The 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference (SiPC4)
November 2020-April 2021
Why Shakespeare Now?
Building on three previous conferences (2013, 2016, and 2018), SiPC4 gathered theatre arts practitioners, researchers, and scholars who were engaged with or interested in programs for incarcerated (and post-incarcerated) populations. From November 2020 through April 2021, SiPC4 stimulated discussion through speakers, performances, and workshop sessions offering case studies and best practices within the prisons arts movement.
Opening Ceremony/The Future is Now: A Social Justice Roadmap
Barry Edelstein (The Old Globe Theatre's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director) and Freedome Bradley-Ballentine (Director of Arts Engagement and Associate Artistic Director) have "embarked on a series of reforms to intensify and accelerate necessary change at all levels" of their institution. In codifying anti-racist practices and principals into their organizational processes, they've begun to answer the call for "long overdue change" made by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) theatremakers. The conversation and audience Q&A was moderated by Karen Ann Daniels (The Public Theater's Director of Mobile Unit and Co-Producer of the Shakespeare in Prisons Conference).
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I Am Worthy of Yes: Art as a Healing Mechanism in Community
Beginning with a guided meditation to ground community during an unprecedented time, Mama Nia Wilson of SpiritHouse Inc. offers conference participants a moment to center themselves. The session continues with a discussion between Praycious Wilson-Gay and Mama Nia around the work of SpiritHouse Inc. and their choreopoem community intervention and ritual performance Collective Sun: Reshape the Mo(u)rning. They also discuss community care and what it looks like to use art as a healing mechanism in community. The session finishes with a video about SpiritHouse Inc. and the impact of their work in the Durham, NC community.
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Ashley Lucas: Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration
Session 1: An Interview About Prison Theatre Culture
Scholar Karen Hamer interviews Ashley Lucas about her new book Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration (Methuen Drama, 2020). By discussing a range of performance practices tied to incarceration, this book examines the ways in which arts practitioners and imprisoned people use theatre as a means to build communities, attain professional skills, create social change, and maintain hope.
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Ashley Lucas: Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration
Session 2: Experiences from Around the World
When conducting research for her book, Ashley Lucas traveled throughout ten different countries to observe as many theatre companies inside of prisons as she could. The formerly incarcerated actors on this panel represent three prison theatre programs in the United States and one in Australia. They discuss what being a part of a prison theatre company has meant to them during and after their time in prison.
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Ashley Lucas: Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration
Session 3: Directors Reflect on Their Challenges
Ashley Lucas draws upon her research to speak with the key minds behind prison theatre programs across the world. The directors on this panel represent prison theatre companies in Canada, the United States, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil. They discuss the challenges of making theatre in prisons before and during the global pandemic.
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December 2020 Events
The Actors' Gang and Avenal State Prison: A Collaborative Approach to Arts in Corrections
Three leaders and pioneers of the Actors' Gang Prison Project Alumni Network - Richard Loya, John Dich, and Major Bunton - will be sharing a conversation with the visionary warden of Avenal State Prison, Rosemary Ndoh, and her nontraditional team. Richard, John, and Major will discuss their first-hand experience of establishing a class at Avenal State Prison and what it has meant to return as teaching artists.
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Live Q&A: Cry Havoc with Stephan Wolfert/DE-CRUIT
Army veteran Stephan Wolfert left a career in the military for one onstage, and went on to create "Cry Havoc," an extraordinary solo piece that explores the difficulties that our veterans and their families face. Here, Stephan takes questions from the SiPC4 audience on both his work as an actor and his program DE-CRUIT, designed to reintegrate military Veterans using Shakespeare and science.
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Antiracism in Practice: Broken Windows Policing
Members of SiPC4 explore differential policing in communities of color, including the implications of the "broken windows" policy theory, the enduring legacy of the 1994 crime bill (most notable as the origin of the term "superpredators"), and what it might mean when we say "defund the police."
January 2021 Events
The Body Keeps the Score - Brain, Mind and Body in Healing Trauma
Join us for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a psychiatrist, researcher, and one of the world’s foremost authorities on post-traumatic stress and its treatment and healing, featuring Curt L. Tofteland (founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars and co-founder of the Shakespeare in Prison Network) and Stephan Wolfert (founder of DE-CRUIT).
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Live Q&A: The Body Keeps the Score - Brain, Mind and Body in Healing Trauma
This in-depth Q&A with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk features Curt L. Tofteland, Stephan Wolfert, and members of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference.
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On Antiracism: Dr. Sylvan Baker
In a wide-ranging monologue on the interconnectedness of racial oppression and institutions, Dr. Sylvan Baker explores how global phenomenon, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter uprising triggered by the murders of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, don’t just reveal structural racism, but act as a clarion call for Antiracist practices in all socially engaged arts contexts.
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If I Ran the Shakespeare Prison Project: Alumni of the Shakespeare Prison Project
Formerly-incarcerated actors share their thoughts about "best practices" and new possibilities for prison Shakespeare programs. Drawing from their own experiences, insights, and ideas about "what would make life more wonderful," participants explain how they would design and facilitate a program.
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Live Q&A: Marlon Burnley's "Black in the Box," With Marlon Burnley and Angela Hall
Marlon Burnley, creator of the solo movement piece "Black in the Box," discusses how his award-winning show explores the Black experience in America. Featuring Angela Hall of the University of Georgia and members of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference.
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My Relationship with Shakespeare: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
A panel of BIPOC artists who believe in the power of words to heal, as well as to wound, come together to interrogate Shakespeare and to share their personal experiences working on his works. Featuring Madeleine Sayet (Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program), Malik Work (The Public Theater), Niki Martinez (The Old Globe), and Devon Glover. Moderated by Curt L. Tofteland (Shakespeare Behind Bars).
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February 2021 Events
RICHARD III - IN PRISON: A Critical Edition
Four alumni of the Detroit Public Theatre's Shakespeare in Prison project discuss what working on the book "RICHARD III - IN PRISON: A Critical Edition" means to them, and the importance of the project as a means of breaking down stereotypes, asserting that the voices of returned citizens matter, and creating access, passion, and ownership of Shakespeare for people who have historically been alienated from it.
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Shakespeare's "The Tempest" at Korydallos Prison in Athens, Greece
Director, playwright, and actor Stratis Panourios describes how a performance of "The Tempest" came to life at Korydallos Prison in Athens, Greece. Organized by the National Theatre of Greece in collaboration with Korydallos Prison and the Anti-Crime Policy of Greece, the performance featured 20 participants who attended a series of theoretical and practical sessions on the fundamental principles of acting – a study on the actor’s process – and on the exploration and analysis of Shakespearean plays.
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Approaches to Drama Therapy
In this session, Drama Therapists and Shakespeare for Social Justice teaching artists for Marin Shakespeare Company share insight on how drama therapy techniques influence the work we do inside the walls. The objective is to introduce some basic Drama Therapy skills that build qualities of connection, emotional awareness, and empathy, as well as the theory behind it. Warm-ups and exercises that can be applicable to any class experience are demonstrated. In our live session, we will conduct a more hands-on experience, and invite participants to play with some Shakespeare text.
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March 2021 Events
Juvenile Justice Panel
Shakespeare in Prisons Network co-founder Curt Tofteland leads a wide-ranging discussion on the challenges, and successes, of prison theatre programs, featuring insights from prison theatre practitioners/directors participating in the Shakespeare in American Communities Juvenile Justice program.
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Performances in India's Judicial System, Part 1: Alokananda Roy & Hulugappa Kattimani
Sheila T. Cavanagh, Professor of English at Emory University and Director of the World Shakespeare Project, leads a fascinating discussion about programs for incarcerated populations in India. Participants include "Mama" Alokananda Roy, a renowned classical dancer, actor, and educator, and Hulugappa Kattimani, an actor and director at Rangayana Theatre Institute.
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Performances in India's Judicial System, Part 2: Hulugappa Kattimani
Sheila T. Cavanagh, Professor of English at Emory University and Director of the World Shakespeare Project, delves deeper into programs for incarcerated populations in India with Hulugappa Kattimani, an actor and director at Rangayana Theatre Institute, translated by Narayan Desai.
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Shakespeare as a Scaffold for Social Justice
This active workshop, led by Sojourn Theatre master teachers Willa Taylor and Michael Rohd, uses Shakespeare’s plays to contextualize the current moment through devising activities, facilitation structures, and an inquiry-based approach.
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What About Reform In Shakespeare In Prison Programs?
Karen Ann Daniels leads a presentation and discussion with members of SiPC4 that explores the possibilities of prison programs to target the oppressive systems and flawed ideologies of punishment that cripple the incarcerated and their communities.
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Environmental Racism and the Fight for Environmental Justice
Dr. David N. Pellow of the University of California - Santa Barbara considers the origins and evolution of movements for environmental justice as a grassroots demand for a bold vision of democracy that emphasizes the links among human health, social justice, and ecological sustainability.
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April 2021 Events
"The Peculiar Patriot": Live Q&A
Actress, playwright, poet, author and youth advocate Liza Jessie Patterson discusses her play "The Peculiar Patriot" with members of SiPC4. The play, gleaned from Peterson’s nearly two decades of experience working at Rikers Island in various capacities, including as a teaching artist, was developed beginning in 2003 with performances in more than 35 penitentiaries across the United States.
Prosecuting Race: Antiracism in Practice, Episode #8
This episode of the monthly "Antiracism in Practice" series features members of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in a discussion about systemic racial prejudice within the realm of criminal/civil prosecution. This session is part of a larger discussion arc focused on structural racism within the American criminal justice system.
The Politics of Prison: Antiracism in Practice, Episode #9
This episode of the monthly "Antiracism in Practice" series features members of the 4th International Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in a discussion about the politics of prison, featuring reflections and insights from returned citizens Michelle Jones and Robert Pollock. This session is part of a larger discussion arc focused on structural racism within the American criminal justice system.
Phil Scraton - Resisting Incarceration: Prisons, Activism, and Abolition / Closing Remarks
Phil Scraton, Professor Emeritus at the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, addresses the harms of imprisonment for those locked away, their families, and their communities, critiques the reformist ‘rehabilitation’ agenda, and explores the potential for prison abolition. Moderated by Curt L. Tofteland and Tom Magill. Following the discussion, SiPC4 comes to a close!
