(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- coLAB Arts presents La Picadura del Escorpión by Tanaquil Márquez from March 14-16, 2025. Directed by Marisol Rosa Shapiro, this work explores the themes of personal struggle, collective healing, and how community is the backbone for our journeys.

Through a lens of light and shadow, the play examines the duality of life’s dark and bright moments, highlighting the support systems that help us overcome adversity. With a script based on oral histories recorded from New Brunswick’s Esperanza neighborhood, La Picadura del Escorpion brings its characters and audiences together at the kitchen table for a story of collective care, creation, and aspiration. 

The cast includes Arantxa Chavez, Alfonso Valdespinon, Jalina Wayser, and Erika Nunez.

Performances take place Friday, March 14 at 7:00pm; Saturday, March 15 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm; and Sunday, March 16 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm. Reserve tickets online. coLAB Arts is located at 9 Bayard Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Director Marisol Rosa-Shapiro is a theater artist, educator, and facilitator based in NYC and Philadelphia, brings playfulness, empathy, and community-building into her work. A Princeton graduate, she studied at Helikos in Italy, where she trained in the Jacques Lecoq method. Marisol's work spans acting, directing, clowning, and community engagement, including projects with Theatre Horizon and Shakespeare in Clark Park. She is a board member of Clowns Without Borders USA and co-created The Most Important Place in the World, an acclaimed anti-colonial work on Puerto Rican diaspora. Her theater company, Soledad Ensemble, is developing The Seven Ravens Project, blending Grimm Brothers’ tales with modern migrant stories.

Playwright Tanaquil Márquez is a bold and innovative Latina artist, passionate about celebrating the Latinx voice through bilingual work. She has created original works and self-produced plays in both Spanish and English, building a bridge between her shared culture and communities. Tanaquil is the Director of Education at 1812 Productions and a member of 1812’s Artistic Core. She received the 2022 Pew Project Grant for Nichos and was a finalist for the 2023 F. Otto Haas Emerging Artist Award. As a director, producer, and writer, Tanaquil has created numerous original bilingual works, including Azul and I Only Came to Use the Phone, under her theater company project, La Fábrica. 2025 projects include The Thanksgiving Play at Villanova University and two original plays premiering in 2025: Twelfth Night with Liz Filios (Delaware Shakespeare) and La Otra with Eliana Fabiyi (1812 Productions).

coLAB Arts engages artists, social advocates, and communities to create transformative new work. coLAB Arts facilitates creative conversation through innovative programs and artist infrastructure, connects artists with community partners and mentors, and executes productions that challenge perceptions and inspire action.