About Us

The Mission of Uprise Theatre is to use art and activist lawyering to disrupt systems of oppression and reclaim power with the people.

The Vision of Uprise Theatre is that now will be the time in history in which all peoples are treated by the legal system as full human beings with corresponding full human rights.

We maintain the Values of Uprise Theatre by being authentic in the way we relate to ourselves and others; we are unapologetic in our desire of liberation for all people; and we are a community-based organization.

                                          
We do this through: 

ART
Uprise believes art can and should be used to promote social justice. The best example of how we use art to promote empowerment is our flagship theatre program. Participants of the program, turned peer-educators, re-teach the information they have learned to the community through live performances. Listen to our first ever podcast-play! You can also watch our Know Your Rights skits designed specifically to protect our communities as we see the increase in immigration enforcement raids.

In addition to theatre and improv we use beautiful posters to educate people on their legal rights. These poster are available for free download on our website.

UPRISE & GRIND
In 2025 we launched a year long program that transforms coffee shops into art galleries, classrooms and performance spaces. To learn more about our program and to learn about our current and upcoming events please check our newsletter here.

COMMUNITY TRAININGS AND PRESENTATIONS
Uprise contributes legal knowledge and skills to the people, striving for investment and empowerment of community members in the legal process. Please contact us if you or your organization are interested in having us present (a list of available presentations can be found in this slideshow).

LEGAL SERVICES
As an extension of our Know Your Right Forums, Uprise is a core organization with FREE SD and provides direct legal representation and coaching for folks facing criminal charges.

Uprise also believes that access to justice should be for everyone, without attorneys serving as gatekeepers of that information. We have created a Template and How To Database for basic legal information and An Educational Video Series for the criminal court process.