The -Ism Project

A big thank you to the Ronni S. Lacroute Fund and City Arts for supporting this project! Stories have power to heal. Stories can effect change between differing peoples and give them some common understanding. Personal stories especially have the power to change lives. In an effort to find more common ground between artists, educators, […]

Back in March 2021, we debuted our four films presented with community conversations: Ruega Por Mi written by Yasmin Ruvalcaba Saludado, That Diversity Thing written by Bonnie Ratner and Roberta Hunte, Being Me In The Current America written by Josie Seid, and Ofelio: A Borderline Story by Andrew Siañez-De La O.  1,184 viewsView on Youtube Summer of 2021–we began winning inclusion and accolades from […]

2021 BronzeLens Film Festival – The Virtual Experience: Connecting the Culture, Creators and Content, will take place on BronzeLens.com over six days beginning Tuesday, August 17th, and concluding on Sunday, August 22nd. The BronzeLens festival’s shorts category are designated as an Academy Award Qualifying Festival in the Shorts Category! Anyone who attends the festival can vote for “Being […]

“Ofelio” tells the story of a former border patrol guard who is now a father of a young baby. As he cares for his child, he is haunted by the faces of children who were detained at the border. Join us for a virtual screening and panel talk with the playwright, actor, and Jhona Monroy […]

Ruega Por Mi, written by by Yasmin Ruvalcaba Saludado and performed by Yolanda Porter.A mother is searching for her missing daughter and questions her decision to send her for safety in America. MediaRites has been adapting and transforming the monologues from The -Ism Project into short films. Two were filmed with a crew of four, social distancing […]

That Diversity Thing, written by Bonnie Ratner & Roberta Hunte. Performed by Shelley B Shelley. A Black tradeswoman is interviewed about the complicated terrain of diversity training and working during the pandemic with a partner that is at increased risk. MediaRites has been adapting and transforming the monologues from The -Ism Project into short films. Two […]

A Black middle-class woman recounts experiences of racial profiling in Lake Oswego, Oregon during a time of Black Lives Matter Protests in 2020. Being Me In The Current America written by Josie Seid was originally a monologue written for Here On This Bridge: The –Ism Project produced by MediaRites. MediaRites has been adapting and transforming […]

SEE HER STRENGTH written and performed by Samson Syharathand HARVEST by Dmae Roberts performed by Jane Vogel Mantiri, founder of Advance Gender Equity for the Arts. May 16th, 6:00-6:45pm – See Her Strength, written and performed by Samson Syharath, follows a gay Laotian man who honors his refugee mother’s strength while worrying about her from […]

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

– 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 […]

Bag&Baggage Productions will be hosting MediaRites’ Theatre Diaspora at The Vault Theatre as we continue exploring the intersections of race, gender, orientation and nationality, including stories with specifically Pacific Northwest perspectives. We will be performing three monologues (one is a debut!) focusing on Exclusion and Inclusion. Then we will have a having a post-show dialogue […]

Original New Work by Josie Seid, Samson Syharath, Yasmin Ruvalcaba, Heather Raffo, Bonnie Ratner, Roberta Hunte and Dmae Roberts. Directed by Catherine Ming T’ien Duffly. Here On This Bridge: The –Ism Project premiered at the Fertile Ground Festival at Portland State University’s Boiler Room Theatre, Lincoln Hall (1620 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR 97201). There […]

Original New Work by Josie Seid, Samson Syharath, Yasmin Ruvalcaba, Heather Raffo, Bonnie Ratner, Roberta Hunte and Dmae Roberts. PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 21, 2018— MediaRites, a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, award-winning documentary, theatre and outreach programs, today announced its first full production and original work for its Theatre Diaspora program. Here On This Bridge: […]

PORTLAND, Ore.,Nov. 21, 2018— MediaRites, a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, award-winning documentary,theatre and outreach programs, today announced its first full production andoriginal work for its Theatre Diaspora program.  Here On This Bridge: The –Ism Projectis a 70-minute full production comprised of six short monologues exploring the intersectionsof race, gender, orientation and nationality, with stories […]