The Ringwald Theatre Launches SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." -James Baldwin. These words by the late, great James Baldwin are truer today than ever. The Ringwald Theatre believes their past work has been incredibly important and they are proud of it, but they acknowledge that many voices, stories, experiences, and forms of expression have been left out. These voices largely lie within the BIPoC and LatinX communities. Their focus and mission has always been about speaking up, and speaking out to represent LGBTQ+ experiences, but they must also explicitly include and uplift black and brown voices and stories as well--especially those from the LGBTQ+ community.

With this commitment in mind, The Ringwald is launching a new virtual community dialogue series entitled Speak Up, Speak Out: A Ringwald Dialogue. They will be gathering once a month to discuss their communities, theatrical and otherwise, with lead-in questions and ideas centered around books, plays, and documentaries that they will be reading or watching prior to meeting.

Up first, and in honor of Black History Month, they will be reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X; As Told to Alex Haley. The meeting to discuss this title will be on Saturday February 20th at 10AM via Zoom. A full schedule of content is planned for the coming months and is open to input from the community.

Anyone interested in joining the discussion is welcome - whether you've had an opportunity to read the book. Their goal is to inspire conversation and action. Please send an email to info@theringwald.com for instructions and Zoom link.

Board Member Matthew Wallace commented, "We want this to be an organic and community based initiative and we cannot wait to see all of your faces, so please safely gather with us as we educate one another and grow together."

The Ringwald opened their doors 13 years ago on May 11, 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. Quickly, The Ringwald became a mainstay of Detroit's theatre community. Past highlights include: Dance Nation, Head Over Heels,Clue, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, Life Sucks, The Rocky Horror Show, Heathers The Musical, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, Stupid f-ing Bird, Angels in America, Into the Woods, A Streetcar Named Desire, August: Osage County, Mercury Fur, The Bad Seed, The Book of Liz, and Evil Dead: The Musical. The Ringwald was named 2009, 2012 and 2013 Best Theatrical Troupe by Real Detroit and Best Place to See Local Theatre in 2010, 2011 and 2012 by the readers of Metro Times.

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