kids encyclopedia robot

Regional Theatre of the Palouse facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
"RTOP" redirects here. For the proposed norm in international relations, see Responsibility to protect. For "Raketna Topovnjača" missile boats, see List of active Croatian Navy ships.
Quick facts for kids
Regional Theatre of the Palouse
Formation 2007 (2007)
Type Theatre group
Location
Artistic director(s)
 John Rich

The Regional Theatre of the Palouse (RTOP) is a special theater group in Pullman, Washington. It's a non-profit organization, which means it uses its money to support its goals, not to make a profit.

RTOP was started in 2007 by John Rich, who is an award-winning Artistic Director. Their main goal is to "make a positive difference in the Palouse region by providing an outlet for creative expression through theater arts." This means they want to help people express themselves through acting, singing, and dancing.

They put on many different kinds of shows, like plays, musicals, and even offer theater workshops. Most of their shows happen at the RTOP Theatre. Sometimes, they also perform at bigger places like Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum and other spots around the Palouse area.

A Look at RTOP's Journey

The Regional Theatre of the Palouse has had many exciting seasons, with most of their shows selling out!

Early Years and Growth

In 2015, one of their popular shows was Little Shop of Horrors. It was so popular that all tickets were sold out. That year, they also put on big musicals like Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz. They finished 2015 with Holiday Memories.

The theater continued to grow in 2016. They started with I Do! I Do! and ended the year with Addams Family. A big step that year was creating a Summer Teen Workshop. This workshop helped young people learn about theater. Soon after, they opened workshops for both teens and seniors. They even offered free tickets for seniors in the community. This helped more teens and seniors get involved in their productions. Many shows continued to sell out and received standing ovations, which means the audience clapped for a long time while standing up!

New Programs and More Shows

The year 2017 brought many changes and new programs. They started with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and ended with A Christmas Story. They added new programs, and more shows sold out. They also started an internship program for costumes and marketing. This helped students learn about different jobs in theater. The summer teen workshop began to be led by experienced professionals. By the middle of the year, many performances included senior audience members.

2018 was a year of even more growth and new ideas. RTOP finished their 2018 season with the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof. They continued their summer camp workshops and educational programs, which kept getting bigger. The theater also helped more people gain experience through their internship program. They offered internships in costume design, marketing, and event planning. They also put on Disney's Newsies in November.

In 2019, RTOP opened with Cabaret and then the movie musical Mamma Mia!. It was a year of amazing productions. They ended the 2019 season with the fun dance musical Mamma Mia!.

Facing Challenges and Adapting

The year 2020 started with high hopes. RTOP opened the season with the musical She Loves Me. This show brought together professional actors and local talent. They were looking forward to their final show of the season, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which also had a great cast. However, the theater had to stop its plans because of COVID-19. RTOP had to quickly change how they did things to keep the theater going. Because of the pandemic, their 2020-21 season was canceled.

RTOP Productions List

RTOP has performed many different shows over the years. Here are some of them, grouped by where they were performed:

Shows at Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum

Shows at RTOP Theatre

2011-12 Season

  • Annie
  • Meet Me in St. Louis
  • The Odd Couple
  • The Secret Garden

2012-13 Season

  • Oliver! (The Musical)
  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Hello Dolly!

2013-14 Season

2014-15 Season

2015-16 Season

  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Sweeney Todd
  • Holiday Memories
  • I Do! I Do!
  • Anything Goes
  • Tuesdays With Morrie

2016-17 Season

  • 13 (musical)
  • You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
  • Rabbit Hole
  • The Addams Family
  • A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
  • Sister Act

2017-18 Season

2018-19 Season

2019-20 Season

  • Funny Girl
  • Matilda
  • She Loves Me

2021-22 Season

  • Jerry Herman's Showtune Review

Musical Reviews

  • Oktoberfest (October 2007)

Where RTOP Performs

RTOP uses two main places for its shows:

Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum

The Beasley Coliseum is a large building on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington. It opened in 1973 and can hold up to 12,500 people. For RTOP shows, the seating is set up for about 2,500 people.

RTOP Theatre

The RTOP Theatre is in the old downtown area of Pullman. It used to be a brick store building from the 1920s. In 2007, it was changed into a theater that can seat 75 people.

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Regional Theatre of the Palouse Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.