Ron Stroman

Ron Stroman is a New Yorker- considers himself a child of all 5 boroughs but grew up in St. Albans Queens-He is the son of Ruby and Roosevelt Stroman and the brother of Regina- all R’s- and the assorted dogs names also began with R’s- Ron went to school in Forest Hills and attended Adelphi University’s school of drama- Ron has approached this business of show much like the way he drives- taking the roads less traveled- avoid the traffic- he has written and performed numerous one man shows with titles like- The Serpent’s Sermon- The Bastard Love Child of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben- Welcome to my Momentum- The Sikofitall Gudtyme Tour ( part one) and now Ron Stroman’s Sikofitall Gudtyme Tour ( a spanking)- these shows have all been part of a series precipitated by the asking of one question- “ Why don’t Black people tip?”- in his attempt to answer – he learned it required real dissection- he learned about himself- which led to the writing of multiple shows- he was told he wasn’t angry enough- learning that our anger is entertainment- that pissed me off.
Ron grew up not knowing a thing bout the dreaded Black experience- a classmate in college- a White girl- said to him one time- “ Ronald I understand the Black experience- I read “ Manchild in the Promised Land”- I hadn’t- so I did- and was appalled to learn that that’s the story everyone expected and accepted- Ron’s story begins with Ruby and Roosevelt Stroman and their intention to not have kids- they did not see the benefit of bringing Black children into an American existence but my sister Regina was born New Years eve 1954 and my self 3 years later 1957- you can only be so careful but so many times.
Well we were now the “R” Stroman’s- dad was part of the N.Y.P.D.- ma was director of the Headstart program at our church- when my father retired from the N.Y.P.D. he bought the McDonald’s franchise- it was 1970- I was thirteen- being a part of the police department and just being a Black man born in 1919 gave my father a perspective that did not celebrate mankind- Black or White- in fact my father made it clear that he did not want kids- he wanted dogs- we have that in common- but they took on the responsibility of parenting and parented- my sister Regina and I were often held up as examples of good kids ( this was before phones that took pictures)- having the McDonald’s caused my father to appreciate having a family- we worked for free and were always available- of course our relationship with the McDonald’s corporation was strained to say the least- Ray Kroc- the founder of McDonald’s- found our family to be a bit uppity and demanded that we take down a poster of Martin Luther King we had hanging- we challenged him back telling him to come and take it down- we never had more than the one restaurant and they were trying to take that one back from us- this is the stock of which I’m made- business without being sycophants- I couldn’t be prouder- I may not be angry enough- or you just mistake my good humor for acquiessence

Shows participated in:
Encores! presents The Sikofitall Gudtymes Tour (2013 - 14) Performer