All Events

Solidifying Our Legacy:
A Community Poetry Reading
February 21st 7:30-9:00pm
(By Suggested Donation)

In Celebration of African-American History Month, 2026, Rockland Center for the Arts, The Gordon Center for Black Culture and Arts, and Shades Repertory Theater will bring together some of Rockland County’s most distinguished community leaders and actors to read poems and prose by our most historically notable Black literary artists of the past century. Included in the evening will be poems by the first published Black Poet Phyllis Wheatley (1773) to Amanda Gorman (2017). With literary works by WEB DuBois, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Bennett, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker among others.

Unwelcome Guests

An Immersive Dance Performance by Emotions Physical Theatre

Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 7:00pm
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 7:00pm
Tickets: $25 adults/$20 students and seniors

In Unwelcome Guests, choreographer Shawn Rawls cracks open the emotional core of growing up as the dark-skinned stepchild in a light-skinned family. Using contemporary dance, physical theatre, and storytelling grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Rawls explores the parts of ourselves we've been told to silence.

Each dancer embodies a "part" of the same person—The Protector, The Exile, The Performer—revealing what it means to survive, to split, and to heal.

Rooted in the psychology of double consciousness and Afro-surrealism, this show is raw, intimate, and urgent. It's not just a performance—it's a reckoning.

This events is in partnership with The Gordon Center for Black Culture and Arts.

What is Emotions Physical Theatre?

Emotions Physical Theatre (EPT) presents a multifaceted approach to live performances, integrating diverse artistic disciplines such as music, visual arts, dance, and theater to construct a unified narrative-driven milieu. Drawing from one of three primary foundations—circus, contemporary dance (or dance theater), and noh—the genre embodies a synthesis of movement, emotion, and narrative exploration. At EPT, our framework predominantly aligns with dance theater. A defining characteristic of physical theatre is its active engagement with the audience, often achieved through techniques like breaking the fourth wall, immersive experiences, interactive elements, or collaborative ventures, thereby fostering an immersive and indelible theatrical encounter.

The Burning of New York