September 11, 2012

With most of our “newbies” back in attendance today, we jumped into some warm ups and silly games. Everyone was smiling and having a great time, loosening up together, with the exception of two participants who chose to sit out. They know that this is okay sometimes, as long as it doesn’t become a habit. We began to work together on the piece from Hamlet, reviewing what we went over during the last session when many of them were absent. One thing we discussed was whether or not one can ever truly transform into a character; what it means to tell the truth as oneself under imaginary circumstances – the circumstances of the character.

As we were working, a new participant arrived. We stopped what we were doing to orient her and answer her questions about the group. She is very enthusiastic, having done some acting before, and is eager for the new experience of working with Shakespeare.

We then returned to Hamlet. One of the participants who’s been in the group for awhile volunteered to read it to the group. She did a great job, and everyone complimented her for taking her time and not being melodramatic. One participant brought up, though, that at first she had seemed to just be reading. I asked them when they thought she had “fallen in” to the piece. They weren’t sure, but I had actually noted it when it happened – it happened on the word “nothing.” I asked them why they thought that. We decided that it was probably because, although she had an intellectual grasp on the meaning of the piece, it wasn’t until she got to a word that has the same meaning now as it did 400 years ago that she emotionally connected – and then the piece deepened greatly for her. She said she could definitely feel a difference at that point. I introduced the concept of a pre-beat – a moment before one begins a piece when one takes stock of “who am I, where am I, what am I doing, what do I want…”, etc. She did this, and her performance deepened again.

During this second reading, one of the participants who had been sitting out crept into the circle. She wanted to give feedback to this other participant – they’ve grown close in the past few months. Then she asked if she could read. She’d been feeling down anyway, and she poured her emotions into the piece, but she was very closed down in terms of her energy. I asked the group what they thought, and they said that, while it was clear that she understood and connected with the piece, they couldn’t connect to her. I asked her to try to reach out more and draw us in, get us to help her. The next time, she did.

We were then out of time, but everyone left feeling good. I’m hoping that more of our new participants will feel ready to read during the next session. They seemed really inspired by what the other two were able to do today. Our program was featured in the Detroit Metro Times this week! Check out the article here: http://metrotimes.com/arts/behind-bars-with-the-bard-1.1371708

September 7, 2012

We got off to a slow start today due to needing to resolve the logistical issues that were brought up at the last session, and due to a scheduling mix up that we realized happened when only one of our new participants arrived. That will be remedied for the next session. We did a nice, long warm up and played a couple of circle games and an improv game that the group has really taken to in the past. During the course of these games, the one new participant who was present loosened up quite a bit and became obviously more comfortable with the rest of the women present, who are already very comfortable with one another.

When we decided to move on to Shakespeare with the time remaining, the new participant volunteered that she had spent a lot of time analyzing the piece between sessions. She said that, though she’s not familiar with the play, she could identify with the despair, depression and frustration Hamlet expresses. She thought about how she would express those feelings if these were her words. We were all delighted by everything she said, and the group told her how wonderful it is that she’s already taking initiative like that and doing such great groundwork. I asked her if she’d like to read the piece, and she seemed hesitant, so I assured her that she could just sit in her chair and do it if getting up was too intimidating (we were sitting in a circle). She did that, and she gave a great reading. She took her time, gave weight to certain words that clearly resonated most with her, and was very truthful, albeit a little hesitant. The group applauded her and expressed how impressed they were by how her instincts guided her to such a great first “performance.” They also reassured her that her shyness and the bit of stumbling over the language she did would go away in time. It’s great, now that they are veterans and can speak from experience. We then talked about what Hamlet wants in the scene, as opposed to just what he’s feeling. She decided that he wants to get this person to help him. I encouraged her to “reach out” with her energy, to get that help. Her next reading was deeper, and she was clearly going after that objective for most of the piece. She said it felt more truthful to her that time, but it’s something she’ll need to work on.

We all were very happy with how this new participant did, and I was especially pleased with how supportive the core group was of her. It seems like they really like being in the role of mentor, and it will benefit the new participants greatly to be able to trust to their experience, even while these original members continue to learn and grow.

September 4, 2012

Since new people joined the group today, we began by introducing ourselves and talking about what we each bring to the group and what we hope to get out of the experience. Returning members described what the program has been like for them. We then went through the guidelines that the group came up with last week and explained how we came up with them. Everyone present agreed that the guidelines are reasonable, and they like them. We then did some warm ups and played a few games to get to know each other better and get comfortable around each other. The group did very well with everything, really diving in and committing to what they were doing even when they felt silly.

Then I distributed copies of “What a piece of work is a man…” since the group last session did so well with it, and it’s been a long time since those who have worked with it have done anything with it. The group did very well breaking it down and figuring out what everything meant and what Hamlet is talking about and feeling in the piece. I asked if anyone wanted to get up and perform it, and of course the participant who did Othello’s monologue in the last session volunteered. She is fearless now!

Unfortunately before we could get into an in-depth discussion about her performance and then get some other people up on stage, the group got side tracked into talking about some logistical questions about the times of the class and issues some of them may have with attending for the entire length of each session. This is an issue that we are going to deal with in the next few sessions, and it may be that the commitment is too much for some of them. It’s going to take a little while to get a solid group again, but that is par for the course. I hope that at least some of them stick with it. They all have great energy and positive attitudes, and they seem eager for the experience.

August 28, 2012

We decided to take some time today to reflect on the performance, the process, and decide what we’re going to do going forward with the program. The first thing that was brought up was when the participant playing Othello went up on her lines twice, and we had to close the curtain, refocus and restart the scene. She said that she had been so worried about remembering her lines for her scene that she neglected to go over the monologue just before the performance, and this experience taught her not to be over-confident, but to stay diligent. Some of the other participants who skipped lines in performance agreed that this was true for them as well. But then we talked about the audience reaction when Othello eventually DID make it all the way through the piece – and powerfully. I asked them if they thought it would have been more valuable for the audience to have seen something perfect, or to have seen a prisoner facing a challenge and overcoming it, right before their eyes. Everyone agreed that the latter was much more meaningful.

We talked about why the audience had bigger reactions to some pieces than others. We decided that this was probably due to the emotional commitment of whoever was on stage – the pieces that got the most applause, or the most attention during performance, were the ones in which the actress(es) completely dove in, didn’t break character and emotionally connected with what they were doing.

The effects of the performance have been outstanding for the participants. Some said that their friends had approached them and said things like, “I didn’t know you had it in you.” The emotions they were able to express on stage surprised people who know them. The participant playing Othello said that only one person mentioned the mistake she made, and that person shrugged it off, saying it was no big deal. The participants are also getting compliments from people they don’t know, which is a huge boost to their confidence. One participant said that her involvement in the group has inspired her teenage daughter to get involved in theatre at school, which she’s very happy about.

We then discussed guidelines for moving forward. We decided to aim for a performance in nine months, and we are going to see if we can do more than one performance so that more prisoners can see the show. Everything else we discussed had to do with each participant taking responsibility for her role in the group. We made guidelines for memorization and more strict criteria for absences. For example, while the prisoners are sometimes required to miss class for health care and things of that nature, the group decided that that does not preclude their responsibility to continue working on their material, even if they’re not there. The same standards of memorization and commitment will apply to everyone. If people have good reason to be absent but are clearly working hard, the group will accept that. But if that dedication is not there, the group decided that that should constitute removal from the program.

We decided that instead of having new people audition for the group, we will “interview” them to see what their level of commitment will be. We will be frank about how the group is a lot of fun, but does require serious work. We will emphasize that this needs to be a safe space in which people can express themselves and encourage each other to overcome challenges.

I am enthusiastic about what we will be able to accomplish moving forward, and I know the core group that is staying is as well.

August 24, 2012

This morning’s rehearsal was full of excitement! We ran the entire show in order with very few stops. We ended our run with enough time left over to rehearse some of the pieces once or twice more. This proved to be very valuable, since we needed to make some adjustments with the curtains, and having the extra rehearsal gave the women more confidence in their material. We departed on a positive note, to come back together that evening. We arrived back at the space and did some solid warm ups for focus, relaxation and a feeling of ensemble. A few of the women gave pep talks. Although nervous, everyone was focused and ready to go.

The performance went very well! The audience was receptive and encouraging to all of the performers. While not all of the pieces went exactly as planned – a couple even had to stop and start over – none of the participants let it ruin the experience for them or the audience. When tripping up on their lines, a few of them laughed, which made the audience laugh, and, interestingly, those of them who obviously were overcoming a challenge in getting through their pieces got some of the biggest applause. Those in the audience weren’t expecting perfection and didn’t care when they didn’t get it – they were thoroughly impressed by the effort of those on stage and applauded that effort even went things got a little messy.

The commitment of the women to their pieces and to the program shone through any mistakes they made. The growth they’ve experienced is a wonder to behold.

Following the performance, we had a talk back. People in the audience asked questions regarding memorization, what it took to get them to understand the content, what the program was like, and so on. The participants also had the opportunity to say anything they felt the audience should know about the program. I was very happy that every one of the participants volunteered to speak at some point, either answering a question or volunteering information.

Everyone left feeling good and eager to come to class on Tuesday to reflect on the process thus far and determine how we are going to move forward. I am so glad that they’ve had this success.  They worked very hard for it, and they deserved it.