As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we would like to share some of the people in our region that have brought to light stories of Black America through art and performance. 

Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, founder and development director at Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket, and his team are some of these people. Along with his son, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley; wife, Bernadet; and daughter-in-law, Kim – Mixed Magic has brought critically-acclaimed theater, poetry and musical productions to Rhode Island’s Blackstone Valley that have focused on the culture and history of Black America.  

Ricardo Pitts-Wiley stated recently in interview with WJAR 10,

“You can tell great stories that engage Black and Brown talent in an organic way while providing programs at an affordable price.”   SEE WJAR NEWS STORY

Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, Artistic Director of MMT, reiterated the role of Mixed Magic Theatre in an article featured in this month’s Providence Monthly. 

“Inspired to tell the untold and under-told stories of the African-American diaspora and beyond, the mission of the theater has always been to ‘first think diverse’ while building more literate, arts-active communities,” says Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, artistic director and son of Ricardo and Bernadet. “This embrace of diversity includes but is not limited to bringing together artists of different races, classes, gender, and sexual identities and, perhaps most importantly, generations.”  

Read Full Providence Monthly Article Here

Mixed Magic Theatre has engaged audiences in this fashion for 22 years. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from Rhode Island Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Bannister Fund, we can look forward to more outstanding work from MMT in the future. Meanwhile, you can see Ricardo (also an acclaimed actor) in Trinity Repertory’s production of “Gem of the Ocean,” by August Wilson opening February 24th.  

You can also check out some of Mixed Magic’s streaming performances by visiting their YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Pitts-Wiley has also directed “Picket Fences” by August Wilson, an African-American playwright, at Mixed Magic Theatre and another Blackstone Valley actor you may have heard of, Viola Davis, won a Tony and an Oscar in the Broadway and film production of “Picket Fences.” Davis is from neighboring Central Falls, RI and started her professional career at Trinity Repertory. Last year, Davis was inducted in the City’s Women’s History Hall of Fame located at Central Falls City Hall, and you can also visit the street named for her, Viola Davis Way, not too far from Central Falls High School. Davis has not forgotten her roots. In 2020 she donated $10,000 to her alma mater to support the school’s International Thespian Society.