Newark Show Will Be A ‘Shattering’ Homecoming For Juhanna Rogers

NEWARK, NJ — When Juhanna Rogers returns to Newark Symphony Hall this week, she’ll be coming back to the place she was first introduced to theater. But this time, the Brick City native will be on stage – not in the audience.

Rogers will be among those taking part in this year’s Newark Arts Festival. She’ll be performing her solo poetic piece, “Shattering,” at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Newark Symphony Hall, 1020 Broad Street. Learn more about this local event or purchase tickets here.

Many people might recognize Rogers as one of the “Great 8,” a group of African-American women who earned doctoral degrees in education from Indiana University at the same time. Although they didn’t enter the program together, they formed a tight-knit circle along the way, supporting each other as they completed their degrees.

Rogers – who is now the host of television show, “Behind the Woman” – has combined her love for education with a talent for art and performance. Many of her artistic endeavors have focused on celebrating Black culture and history, earning her the Central Pennsylvania NAACP Woman of the Year at the age of 20.

But the show she caught at the Newark Symphony Hall all those years ago as a youth still sticks in her mind, Rogers said.

“I saw the Frederick Douglas Opera at Newark Symphony Hall through the boys and girls club when I was a little girl,” Rogers said. “I recall the tours that would come through as a kid, like Tyler Perry’s ‘Love of Black Man’ tours that would play over weekends, and church groups would attend, in mass, after service on Sundays. It was a magical place for me to see Black actors on stage so close to Broadway.”

“It was this beacon that motivated me to pursue performance, no matter what, and be confident that I could make a career out of it. I am excited to bring this show home,” Rogers said.

Here’s what to expect on Oct. 8, according to a news release:

“‘Shattering’ is a solo poetic performance piece that reflects on the journey of a young girl, known affectionately as Nicole, as she grows up to be Juhanna. Young Nicole struggles with blazing her own trail and meeting everyone’s approval of who they believe she should be. Juhanna feels the weight of becoming her own woman and transitioning into the successful Dr. Juhanna Rogers. Despite her self-discovery, this dynamic business leader and one-woman powerhouse finds herself, once again, seeking approval. As she longs to love, celebrate, and recognize Dr. Juhanna Rogers her world begins to shatter, reflecting the intricacies of becoming her true self.”

“This play is about facing my story and being courageous and sharing it to hopefully comfort and inspire others to do the same,” Rogers said. “There is something magical and heavy about being a Black woman in the world. Shattering explores it all. I am most vulnerable in this work, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”

“Shattering” is directed by Esther Banegas Gatica, a playwright and dramaturg from Honduras. Gatica, who has written/directed several of her own one-act plays, earned her master of fine arts in playwriting/screenwriting at the University of California, Riverside, where she collaborated with the Latinx Play Project and the Gluck Foundation. with the Latinx Play Project and the Gluck Foundation. She is also a BFA graduate of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK and of Teatro Prometeo’s Conservatory at Miami Dade College.

“I am a Latina first-generation immigrant that knows the value of hard work and sacrifice to achieve success, specifically as a woman,” Gatica said. “Directing a show like ‘Shattering’ allows me to find the intersectionality between Dr. Juhanna Rogers' experience and mine, and most likely that of anyone who has ever been told to reconsider their ambitions.”

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