MediaRites' Theatre Diaspora Performs THREE IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE STORIES In Hood River

MediaRites, a nonprofit organization that provides innovative, award-winning documentary, theatre and outreach programs, today announces its production of Three Immigrant and Refugee Stories, at the Columbia Center for the Arts (215 Cascade Avenue, Hood River, OR 97031) on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.-7:30p.m.

Samson Syharath performs his own personal monologue. Sofia Molina performs a piece by Yasmin Ruvalcaba. and Larry Toda performs a Hood River centered monologue by Dmae Roberts. All are from MediaRites' Theatre Diaspora's recent hit Portland production of Here On This Bridge: The -Ism Project originally directed by Catherine Ming T'ien Duffly. Following the performance, a short discussion about exclusion and inclusion history of immigrants and refugees in Oregon will be moderated by Dmae Roberts, executive producer of MediaRites with special guest Dr. Linda Tamura (Willamette University, Emeritus), author of Hood River Issei. The event is FREE to the public, but donations are welcome.

Three Immigrant and Refugee Stories is comprised of three stories about families who have struggled to find acceptance and understanding. Extracted from the full production of The -Ism Project, the performance covers the intersections of race with gender, orientation and national origin in an effort to bridge divides and encourage audience dialogue. The three stories featured are about:

• A gay Laotian man honors his refugee mother's strength.
• A Latina woman recalls the harrowing story of her mother escaping hardship and violence to cross The Rio Grande River to America
• An Asian American reflects on family history with Oregon's exclusion laws.

Hood River native, Dr. Linda Tamura, is a Professor of Education Emerita, Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, will talk briefing about the Executive Order 9066 and its impact on Hood River Issei and Nisei. She is a Sansei (third generation Japanese American) and daughter of a World War II veteran Raised on an orchard in Hood River, Oregon, Linda is also the granddaughter of Japanese immigrants. In addition to Nisei Soldiers Break their Silence, Linda is the author of Hood River Issei.

"Three Immigrant and Refugee Stories comes at a time when we need to create bridges-not walls, to share stories and insights across our diverse communities toward a better understanding of humanity," stated Dmae Roberts, executive producer of MediaRites' Theatre Diaspora. "We wanted to bring these stories to smaller towns across Oregon in hopes that it will lead to an enlightening talk with audience members about exclusion laws and its impact today on immigrants and refugees."

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.

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