Collective stories told by BIPOC Deaf and hard of hearing individuals about their life experiences. While addressing issues with oppression and social injustice in society, they share their deaf perspectives.
Michelle Banks, co-founder of the Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA), is the director and creator of this play. All of the actors are BIPOC and the stories you will see -- are their stories.
Comments from the director:
"ISM is not something I just thought of in the spur of the moment. However, I took it into consideration after the untimely tragedy of George Floyd's death and the roaring uprising of systemic racism during the COVID pandemic. The more I reflected on the increase in the absolute penetration of social injustice here in the US, the more I realized it had been interwoven with words always ending in ism, which significantly impacted the lives of BIPOC individuals. So, I challenged myself as a director to initiate this conversation about the words ending with ism and create a provoking approach in telling stories about "ism."
The conception of ISM was inspired by the actual events within the Deaf and hard of hearing communities, where the individuals not only have encountered systemic racism and social injustice, but have also experienced oppression associated with other related -isms. Hence, staging a live performance of ISM would allow the ensemble actors to have the space to find their inner "voices" by telling their life stories. I feel humbly honored to be part of this rare experience with the remarkably talented ensemble and voice performers. With that said, I ask you to put aside your biases and join us on their journey by empathically listening to and watching their stories with an open mind."