The Tank to Present TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION: WOMYN WORKING IT OUT!

 

The Tank will present Tonya Pinkins' Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working It Out! (produced by Katie Walenta) featuring new 10-minute plays by Jaisey Bates, Glory Kadigan, Jasmine McLeish, Tonya Pinkins, Kristine M Reyes, Carmen Rivera, Nikkole Salter, Nandita Shenoy, and Lucy Thurber, directed by Tonya Pinkins. The production will run October 3-6 at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues) with performances on Thursday, October 3 at 8pm, Friday, October 4 at 8pm, Saturday, October 5 at 3pm, Saturday, October 5 at 8pm, and Sunday, October 6 at 3pm, Tickets ($15) may be purchased in advance at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working It Out is a collective piece of theatre that includes multiple 10-minute plays and songs by and about womyn. Each play contains different ways womyn oppress each other and how we find ways to heal.

To History/ Whom it May Concern by Jaisey Bates

Collective indigenous voices write a letter to history and push against harmful indigenous stereotypes.

Tierra De Las Flores by Glory Kadigan

Set in the 1800's, 50 years after slaves in Florida were given freedom, two women of very different backgrounds coincide. Aguenda has an abusive husband and Tamaha is a complete stranger. When Tamaha offers Aguenda comfort and controversial advice, she is met with discrimination.

Other by Jasmine McLeish

Rebecca, a brilliant African American student at Stanford, is called by Ms. Dean Robinson to her office. There's been a mix up with her application under race. Ms. Dean claims people who identify as "African American" have higher pigmentation and thus the "African American" scholarship is no longer eligible for her.

Till Hell Freezes Over by Tonya Pinkins

Stuck between Heaven and Hell, Mamie Till tortures Carol Bryan, the Caucasian woman who accused her son, Emmet Till of whistling at her which led to a wrongful murder. Mamie's still rain over her song, but after an exchange of tortures and apologies, Mamie Till chooses forgiveness.

Law 136 by Carmen Rivera

Iris, a young Lawyer defends hundreds of women, including her Aunt Isabel who was part of the so-called "Birth Control Operation" or "Tubal ligation." Margaret, an American nurse, who practiced sterilization for other-than-strictly-medical reasons, while offering no other methods of birth control and without letting these women know the irreversible effects, is ready to testify.

The Proposal by Nandita Shenoy

Eva, an older student from Duncan who has recently been named "Most Powerful Woman in Tech" by Forbes, is visiting Ms. Robert, her older chemistry teacher to threaten to publish a report in which she describes how Ms. Roberts knew about the affair between Eva and her teacher, Mr. Wellington, who was twice her age.

Bank by Lucy Thurber

Sarah teaches Denise, a bank employee, a valuable lesson of what it's like to do everyday things when you're part of the LGBTQ community, such as going to the bank, how it becomes an uphill battle filled with anxiety and pressure to lie for the sake of someone else's "comfortability" in a predominantly heterosexual society.

Tonya Pinkins (Director) is a Tony and Drama Critics Circle award winning actress. She has worked in the industry for 40 years as an actress, director, writer, and producer in both Hollywood and Broadway. Being a black woman in a white man's world, Tonya experienced the prejudice that comes from both industries. Instead of standing by, she decided to take action. She was an early #TimesUp member and helped establish the #MeToo movement as well as hold empowering concerts with young talented women of color. Tonya continues to give opportunities to not only performers, but writers, directors, producers, and choreographers through Truth and Reconciliation.

The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter and producer. Our mission is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form, and to do so in an environment that is inclusive and accessible. We serve over 2,000 artists every year in over 800 performances, and work across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. The heart of our services is providing free performance space in our two-stage theater complex Manhattan, and we also offer a suite of other services such as free rehearsal space, promotional support, artist fees, and much more. We support work at all phases of development, from readings and residencies to fully-produced world premieres. We keep ticket prices affordable and view our work as democratic, opening up both the creation and attendance of the arts to all.

Recent Tank-produced work includes Drama Desk-nominated productions Ada/Ava (2016), youarenowhere (2016), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), and The Hunger Artist (2018), as well as New York Times Critics' Picks The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016) and Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018). www.thetanknyc.org

Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working it Out! is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by LMCC.