Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Read to Relate is a year round, community centered and community run play discussion group offered by Theatre Memphis. From November to April, Read to Relate will meet 1-2x each month to discuss plays written by and about BIPOC, ALAANA and/or differently abled communities. Theatre Moderators from our Local Arts Community will lead each discussion, dissecting a total of ten plays per season. Of these ten plays, the group will select two 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
Read to Relate Programs in 2024
Watch for our staged readings of SPUNK on May 22 and THE THANKSGIVING PLAY on May 29. Contact us for details.
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 Managerie
The Glass Managerie 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...
SPUNK
SPUNK Staged Reading: May 22, 2024, 7pm, Next Stage, Pay-what-you-can. By George C. Wolfe Moderated by Niambi D. Webster George C. Wolfe blends Zora Neale Hurston’s evocative prose and Wolfe’s...
