Welcome to MediaRites

MediaRites is a tax-exempt, 501 (c ) 3, nonprofit production organization based in Portland, Oregon, dedicated to telling the stories of diverse cultures and giving voice to the unheard through the arts, education and media projects. Since 1984, MediaRites has produced award-winning radio and film documentaries, interactive websites, theatre and outreach projects.

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Projects

Radio

MediaRites has a history of award winning cross-cultural documentaries including the 8-hour Asian Pacific American history series Crossing East, winner of the Peabody in 2007.

Theatre

See MediaRites current and past stage productions. Our current project, Theatre Diaspora, presents staged readings to highlight Asian American/Pacific Islander plays and arts.

Community Outreach

Through the years, MediaRites has worked with community organizations and schools to create arts and media opportunities for students, underserved groups in the Portland-metro area.

Video

See videos created for the Crossing East series, winner of Peabody award in 2007, a flash video from the Coming Home project in Kodiak, AK ion 2009  and the Mei Mei film in 2014

The Latest

Crossing East: Relations

May 13, 2017

Ellen Choy in a lockdown

Crossing East: Relations is a one-hour documentary special produced by Dmae Roberts, executive producer of MediaRites’ Crossing East series with Robynn Takayama and Alan Montecillo. The documentary addresses AAPIs and the Model Minority Myth and the historic relationship between AAPIs and African Americans.

As part of a 10th anniversary celebration of the Peabody-winning radio series Crossing East, which aired on 230 public radio stations around the country we’ve been producing this documentary as well gathering more than 100 hours of oral history recordings for the Crossing East Archive. Most of the stories and oral histories we have gathered are not covered in mainstream schools and may not be known even within AAPI communities.

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“Washer/Dryer” Reading with Theatre Diaspora

April 27, 2017

Washer/Dryer by Nandita Shenoy

May 14th at 7:00 p.m. & May 20th at 2:00 p.m. in the Ellyn Bye Studio

During May, Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Media Rites’ Theatre Diaspora Project’s new season begins with an enhanced staged reading directed by company member Samson Syharath. Cast includes Anthony Lam, Sarika Mehta, Elaine Low, Dmae Roberts and Mathew Sepeda.In this light-hearted romantic comedy, interethnic newlyweds Sonya and Michael would love nothing more than to live happily ever after in Sonya’s single occupant New York co-op apartment (with built-in washer and dryer). Standing in their way, however, are Michael’s meddling mother, Sonya’s nosy co-op manager, and a litany of other squabbles they must overcome to save their relationship.

To purchase tickets or learn more, visit pcs.org/blog/washer-dryer-reading-with-theatre-diaspora

Refugee Dreams Revisited – Youth Performances

February 17, 2017

Refugee Dreams Revisited
Produced by MediaRites Productions.

Starting with the fall of Saigon in April 1975, refugees from Vietnam awaited approval to move to the US and other countries. By 1979, there were almost 62,000 Vietnamese in refugee camps, with more than 140,000 people displaced from Cambodia and Laos. Portland, Oregon, was one of the medium-sized US cities that dealt with the relatively sudden influx of every major ethnic group (Vietnamese, Lao, Hmong, Mien and Cambodian) from Southeast Asia.
Fifteen former refugees were interviewed for the Refugee Dreams Revisited project, which was created for the Peabody award-winning series Crossing East that ran on 230 public radio stations.
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