The Movement Will Host Youth-Focused Panel AND I WOULD STAND LIKE THIS

The Movement Theatre Company, a Harlem-based nonprofit committed to showcasing emerging artists of color, presents AND I WOULD STAND LIKE THIS..., a youth centered performance and post show panel led by sexual health educator Erika Hart targeting sexual health, family dynamics, and sexual identity. The panel will take place after the July 28th matinee performance of The Movement's current production And She Would Stand Like This by Harrison David Rivers, directed by David Mendizábal, and choreographed by Kia LaBeija at the A.R.T../New York Theatres in the Mezzanine Theatre. Current partners for this event include The Door, A Center of Alternatives, and Safe Horizon's Streetwork Project.

And She Would Stand Like This is an adaptation of The Trojan Women fused with the world of underground LGBTQ+ ball culture. Set in a hospital waiting room after the emergence of an unknown and deadly plague, And She Would Stand Like This reimagines the characters of The Trojan Women as Black and Latinx queer men and Transgender women fighting for their survival. A modern-day observation of the onset of HIV/AIDS, And She Would Stand Like This tackles the complicated issues of gender, sexuality, identity, health, and family, which Erika will delve into during the panel.

AND I WOULD STAND LIKE THIS... will be held after the 3pm matinee performance on July 28th. Funded by Humanities New York, tickets for students 16 - 22 years old are free of charge (please bring an ID). For ticket reservations and large group inquiries, please contact Njeri Johnson-Smalls at njerijsmalls@gmail.com. Additional performances of And She Would Stand Like This are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 5:00pm. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. With this production, The Movement is taking a lead on making theatre accessible by ensuring that a minimum of 15 tickets per performance will be pay-what-you-can. Adopted from Radical Hospitality methods, this initiative ensures that regardless of economic background, all community members can attend and join this important conversation.

The cast features Julienne "Mizz June" Brown* (O, Earth/The Foundry, Charm/Mixed Blood), Cornelius Davidson* (War/Yale Rep), Cherrye J. Davis (Bintou/The Movement), Darby Davis (As You Like It/Cradle Theatre Co.), Florencia Lozano* (Narcos), Ashton Muñiz* (Esai's Table/The Cherry Lane), Michael-Anthony Souza*(Standby the Musical/NYC Fringe), Dasan Turner, Reggie D. White* (Hundred Days, The Last Tiger in Haiti), and Tamara Williams (Street Children).

The creative team includes Paul Tate DePoo III (Scenic Design), Brian Tovar (Lighting Design), Anitra Michelle (Costume Design), Sinan Zafar (Sound Design), and Byrell the Great (DJ/Composer).

Julienne "Mizz June" Brown* (Hecuba) From NYC's Lower East Side, Mizz June got her start in activism & musical theater. She was the first out black transwoman to be a guest cast member on a daytime soap opera ("All My Children"). Erika Hart is a sex educator and performer with a Masters of Education from Widener University. Hart's work asserts the personal as not only political but a viable part of any conversation on healing; unabashedly centering and sentient such that queer black, brown and femme voices aren't lost among the drone of scholarly research.

Founded in 2007, The Movement Theatre Company creates an artistic social movement by developing and producing new works by artists of color. Our work engages a multicultural audience in a rich theatrical dialogue, enlightens communities to the important issues affecting our world, and empowers artists to celebrate the many sides of their unique voice. Past production successes include their breakout NY Times lauded production of Bintou, the workshop production of Look Upon Our Lowliness by Harrison David Rivers, and the tour production of Hope Speaks. Past programming successes included numerous Harlem Nights events, which have featured work by playwrights Dominique Morriseau (Pipeline, Detroit '67), Christina Anderson (Good Goods), and Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead, Wild With Happy), as well as actors Danielle Brooks (Orange is The New Black, The Color Purple), Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project), and Mykal Kilgore (Motown, The Wiz: Live!).

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit www.themovementtheatrecompany.org or contact Njeri Johnson-Smalls at njerijsmalls@gmail.com.

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