Emotions Physical Theatre

Led by Choreographer and Artistic Director Shawn Rawls (Alvin Ailey, Roxey Ballet) Emotions Physical Theatre combines theater and dance to tell thought-provoking stories that expand imagination and empathy.

Unwelcome Guests

A new work by Emotions Physical Theatre

Choreographed by Shawn Rawls

In Unwelcome Guests, choreographer Shawn Rawls dives into the emotional landscape of growing up as the dark-skinned stepchild in a light-skinned family. Through a fusion of contemporary dance, physical theatre, and psychological storytelling rooted in Internal Family Systems (IFS), this work confronts the parts of ourselves we’re taught to silence.

Each dancer embodies a different “part” of a single person—The Protector, The Performer, The Judge, The Exile, and others—manifesting the inner voices shaped by colorism, family rejection, and cultural survival. Drawing from the theory of double consciousness, the work moves between outward performance and inward rupture, exposing how identity is both masked and fractured in spaces where we’re told we don’t belong.

Unwelcome Guests is raw, intimate, and unapologetically honest—a kinetic portrait of internal healing, collective memory, and the act of naming what was once denied.

Shawn Rawls is a choreographer, performer, and educator whose work lives at the intersection of contemporary dance, physical theatre, and Afro-surrealist narrative. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Emotions Physical Theatre, a company dedicated to creating emotionally charged, socially engaged works that explore identity, masculinity, and healing through bold physicality and storytelling.

Thursday, October 9, 2025 @ 7:00pm at The Angel Nyack
For Tickets, call 833-681-4800 or reserve below!

Running time: 75 minutes