Since assuming office in 2009, President Obama has addressed the nation 10 times after mass shooting incidents. Dozens more massacres have occurred in those six years and yet, from Tucson to Charleston, nothing seems to change. Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith has fought for gun reform for years; this week, a staged reading of a new play brings her personal and professional causes together. Eric Ulloa’s docudrama 26 Pebbles remembers the victims of the 2012 tragedy in Newtown, Conn. During his research, Ulloa spoke with many Newtown residents—business owners, parents of victims, and teachers, among them—in order to create a verbatim recollection of the event and its aftermath. In D.C., veteran actors like Edward Gero, Joshua Morgan, and Lise Bruneau will give life to the emotional text. Proceeds benefit Everytown for Gun Safety and the Newtown Action Alliance, two organizations dedicated to preventing horrors like those from happening again. The reading begins at 8 p.m. at Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW. $20. (202) 554-9066. arenastage.org.