Tamora Israel: Poetry from My Brain Parts

This March, audiences are invited into a powerful and deeply human theatrical experience when Poetry From My Brain Parts premieres at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, March 19–21, 2026, with performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM.

Created and performed by interdisciplinary artist and poet Tamora Israel, Poetry From My Brain Parts is part living memoir, part spoken-word concert, part movement piece, and part communal ritual. Rather than telling a linear life story, the production pulls audiences inside a living mind, following Tamora at different stages of her life as she navigates self-worth, trauma, racism, mental health, love, grief, and healing.

This is not poetry as ornament.
Poetry is the lifeline.

Onstage, poetry appears as a living presence that‘s guiding, challenging, comforting, and confronting. When everyday language proves inadequate, poetry gives shape to emotions people are often taught to hide: anger without violence, grief without apology, truth without softening. The characters represent internal forces rather than traditional roles.

Young Tamora is searching to be seen; Evolved Tamora is shaped by reflection and growth. A Narrator guides the journey, and Poetry itself appears as a companion, a mirror, and a map.

The cast includes Tamora Israel (Narrator),Ray Bishop (Young Tamora), Tanoa Vaugn (Evolved Tamora), and Keniqua Smith (Poetry), who embody the poet’s inner world through movement, voice, and emotional range. Together, they transform personal memory into collective recognition. The production is directed by Tamora Israel and Dean Israel, with stage management by Kimberly Monteiro.

Featuring 15 original poems from Israel’s forthcoming collection Poetry From My Brain Parts, Volume 1, the production traces an autobiographical journey that is at once deeply personal and profoundly communal. Humor lives alongside vulnerability. Pain exists beside joy. Healing is not neat or linear; it is messy, loud, tender, and ongoing.

At the heart of the piece is a bold question:

How do you know if your inner work is actually working?

This is an Ascending Phoenix Production.