– POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE –
MediaRites kicks off its Spring/Summer tour of “A Bridge To Civil Rights: The –Ism Project” tour on April 13th at Portland Center Stage at 7pm with a three monologue performance and conversation about women dealing with danger from the outside world.
“But Am I Really?” a debut monologue written and performed by Bonnie Ratner is about a Jewish yoga teacher who is grappling with her identity while the building is on lockdown.
Also included are two previous –Ism Project monologues:
“Being Me In The Current America” by Josie Seid and performed by Shareen Jacobs is about a Black middle-class woman experiences racial profiling in Oregon.
And “Lockdown Drills” by Heather Raffo and performed by Dre Slaman is about an Iraqi female refugee who reacts to news of shootings and child safety.
The –Ism Project includes a catalogue of 9 monologues that explore the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, orientation and national origin. Each show is 30-40 minutes and is followed by a community dialogue to foster empathy, inclusion and building allyship. The show garnered critical praise from Oregon ArtsWatch (orwatch.org) and comments from audiences and panelists ranging from “I didn’t know our town’s history” to very personal stories about how people have dealt with –Isms in their own community. The hope is these monologues will jumpstart conversations to further EDI initiatives.
The Portland Center Stage admission is $5.
All other shows are suggested donations of $5 and up. Recommended for ages 14 and up.
Other show dates include:
April 22nd at 7:30pm– Enlightened Theatrics in Salem featuring a discussion led by Dr. Linda Tamura after the following monologues.
“Being Me In The Current America” by Josie Seid and performed by Shareen Jacobs is about a Black middle-class woman experiences racial profiling in Oregon.
“Ruega Por Mi” by Yasmin Ruvalcaba and performed by Yolanda Porter about a woman in Central America separated from her child.
And “See Her Strength“ written and performed by Samson Syharath about a gay Laotian man honors his refugee mother’s strength.
We have three show dates as part of the Vanport Mosaic Festival, May 30 at 2:30pm, May 31st at 7:30pm and June 6th at 2:30pm.
June 13th at 7:30pm at Bag&Baggage Productions’ The Vault in Hillsboro
June 27th at 7pm at Minority Voices Theatre at Very Little Theatre in Eugene.
The –Ism Project has received support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Emily Georges Gottfried Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation (OJCF), The Oregon Cultural Trust and the Collins Foundation, Portland Center Stage and Vanport Mosaic Festival.
