Read to Relate

Read to Relate is a year round, community centered and community run play discussion group offered by Theatre Memphis. Community members will discuss plays written by and about BIPOC, ALAANA and/or differently abled communities. Theatre Moderators from our Local Arts Community will lead discussions, dissecting a total of twelve plays per season. Of these twelve plays, the group will select four works to be fully realized as stage readings. These readings will be open and accessible to the general public. Our Read to Relate plays will also be considered for full stage production in Theatre Memphis’s upcoming seasons.

This program is designed to bridge the divide between our personal understanding of the world around us and the stories of lives we are less familiar with. Our objective is to utilize our resources to amplify the voices of marginalized and oppressed groups and celebrate the collective human story through theatre. 

Participation is free of charge. Those interested in participating may either rent their scripts from Theatre Memphis with a $10 refundable deposit or purchase each play independently. Participants can register for as few or as many discussions as they are interested in. 

* ALAANA – African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American

Upcoming Events
Read to Relate R2R option 2 2
Read to Relate R2R option 2

Scene & Sip Socials

You’ve heard of Speed Dating.  You’ve heard of Date with a Book. Now get ready for Speed Date with a Play!

Acquaint yourself with 4 different plays and spend time discussing them with people from all walks of life! At the end of the night cast your vote for which play should be produced as a staged reading during our spring Staged Reading Festival!

Reading list for 2025/26 will be announced soon!

2024/25 Reading List

Pipeline

Pipeline Dominique Morisseau’s hard-hitting drama, Pipeline takes a deep look into the American educational system for underprivileged students. Nya is an inner-city high school teacher whose son, Omari, is educated...
Past Programs

Is God Is

Is God Is By Aleshea Harris  Moderated by Dr. Niambi Webster Twenty-one year old African-American twin sisters Racine and Anaia were burned and scarred as babies. Racine has burn scars...

Bulrusher

Bulrusher By Eisa Davis Moderated by Keia Johnson In 1955, in the redwood country north of San Francisco, a multiracial girl grows up in a predominantly white town whose residents...

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams Moderated by Thomas King The Glass Menagerie is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has...

You for Me for You

You for Me for You By Mia Chung Moderated by Eileen Kuo As they attempt to flee the Best Nation in the World, North Korean sisters Minhee and Junhee are...

The Amen Corner

The Amen Corner The Amen Corner is a three-act play by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin’s first work for the stage following the success of his novel Go Tell It...

Xtigone

Xtigone By Nambi E. Kelley Moderated by Cleavon Meabon IV Set in Present Day Chicago, Xtigone’s brothers have been killed in drive-by shootings by each other’s rival gang. Her uncle,...

Noura

Noura by Heather Raffo Moderated by TBD Inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Eight years ago, Noura and her family fled their home in Iraq. Today, she plans the...

Venus

Venus By Suzan-Lori Parks Moderator: Cleavon Meabon IV Venus is a semi-biographical play about Saartjie Baartman, a member of a freak show label called the “Hottentot Venus”. Set around 1810,...

Dreary & Izzy

Dreary & Izzy By Tara Beagan Moderator: Dr. Niambi Webster 1975, Lethbridge Alberta. When the Monoghan sisters lose their parents in a car accident, Deirdre remains as the sole caregiver...

37 Incidents between Victoria and Her Brain

37 Incidents between Victoria and Her Brain By Libby Heily  Moderator: Jasmine Settles Incidents Between Victoria and Her Brain explores the complex relationship between our minds and ourselves. Like most...

The Thanksgiving Play

The Thanksgiving Play By Larissa FastHorse Moderator: Karon Samuels High school drama teacher Logan is desperate to save her career. Always ready to rock the boat, she is now facing...

Overheard: Fourteen Commissioned Monologues Written by TNB2S+ Artists for TNB2S+ Artists

Overheard: Fourteen Commissioned Monologues Written by TN2BS+ Artists for TN2BS+ Artists By Various Authors Moderator: TBD For the grand finale of the inaugural Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival in October...

Lohrey Theatre

Seats up to 411

Both the Lohrey Theatre and the Next Stage Theatre are wheelchair accessible with a handicapped accessible restroom on the same level as the main lobby to both venues. The Lohrey Theatre also provides hearing assisted equipment to any who may require or request it, at no charge.

Lohrey Theatre Seating Chart

(Next Stage is open seating)

Next Stage

Seats up to 110

The black box Next Stage seats up to 110 and is also wheelchair accessible with state of the art equipment for sound and lighting.