Unwelcome Guests

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.

About Rockland Center for the Arts:

The mission of Rockland Center for the Arts is to inspire, educate and enrich the community through creating, teaching and presenting the arts, and to provide opportunities for all people to experience and participate in the cultural life of our region. RoCA is committed to the process of experiencing, responding to, creating, and presenting art. By providing a range of relevant, thought-provoking programs, RoCA engages the individual and the community through quality art experiences, while cultivating new audiences in personally meaningful ways.

For more information call 845-358-0877, or visit www.rocklandartcenter.org.

RoCA gratefully acknowledges support for its programs from the Leonard Merrill Kurz Foundation, The Rea Charitable Trust, Sarah and Stephen Thomas, The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation, M&T Bank, The M&T Charitable Foundation, Jim Shaughnessy, The Dorothy Gillespie Foundation, Walter Cain & Paulo Ribeiro, Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman P.C., QuietEvents, the Estate of Joan Konner, Lighting Services Inc., the Mark and Jessie Milano Foundation, Zaklin Family Charitable Fund, The County of Rockland, Art Services Group, RoCA members, donors and business members.

RoCA’s programs are made possible, in part, with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Funding is also made possible by the County of Rockland.