary it is to discuss the issues involved in the birth of the nuclear age & our own responsibilities for the consequences thereof. Preface by Martin Harwit, past director of the Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian. Bare stage w/props. Production & study notes included w/text. Sound effects tape available. Piano/vocal scores rentals available.

103 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Professor Emeritus of Theatre at Loyola University Chicago; Playwright in Residence at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago; Artistic Associate at Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago. Nick has been active in the Chicago theatre movement since the mid '70's. Nineteen of his plays have been professionally produced. Eleven have been published. Nick was a founding member & artistic director of Chicago New Plays Festival Theatre Company, a playwrights collective & is a founding member of the Chicago Alliance for Playwrights. Nick holds a Ph.D. ('72) from the University of Chicago, is an active member of the Dramatists Guild, president of Chicago Network for Justice & Peace, & a member of the Writers in Prison Committee of the San Miguel de Allende Mexico Chapter of International PEN.

PRODUCED PLAYS:
(Full length World Premiere productions cited unless otherwise noted. Date of first Publication & Publisher indicated when relevant.)

The Defiant Muse. World Premiere production at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, Chicago, 10/07. Full length drama. Life, times & work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

Oh Holy Allen Ginsberg, Oh Holy Shit Sweet Jesus Tantric Buddha Dharma Road (revised new version). Production at Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, 3/06, & at the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival, Dublin, Ireland, 5/06. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co. (London; Melbourne; Woodstock, IL), Fall '06. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co. (Woodstock, IL; London; Melbourne)

An Uncertain Hour: A Memory Play for Radio. Internet radio broadcast, ASU Ensemble, CSCi Multimedia productions, Spirit Square, Charlotte, NC & Virginia
Holocaust Museum, Richmond, '05. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., Winter '06.

Radiance of a Thousand Suns: the Hiroshima Project. (Adapted for Radio) Internet radio broadcast, ASU Ensemble, CSCi Multimedia, Charlotte, NC, '04

El Quinto Sol. (W/Karen Ronstadt) Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '96. Taller Teatro Celaya, Mexico, '95.

La Pequeña Estrella de Gran Valor. (W/ Rubén Pérez Fryman) Published by Instituto Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, '96. INBA, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, '82 & (Revised version) '95.

An Uncertain Hour. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '95. Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, '94.

Radiance of a Thousand Suns: the Hiroshima Project. (Collaborative work w/Anne V. McGravie, Dwight Okita, David Zak) '97. Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, '95. Japanese translation '06. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '97.

Oh, Holy Allen Ginsberg... Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '95. Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago, '93.

Three Turns with Susan R: A Remembrance. (One Act) American Blues Theatre, Chicago, '92.

The Idea of Chaos (Sex, Death, Life & Order) at Key West. (Performance Art) An Event of Poet’s Theatre. Bailiwick Repertory, Chicago & St. Mark’s on the Bouwerie, NYC, '91. Published by Traditional Arts, Chicago.

Home Boy. (Performance Art/One Act) Club Lower Links, Chicago. '90.

The Pursuit of Happiness. Organic Theatre, Chicago. Greenhouse Project, '89.

Dream Machine. (One Act) Organic Theatre, Chicago. Lionheart Theatre Co. '89.

The Lemon Tree. Theatre Building Chicago, Lionheart Theatre Company, '89.

Hail Mary (I & II). (One Act) Organic Theatre. Chicago New Plays Festival Theatre Co., '88–89. Published in various collections.

Gardinia’s ‘n’ Blum. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '90. Victory Gardens, Chicago, '87.

The Fifth Sun (Original Version) Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '86. World Premiere at Victory Gardens Theater Chicago '84. The Fifth Sun has enjoyed over 100 productions worldwide since its original production. It has been translated into several languages & has been reissued in the following new formats:
Large Cast/Ensemble Version. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '95.
One Act Version. Published by the Dramatic Publishing Co., '92.

The Decl