How does our perception of history shape who we are in the here and now?

Medical. Historical. Spiritual. 

All three movements contribute to the shifting and changing of our cells. 

For millennia, movement has been used to both liberate and create suffering. This story is witnessed through the body of a young black girl who has decided to fight “the system” within her own cells, weaving together her identity as she travels through time and across generations. 

Through personal story-telling, Choreographer and Movement Director Tanya Birl-Torres creates a communal theatrical experience which results in connection, conversation and PLAY.

What happens when you decide to no longer be immune?

A Play in 3 Movements is an immersive and ritualized choreo-play which addresses the question --

How is autoimmunity an expression of non-consent to a diseased system?

‘A Play in Three Movements' revolves around the theme of autoimmune disorders in women and it's linked to the suppression of Truth. With a strong emphasis on Afro Hebrewism and the 12 lost tribes of Israel, this semi-autobiographical tale tracks four black women's journeys throughout history, breaking the chains of physical, mental and systemic slavery. A bold and relevant piece of communal theater which dares to envision a future where this 13th “lost tribe” is the first of the last of the slaves.

Future Leaning

The vision for this play in development is to partner with foundations, individual donors and institutions to workshop with as many houses of worship, hospitals, medical centers, schools and community spaces as possible in order to gain insight on the process through talkbacks, facilitated dialogue and community conversations.

2023/24 Collaborations:

• Hi-ARTS Critical Breaks Residency at ‘El Barrio PS 109’ Winter-Spring 2023

• MAP Fund Grantee 2023/24

• NoMAA Artist small-grant recipient

• Oregon Shakespere Festival: PlayShop and Residency w/ New Works Development - Summer 2023

Creative Team

Tanya Birl - Torres - Writer, Director, Performer

Tanya believes in telling stories that move us towards curiosity and connection. She has a passion and a vision to use her artistry to reach a diverse crowd and blur the lines between performer and audience, recognizing that we are all creative by nature of being born. Over the last five years Tanya has shifted from her career as an actress, dancer and singer on Broadway, and into Movement Direction, Choreography, and Embodied Systems Work. She has served as Movement Director and Choreographer for many prestigious institutions including: The Public Theater (Mobile Unit: Twelfth Night), The Guthtrie Theater (As You Like It), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Peter and the Starcatcher, How I Learned What I Learned) and The Signature Theater (The Red Letter Plays). Tanya is a trained 500 hr RYT Yoga Teacher with Illumina Yoga and has studied at The Presencing Institute at MIT, as a systems change facilitator. She is also certified in trauma informed yoga and leads workshops for public school educators and companies on Embodying Change and Reclaiming the Rights of the Body. She is focused on taking powerful ideas and visions and grounding them in the body. Tanya works at the intersection of the arts, justice and systemic change teaching practitioners how to hold difficult conversations coming up in our homes and work and sharing how we enter into them while staying present and in the body. She believes that in itself is an act of justice. Using movement, yoga, creative/spiritual connection and curiosity as a means to ground, source and embody the truth of who we are. Tanya is a 2023/24 Map Fund Grantee and NoMAA micro-grant recipient.

Wilson Torres - Musician, Performer

Wilson is a graduate of The Juilliard School M.A.P, The Juilliard School Pre College program and F.H LaGuardia High School of Music and Art (Fame). He received his B.M, M.M in Orchestral Performance from The Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Duncan Patton and Christopher S. Lamb. Broadway Credits include Tony and Grammy Award winning musical “In the Heights”, “Les Misérables” (25th anniversary revival), “Lysistrata Jones”, “The Wiz” (Encores),“On Your Toes” (Encores), “Cabin in the Sky” (Encores), “Invisible Thread” (2nd Stages) and Smokey Joe’s Cafe. Tours: “Lion King” (1st National), “Lion King” (Cheetah) and “Wicked” (1st National). Orchestral credits include San Francisco Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Staten Island Symphony and Albany Symphony. Film/TV: Smash, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Oceans 8, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Fosse/Verdon, West Side Story and In The Heights. Wilson is the percussionist for Camile A. Brown and Dancers and is a proud endorser of Latin Percussion and Sabian Cymbals.

Zach Redler - Composer

Zach Redler is an award winning music theater composer whose work has been performed in concert halls, opera houses and theaters around the world. Some of his favorite pieces are: The Memory Show, Loving Leo, Windows, A Song for Susan Smith, Movin’ Up In The World, The Falling and The Rising, and of course, A Play In Three Movements. He is adjunct faculty at NYU, teaches yoga and meditation, and enjoys running ultramarathons. When not doing those things, he loves cooking for and hanging with his wife Brittney and two children, Henry and Ellis.

Jordana Kritzer - Medical Content Specialist

Dr. Jordana Kritzer is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where she received her BA in Anthropology and Theater. She attended medical school in Brooklyn and completed her residency training in the Bronx. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. She is board certified in Emergency Medicine and works as an attending physician teaching residents and medical students. She was named Emergency Medicine Physician of the Year in 2015 by the residents, faculty and staff at Jacobi Medical Center/Montefiore Medical Center. A theater maker at heart, she believes deeply in the power of storytelling.

Where do you see yourself in this narritive?