MediaRites’ Theatre Diaspora – Touring

March 7, 2020

“Here On This Bridge: The –Ism Project” -Promo Trailer from Dmae Roberts on Vimeo.

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“I grew up in rural Oregon and I know first-hand the difficulty families of color can have,” says Dmae Roberts, executive producer of MediaRites and Theatre Diaspora. “Now more than ever we need to create allies and build bridges —not walls, to share stories and insights across our diverse communities toward a better understanding of each other.”

“Here On This Bridge: The—Ism Project” is an original new work including monologues by Josie Seid, Samson Syharath, Yasmin Ruvalcaba, Heather Raffo, Bonnie Ratner, Roberta Hunte and Dmae Roberts.

The show was directed by Catherine Ming T’ien Duffly and is composed of six short monologues exploring the intersections of race, gender, orientation and nationality, including stories with specifically Pacific Northwest perspectives. Monologues were developed in local workshops also curated from a national submission process. Actors are comprised of Theatre Diaspora ensemble members and actors of color who participated in a six-month series of workshops for development and training.

Performances will include post-show community dialogues with audience members in an effort to bridge divides and create much-needed empathy, understanding and compassion. The long-term goal of this project is to tour small towns and rural communities across Oregon

“Here On This Bridge: The—Ism Project” begins its tour of performances, community dialogues and workshops to Beaverton,Hood River, McMinnville, and Corvallis February through May, 2019. All shows are geared to find common ground through community discussions with ages 14 and up.The monologues cover topical subjects such as tolerance, understanding and bridging divides. Examples include:

The monologues cover topical subjects such as tolerance, understanding and bridging divides. Examples include:

• “Being Me In The Current America” by Josie Seid. A Black middle-class woman experiences racial profiling in Oregon.
• “Lockdown Drills” by Heather Raffo. An Iraqi refugee woman reacts to news of shootings and child safety
• “See Her Strength” by Samson Syharath. A gay Laotian man honors his refugee mother’s strength.
• “Carmelita” by Yasmin Ruvalcaba. A Latina recalls the harrowing story of her mother escaping hardship and violence to cross the Rio Grande River to America.
• “That Diversity Thing” by Bonnie Ratner & Roberta Hunte. A Black tradeswoman negotiates the complicated terrain of diversity training.
• “Harvest” by Dmae Roberts. An Asian American reflects on tragic family history with Oregon’s exclusion laws.

There are 3 different tiers and costs for this show:
1) Full Show with 6 actors – $2500 (add $700 for an overnight stay)
The full show tour featuresA one-hour community workshop

• A 30-40 minute community dialogue
• 6 actors
• Stage and tour director.

2) 2-3 Monologues in 30 minute show with 40-minute audience discussion – $600-800 (add $300 for overnight stay)

3) 3-4 Monologues in 45 minute show with 45 minute audience discussion – $1000-1200 (add $500 for overnight stay)

Requirements are:

A space with a staging area that is separate from the audience area. Theatres are preferred but large community rooms can be possible.

• Chairs for actors on stage
• Access to Sound equipment and electrical outlets
• Lighting can be a simple as lights on and off
• Backstage area or room for actors dressing room
• Separate dressing room, with easy access to the stage and appropriate furnishings.
• Easy access to a working bathroom that is only for the actors and crew.
• Water for actors and crew
• One long table for front of house for donations, ticket sales and marketing materials
• Front of house volunteers provided by Host organization
• Representative who can act as technical adviser to the venue

To help support this project and the Oregon tour, please make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal at: http://www.theatrediaspora.org/ or to http://mediarites.org. Any Oregon town wanting to host this project, please contact us at: mediarites @ aol.com

MediaRites has five goals in The —Ism Project:

MediaRites is excited to produce this original work and has the following goals for this production:

1) To produce an original theatrical work that will eventually travel throughout the state.

2) To address the divide and the backlash against People of Color (PoC), women, LGBTQI people, immigrants and refugees that have become more visible and frequent since the 2016 presidential election. 3) To address the intersections of race with sexism, homophobia and xenophobia.

4) To create community dialogues which we value as well as the professional work we hope to create.

5) To provide continued opportunities for theatre artists of color with workshop and training as well as to perform in this new work.

Sample Schedule for full show with six actors including workshop and show/dialogue :

Linfield College – McMinnville – 3/19/19

4:30pm arrive

7pm show/dialogue

9pm Depart

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