March 7, 2026 7:30 pm
Joanie’s World” is a soft-rock musical with music and lyrics by RAWRA with FEELING and book by Iara Rogers Benchoam. Set in the early 2000s, “Joanie’s World” follows Frida, a 27-year-old late bloomer who hides their eating disorder relapse in porcelain sanctuaries (aka bathrooms).
The story unfolds with Frida’s transformative descent into JOANIE’S WORLD, the expansive inner world of Frida’s inner drag monster, Joanie. Joanie thrives off of Frida’s crippling shame and fear, leaving Frida with a choice to stay stuck in their cycle of suck or choose a new road of recovery. A story about personal evolution and enmeshment of our parts, “Joanie’s World” aims to normalize the process of healing.
The music of “Joanie’s World” is steeped in the eclectic and timeless genre-bending style of PRINCE and ROSALÍA. The choreography of “Joanie’s World” holds a mirror up to the audience, reflecting on their own dialogue with their inner shadows.
Runtime: 1 hour
Ages: Ages 13 and Older
Content Advisory: Regularly occurring swearing, strobing lights, and references to self-harm. Mild references to sexual assault, grief, eating disorders, and depictions of smoking and drug use.
RAWRA’s work explores the intersection of the raw and the weird. Born to a revolutionary father and a refugee mother, their practice is rooted in justice, empathy, and transformation. Through music, film, theater, and education, RAWRA cultivates art that supports healing, agency, and joyful defiance.
Their collaborative approach spans disciplines—from assistant directing and working in the art department for anti-fascist productions at GALA Hispanic Theatre, to co-directing and performing in an original devised theater piece about menstrual cramps at Arena Stage, to leading a blockchain songwriting camp featured in Billboard with 77+ global artists. As founder of former production company, Etc. Pictures, RAWRA ran youth-centered film workshops for 50+ participants ages 6–27, merging consent education, gender identity exploration, and hands-on media creation.
Their artistic range includes music production, vocal performance, screenwriting, and visual storytelling. They often incorporate themes of shadow-work, transformation, humor, and alchemy, drawing from their queer, Latinx identity and lived experience. RAWRA has produced immersive installations, festivals, and collaborative performances with over 25 contributors at a time, creating space for intimate and collective catharsis.
In 2024/25, RAWRA wrote, produced, and performed in “”Eat Me, Joanie””—a staged reading and live music showcase at Atlas Performing Arts Center through the Atlas Arts Lab. The experimental soft-rock theater piece explored eating disorder recovery, queer community, and inner chaos transformed through art. It marked a major step in RAWRA’s journey to merge narrative elements and music with an unstoppable creative team.