Media Rites' Theatre Diaspora Announces Cast for A LANGUAGE OF THEIR OWN

MediaRites' Theatre Diaspora will perform two staged readings of A Language of Their Own, directed by Andrew Klaus-Vineyard, co-artistic director at defunkt theatre) with associate director Samson Syharath, at Portland Center Stage (128 NW 11th Avenue, Portland) on Saturday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.and at Portland Actors Conservatory (1436 SW Montgomery St., Portland) on Sunday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for general seating and $5 for Oregon Trail cardholders, students and AIDS Walk participants (provide registration).

For the 9/10 7:30pm show at Portland Center Stage at The Armory?, click the button in their blog post: https://www.pcs.org/blog/a-language-of-their-own-with-theatre-diaspora

For the 9/18 2pm show at Portland Actors Conservatory?, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2582926, or click the "Donate" button at www.theatrediaspora.org (note show date, quantity, and rate with purchase)

Samson Syharath (as Ming) is an actor and director who has worked throughout Portland. He has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith and a certificate from Portland Actors Conservatory. Samson has worked with various companies including: Defunkt Theatre, Broadway Rose, Post5 Theatre, Lakewood Theatre, Imago Theatre, Shaking the Tree, Anon it Moves, Portland Actors Ensemble, and Portland Actors Conservatory. Samson is a core producing member of Theatre Diaspora and has performed in Dance and the Railroad, Breaking the Silence, Breaking Glass, Theory of Everything and directed Red and The Sound of a Voice.

Ming Young (as Oscar ) was born in Taiwan, where he grew up in contact with people from a variety of international cultures. An intrepid world traveler, he eventually settled in Portland, OR, home to mentor and foster father, James Young, who exposed Ming to the arts. Ming happily still resides in Portland with his husband, Steve. Having worked behind the scenes in the entertainment industry, A Language of Their Own is Ming's debut as an actor. He is very excited about this production and looks forward to seeing many of his friends at the show.
Jess Ford (as Robert) makes his Portland stage premiere with A Language of Their Own. He was most recently nominated for Best Actor in a Musical by BroadwayWorld LA 2015 for his role as Johnny in American Idiot (DOMA Theatre Co,) which won Best Musical. Jess holds a BFA from The Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of the Performing Arts. Soon you can see him in Jekyll & Hyde with Stumptown Stages.

Ken Tang ( as Daniel) is an an actor, amateur playwright and aspiring director. Theatre Diaspora's staged reading of Chay Yew's A Language of Their Own marks his first professional stage performance. Ken is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre at Western Oregon University.

Theatre Diaspora is Oregon's only professional Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) theatre company, committed to portraying authentic AAPI cultural, historical, and social perspectives to reach broad audiences. By strongly advocating through compelling performances and post-show discussions, we are bridging communities to foster inclusion, social-awareness, and open conversations on race and cultural diversity - celebrating the AAPI experience. Theatre Diaspora is a project of MediaRites, an award-winning non-profit organization focused on cultural diversity by providing voices to the unheard.