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Monday, March 19, 2018
Taking the Bard behind bars, as Old Globe hosts national Shakespeare in Prisons Conference
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Taking the Bard behind bars has proved a powerful experience for the people behind the national Shakespeare in Prisons Conference, whose third edition lands at the Old Globe Theatre next week in its first-ever West Coast visit.
2 comments:
Rebecca Meckler
said...
These programs sound wonderful. It is often too easy to not care about people in prison, but it is important to remember that they are people to. This article left me wondering if there was any hard data about how effective these programs are in regards to prisoner rehabilitation. Without numerical “proof” I wonder if there would be resistance to setting up more programs that bring theater and other arts in prisons. In addition, I wish the article had quotes or anecdotes from the prisoners in the program. As interesting as it is to hear the opinions of those working with the prisoners, I would be more interested in how the prisoners feel that they connect with Shakespeare's work. Hopefully communities on the west coast will see these programs and introduce similar ones. This conference sound like a wonderful way to share how the programs are progressing so that other can introduce similar ones for their community.
Ever since I saw an episode of Orange is the New Black where one of the inmates, Suzanne, was playing the character of Desdemona, I found that Shakespeare might be one of the most powerful experiences for someone, as the text is heightened and as the article pointed out, acting requires an incredible amount of vulnerability that usually causes a form of self realization or some sort of contemplation. I think that the Old Globe is really making strides on the forefront of criminal justice and incorporating the arts within prisons. One of the most parts of prison is having a semblance of a safe space or an outlet to get your mind off of the horrors one experiences every day within the criminal justice systems, and this does exactly that. Prisons are meant to rehabilitate and prepare criminals to jump back into the world upon release, and an idea like this gives another option to prisoners that isn't sub-par like wood working, by learning and exposing themselves to the craft of acting they are given the opportunity jump back into a career that is more redeeming.
2 comments:
These programs sound wonderful. It is often too easy to not care about people in prison, but it is important to remember that they are people to. This article left me wondering if there was any hard data about how effective these programs are in regards to prisoner rehabilitation. Without numerical “proof” I wonder if there would be resistance to setting up more programs that bring theater and other arts in prisons. In addition, I wish the article had quotes or anecdotes from the prisoners in the program. As interesting as it is to hear the opinions of those working with the prisoners, I would be more interested in how the prisoners feel that they connect with Shakespeare's work. Hopefully communities on the west coast will see these programs and introduce similar ones. This conference sound like a wonderful way to share how the programs are progressing so that other can introduce similar ones for their community.
Ever since I saw an episode of Orange is the New Black where one of the inmates, Suzanne, was playing the character of Desdemona, I found that Shakespeare might be one of the most powerful experiences for someone, as the text is heightened and as the article pointed out, acting requires an incredible amount of vulnerability that usually causes a form of self realization or some sort of contemplation. I think that the Old Globe is really making strides on the forefront of criminal justice and incorporating the arts within prisons. One of the most parts of prison is having a semblance of a safe space or an outlet to get your mind off of the horrors one experiences every day within the criminal justice systems, and this does exactly that. Prisons are meant to rehabilitate and prepare criminals to jump back into the world upon release, and an idea like this gives another option to prisoners that isn't sub-par like wood working, by learning and exposing themselves to the craft of acting they are given the opportunity jump back into a career that is more redeeming.
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