Session Four: Week 3

Tuesday

Today after our warm up, the group decided it was time to play some improv games. We began with “Freeze,” in which people improvise scenes in pairs, and those of us in the audience tag them out when we have an idea for a new scene. This was a riot, as this is a very creative group and most of them are not afraid to act silly, which is a key component of this game (at least the way we play it!). More than that, though they instinctively said “yes, and…” nearly all the time, without having been told that that is a major rule of improvisation. It bodes very well for their ability to work well as a flexible ensemble as we work through our play. We also played a game for quick thinking that proved just as much fun.

Following this, we dove into Shrew. We began with the first part of the first scene, in which we are introduced to Lucentio and Tranio. After a read through and a text analysis (all we had time for), the group has come up with this much so far:

• Lucentio has been playing in the little leagues, and now he’s in the big leagues. He’s excited to study in Padua. He thinks highly of himself, but can’t back it up (we’ll be exploring that for sure). He’s a virgin.
   
• Tranio is not only his servant but his dear friend. Opinions are divided on whether he is smarter or “dumber” than Lucentio, and I’m guessing that further exploration of the play will lead to a united ensemble decision there.

We also came up with several interpretations of what Tranio means when he says:

Only, good master, while we do admire

This virtue and this moral discipline,

Let's be no stoics nor no stocks, I pray;

Balk logic with acquaintance that you have

And practice rhetoric in your common talk;

Music and poesy use to quicken you;

The mathematics and the metaphysics,

Fall to them as you find your stomach serves you;

No profit grows where is no pleasure ta'en:

In brief, sir, study what you most affect.

One woman thinks this means, “You learn to survive, like you eat to survive.” Another thinks it means, “Go with your gut.” And another hears, “Learn as much as you can stomach.” I don’t believe that any of these interpretations are “wrong.” Any of them could work for whomever ends up playing this character.

Thursday

During warm ups today, one of the women requested some tongue twisters. She was in Session 1, and she pointed out that everyone will have an easier time with the language if we warm up our mouths at the beginning of each meeting. She’s absolutely right – I’ve been waiting for someone to bring this up – so we’re adding this to our routine each day. We played a couple of warm up games to build focus and ensemble as well.

We then decided to do some improv. We began with “ABC,” in which two people improvise a scene in which each line begins with the next letter of the alphabet. This is normally a pretty challenging game, not just in a prison setting, but for most groups, but this ensemble took to it beautifully. They refused to give up, grinding their way through even the more difficult scenes from A to Z. We identified the things we need to work on: focus (keeping the scene going while keeping the alphabet in our heads), taking care of each other by finishing sentences, and making sure relationships and conflicts are clear – that last bit enables us to have an easier time coming up with our lines.

The last pair to play had the most “success,” leading a couple of the women to say that those two were “the best” or “naturals.” Not necessarily, said Sarah. “We make each other better,” she said, by learning from each other’s mistakes. We welcome mistakes in our group – we welcome “failure” because that’s how we learn to be successful as a group.

One of the women who has been in the group before then requested a game called “Dr. Know It All,” in which a “three-headed genius” answers questions one word at a time. It’s quite a challenging game, and, though some of the groups had a good time with it, those who are newer to the group had a hard time – we may have jumped the gun a bit. Although we facilitators do not desire to lead the group, just to act as guides and resources, it’s possible that we need to lead the improve in a more structured manner in the future to help avoid similar frustrations. Of course, this is a decision that will be made with ensemble input.

With our last bit of time, we read the next part of the first scene of our play. Though we didn’t have time for a detailed analysis, the women were able to quickly and ably sum up the gist of the scene just from that one reading. This play will likely prove to be less of a slog for them than the past two we’ve worked (The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet) because, by and large, the language is much more straightforward. It will be a nice change of pace for us!

Session Four: Week 2

Tuesday  

 Written by Jamie

“None of us has ever killed a king.”

I looked around the auditorium, into the eyes of many women. No, none of us has ever killed a king. Chances are no one in the entire prison has ever killed a king. Hell, I don’t think one prison in Michigan holds a king killer. I don’t think many “civilians” in the Midwest can lay claim to that burden, either- let alone any of the professional actors that I know. I’ve never killed a king.

“But we have all done something in our lives, at some point, that has caused us extreme guilt, anxiety, panic. We all know what that is like, how that affects us. And knowing that, remembering that- helps us identify with what Macbeth may be going through.”

Frannie has such a wonderful way with the women in the group. The mutual respect and appreciation are palpable during our sessions. During her years of working with these women she’s developed the “appropriate camaraderie.” The communication is fluid and the goals are the same. It’s a well-oiled machine to behold, and these women take this group very, very seriously. They are fiercely protective of it.

I entered in as a facilitator late last session. I started working in the machine when it was well-established and in mid-to-late stride, two months before opening Romeo and Juliet. Now I continue in the group, but this time, from the beginning of the process. With veterans and newcomers. We interview each other, improvise together, dissect texts and produce scene work before entering in on the official rehearsal process: The Taming of the Shrew.

Macbeth is a fine choice for scene work - for anybody.  We talk about how wonderful Shakespeare is in many capacities: there is a reason it has stood the test of time. It’s all there. Everything. In some ways, Macbeth is still the perfect suspense. From the characters to the way the words are placed on the page.

There is SO much to chew on.  Reading it with these women, dissecting the text, watching them arrive at conclusions and realize that they indeed DO know what these characters are saying and what is happening in the play: this fills me with such excitement and reminds me of when I first fell in love with Shakespeare. Like Frannie has told me many times, watching these women anatomize the scenes (specifically, Act 2, Scene 2: “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold”), discuss possible meanings, subtexts: sometimes they arrive at a conclusion that I’ve never even thought of. Conclusions that are absolutely possible, and more interesting than I had ever seen done. For example, when Macbeth enters after he has “done the deed”:

Macbeth:

                  Hark!

                  Who lies I’ the second chamber?

Lady Macbeth:

                                                                                                 Donalbain.

Macbeth:

                  This is a sorry sight.

Lady Macbeth:

                  A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.

Macbeth:

                  There’s one did laugh in’s sleep, and one cried, “Murder!”

                  That they did wake each other. I stood and heard them.

                  But they did say their prayers, and addressed them

                  Again to sleep.

Lady Macbeth:

                  There are two lodged together.

So here we see Macbeth - panicked and babbling - and Lady Macbeth, dismissive and condescending. Macbeth wants to know who lies in the second chamber. That is his first coherent inquiry. Why does he ask this? Is Lady wondering the same thing? One woman said that she is. She’s never seen her husband behave this way. The women came up with an interesting subtext for, “There are two lodged together.” What does that even mean? It could be a complete non-response, but our Lady isn’t speaking much yet in this scene, which could mean that every word counts. “There are two lodged together.” Maybe that’s news to her. Maybe when Macbeth asked who was there, she was wondering if he was a possible witness. When she realizes from Macbeth’s babbling that there are, in fact, two lodged together, her list of witnesses that she may have to get rid of grows. This adds a whole lot more to the seemingly simple line, “There are two lodged together.”

At the end of each session, we have met with only the veterans, to check in and see how they feel about the progress of the newly grown group. This is when I can really see how much they care about Shakespeare in Prison. You can see you how watchful they are of the dynamic, how earnestly assiduous they are about the program. You cannot help but feel the same, and lucky to be in on something so well cared for and held so dear. They build something beautiful from nothing in that prison auditorium. For me, being a part of a production that is so strictly about each other and the text - stripped down to what it SHOULD be about- growing together, learning together, empowering each other: This is the best theatre experience I’ve ever been a part of.

Thursday

Written by Frannie

After some rousing warm ups and an engaging game, the ensemble was ready to dive right back in to scene work. We decided to revisit the scene from Macbeth that we explored last time, as more women wanted to get on their feet with it.

There were two readings of this scene that were particularly remarkable. In the first reading, the ensemble noted how simply and honestly Lady Macbeth delivered her lines. The bareness of the way she said, “Macbeth shall sleep no more,” chilled me right through. She, however, was concerned that she was focusing on what she said, not on how she said it. Both the facilitators and experienced members of the group reassured her that this is actually a good thing – that thinking too much about how one sounds can hamper one’s interpretation. She instinctively did something that many people must train for years to do.

Next, the group encouraged one of our members who is rather shy to give the scene a whirl. At first she declined, saying she would be ready next week, but then a friend who is in the group offered to go on with her. Boosted by this, she decided to read Lady Macbeth. At the beginning of the scene, she was a little quiet, a little timid in her delivery. But her scene partner didn’t back off (she’s read the scene a few times and clearly loves it), giving her all sorts of energy and commitment. Lady M gained steam throughout the scene; both her voice and body communicated increased confidence the longer she stayed on stage. When they were finished, they were given a huge round of applause by the group (one woman even stood up to applaud). A number of the women stated how proud they were of her, how impressed they were as she not only got through the scene but shone in it. As one said, “That was frickin’ awesomesauce.”

After this, the group decided to move on to a new scene from As You Like It: Act I, Scene iii, in which Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind and Celia decides to go with her. This was possibly the quickest text analysis we’ve ever done – they are really falling into the language, and they hardly needed any help breaking down the scene. The energy in the room was so positive that we got ourselves distracted riffing on the idea of setting the play in the world of the movie “Clueless” (we would call it “Like, As You Like It!”). It’s moments like these that, while perhaps not the most “on point” on their surface, create bonds within the group and give freedom to be wildly creative as we move forward.

We put the scene on its feet after discussing it a bit, and what the women did with it was truly exciting. Having only discussed it intellectually and emotionally – not in terms of how we might stage it – the women who read the scene stayed true to their characters with simple, organic blocking, saying “yes” to each other… again, things that professional actors often must train to do. Celia linked arms instinctively with Rosalind early on, refusing to let go even when the Duke tried physically to break them up. The Duke let this frustrate her and motivate her lines. Then Celia physically stood between them to defend her cousin. None of this was discussed beforehand, but they let their instincts guide them, and there isn’t much any of us would tweak if we were prepping for a performance.

These first two weeks have been extremely positive, and all of us are feeling optimistic that, while we will certainly face challenges along the way, some of our biggest “problems” are behind us. The group is ready to begin work on Shrew, and we’ll dive in next week.

Session Four: Week 1

Tuesday  

Tonight we began session four of Shakespeare in Prison, with a good number of returning “veterans” and some very enthusiastic “newbies.” The vibe was warm and welcoming from start to finish, led in large part by the women returning from session three, who are eager to solidify our ensemble early and achieve all of the goals we set out for ourselves when we wrapped up in July.

We began by sitting in a circle, introducing ourselves and answering the questions we decided on during our wrap up:

• What brings you to Shakespeare in Prison? Why did you join the group (or why are you still in the group)?
• What do you hope to get out of the group?
• What is the gift you bring to the ensemble?

Answers ran the gamut, and none threw up potential “red flags.” Those who are returning (most for a third time) said that what they have gotten out of the group in the past has varied and has taken them by surprise, so they are open to getting anything they can out of it (and they know whatever it is will be good). Our new members are seeking anything from acting experience (some were in plays in school), to more insight into themselves, to “coming out of their shells”, to knowledge of Shakespeare and a new, interesting experience. Of course everyone wants to have a good time, and no one seemed to balk at the idea of working hard in order to enjoy the experience more fully.

We went through our group guidelines, with past participants giving specific examples of successes and challenges that we have experienced. They were very firm that participation and attendance are key, as was our plan. They mean to lead by example. They emphasized that the sense of accomplishment they get from the group outweighs all of the challenges they face, and that this is a rare opportunity to have that feeling in a prison setting.

My summary here may be brief, but this actually took up the bulk of our time, as people asked great questions and we made sure to cover all of our bases. With the time that we had left, we did the “ring” exercise that occurs at the top and bottom of each meeting (this creates a safe space and a feeling of ensemble), and then we played some fun theatre games. Everyone in the group let loose during these games; even one member who seems quite shy was much more comfortable by the time we ended.

I checked in with the vets at the end to see if they had any concerns, and we established that there are a couple of things to look out for. By and large, though we were all very happy with how our first meeting went.

Thursday

At the top of today’s meeting, one of the vets asked me if I thought we should get started. I asked if perhaps she and the other returning participants would like to lead check-in, since we had discussed the need for the ensemble to take charge more and diminish the need for me to “direct” the group. Three of the women then began the group, led check-in, and reminded everyone about a couple of policies that they thought needed to be reinforced.

We had two new members today, as well as two new facilitators, so there were introductions again. Then, after warming up and playing a couple of games, the group decided to delve into one of the sample scenes I had chosen for us to work on until we’re ready to begin with Shrew.

The scene they chose was Macbeth: Act I, Scene vii. In this scene, Macbeth expresses doubts about killing Duncan, and Lady Macbeth goads him into doing it anyway. We read through the scene and then talked about anything we had gotten out of it. As usual, the group understood the basic dynamic of the scene, but not necessarily the specifics. We then started our “translation,” reading each line and discussing its meaning. When we broke it down like that, it became apparent that the women in this group are very insightful and sensitive to Shakespeare’s writing – for example:

The first line of the scene is Lady Macbeth’s, as she enters: “How now? What news?” We paused as a group, and one of the women said, “She’s whispering.” So already, she heard conspiracy – she sensed the setting and the atmosphere. This same level of emotional insight was apparent throughout our discussion, as well as great instincts about the language not only from the group’s professed “nerds,” but from others as well.

“I can’t understand this. I really have comprehension issues,” said one woman as we got toward the end of the scene. “You’ll get used to it,” one woman reassured her. “We’ll help you – sometimes I still don’t understand it to start, but eventually I get it,” said one returning participant. Then we got to the next line of the scene:

Macbeth: Away, and mock the time with fairest show:

False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

“So what is he saying?” I asked the group. Without missing a beat, the woman who had JUST said she couldn’t understand the language said, “We have to put on a show so no one knows what we’re going to do.” This was followed by various exclamations from the rest of us such as, “Exactly!” “Oh, right, you can’t comprehend Shakespeare.” “See? You can do it!” It was a great moment.

With the time we had left, we put the scene on its feet to see how it would work. The women who read committed fully to what they were doing, lending appropriate drama and emphasis to each line, even if they didn’t “get it exactly right.” Everyone was very excited about what they had done, and enthusiastic not only about continuing to explore this scene, but about taking on the next scene in the packet as well – the scene between the Macbeths after the crime has been committed.

Dominique's Reflections

Dominique Lowell has been a co-facilitator with Shakespeare in Prison since October 2013, although she recently took a leave of absence from the group. She returned to help with a performance. Here are her reflections.  

I have been trying to write this post since I saw the show a week or so ago. It's been difficult to approach. Having missed many of the last rehearsals due to work conflicts I felt somewhat disconnected from the project. I felt guilty, afraid the women had thought I had abandoned the work as a personal choice. I wish I hadn't bowed to the pressure I felt from my job at the time, a job I don't even work at any more, but it was real pressure and unavoidable. I think it's been difficult to try to write this post simply because it was such a moving experience. It is easy to write criticism, it is much more difficult to describe moments that transcend. I found myself looking through Peter Brook's The Empty Space and his descriptions of theatre as rough, holy, deadly, and immediate. As if I could "college essay" my way through this experience. There is definitely a Peter Brook college essay in there, but I don't think it's what I want to say. I was talking with another director about this project, and he asked me why there weren't more comedies done. His take was that it was all focused toward having prisoners delve into themes of forgiveness and repentance and reflecting on their societal wrongs; this was his take away from the Shakespeare Behind Bars documentary. Why can't they just do a comedy, he asked, get some laughs, some relief? I was speechless. First of all, the women had chosen the play themselves. But I never once considered this a goal of the project, some angle we were trying to work. The only angle I knew was the belief that art is transformative. If you present time-proven, good art, like Shakespeare, try to create a safe environment in which to explore and eventually perform the work, whatever reflection or transformation happened was left to the individual. This Romeo & Juliet was transformative. These women knew what they were saying and what story they were telling. The memorization alone was a huge accomplishment,  the communication of character was clear and direct. Their relationship to each other and to the audience was tangible. It was such a kick to hear an audience hoot and holler for a particular character (all kinds of laughter!), or to audibly gasp "Oh no!" when Juliet awoke in the tomb to find Romeo dead. When Lady Capulet mourned Tybalt those tears had real weight. Mercutio's death as well, the tragic moments overall seemed richer in their tragedy. I have seen deadly Shakespeare spoken beautifully by actors who didn't have a clue what they were saying or doing - all they had was technique and the love of hearing themselves talk. This Shakespeare didn't always "trip off the tongue," but it had real meaning. I have never seen an ensemble do a "zip zap zop" exercise with the intensity and commitment of this group, and this R & J had the same high stakes. It takes guts to do Shakespeare, especially in front of your peers and friends (and enemies) in bright light (no safety in darkness in prison performances). This R & J had guts. I can't measure whether this was a transformative experience for the women in the group. I know the growth I saw in them, and I know the issues I found myself confronting. Every session I attended, I gained some insight to the work that I hadn't had before and probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. It is challenging, gut-wrenching, and inspiring work. I wish I had been there for more of it. I wish more people could see it. I am honored to have been a part of it and I hope to join The Taming of The Shrew this fall. A comedy indeed!

Wrapping up Session Three

After sharing our play three times over the course of a week, I decided to wait to update this blog until I could do so with the reflections of the entire ensemble, not just myself. Here are my notes from our wrap up meeting.

Personal reflections:

• One woman said she got a lot out of the group and opened up out of her shell. She has had stage fright in the past, but by the end of the process, she was much more comfortable on stage. She had fun and is glad that she participated.
   
• One woman spoke with her mother, who enthusiastically said, “You did it!” Her sister said, “Shakespeare? No way – you did not!” She has had a terrible fear of speaking in front of groups, but she is more comfortable now. She is proud that she remembered her lines, spoke loudly enough to be heard, and didn’t drop out when she felt challenged. She enjoyed her time in the group. “Every week you get to not be here by being in it,” she said.
   
• One woman saw the first group’s performance in 2012 and has been in the group for two sessions. She feels the program has progressed immensely since it began. She shared that she has felt more comfortable and at home in the current group than in the last one. This group, she said, has been more cohesive and able to give and take criticism. She felt that she got to know everyone better, and that the women in the group are like sisters to her.
   
• One woman said the program helped her cross a barrier in her life. She believes the work she’s done here will help her break down walls in other areas of her life.
   
• One woman shared honestly that she found the process “incredibly frustrating.” She said that if the last few weeks hadn’t been as good as they were (and they were really, really good!), she wouldn’t come back. Her frustrations lay in the lack of dedication from some others. We addressed the issues she raised later in our conversation.
   
• One woman shared that she hadn’t enjoyed Shakespeare in high school, but now she does. “Just reading it is so boring,” she said. “When you attempt to act it out, you understand it.”
   
• One woman said that she’s never been shy (this is the understatement of the year!), but getting on stage was different for her, and it was a good experience.
   
• One woman has had quite a journey since we began in October. She actually did not sign up for the group on purpose, but when she found herself here, she decided to give it a go. Working in the group gave her a “break from prison,” so she kept coming back. When the “messy stuff” began to happen, it made her pull back, but the work of the ensemble in making so many cuts (and one woman’s particular efforts outside of our meetings to convince her) made her re-commit. She feels good about the work she has done and is glad she stuck with it.

Group mechanics:

• Attendance is our biggest challenge, and we addressed it head on. There is nothing we can do when participants have conflicting mandatory call outs (i.e., school, work, healthcare), and enough people now have proved that they can fully commit, contribute, and get what they need out of the group attending once per week if schedules don’t permit them to always attend twice. The challenge lies in absences that may or may not be mandatory, and the group’s feeling that some people have taken advantage of a trusting environment to pile on more absences than absolutely necessary. We arrived at a solution we that makes each person accountable for her own attendance. The “seasoned vets” will express on the first day that attendance and commitment are of the utmost importance. They feel that if they are strong in this and lead by example, new participants will be more motivated.
   
• We also have an attrition rate that we do not find acceptable. People join this group for all sorts of reasons, but over the past three sessions, we have found that there is often a pattern: a person joins the group just to have a good time, and/or isn’t an enthusiastic participant, and then when the “going gets tough,” she stops coming to the group. That being said, there have been some women who joined the group for such reasons and ended up being wonderful ensemble members. So how do we make sure that the group as a whole is well-served while still giving individuals the benefit of the doubt?

We decided as a group to hold interviews on the first day of the session and have a “trial period” for new members of three meetings. Between the interviews and the meetings, which will include warm ups, games, and Shakespeare, we should be able to assess which new members are likely to fully commit to the program. They will not be judged on talent, but rather on their immediate commitment and participation. Other programs of this kind have employed a process like this and are stronger for it; we believe we will be, too.

Our interviews will consist of the following questions:

Why did you sign up for the group? What do you want to get out of the group? What is the gift you bring to the group? (this is respectfully borrowed from Shakespeare Behind Bars)

• There were some interpersonal issues that held us back at times, and, unfortunately, one of these situations led to one person being removed from the group. We all feel that things were ultimately resolved constructively and fairly, but that the process took too long. The group’s decision about how to address this going forward is for everyone joining the group to be made aware at the beginning that any issue that arises in the group will be resolved openly by the entire ensemble, not in side discussions, and not allowed to stew and eventually boil over.
   
• We discussed the need for the ensemble to take more ownership of the “direction” of the play. I shared that, by the end of Session 1, I was barely speaking at all when feedback was being given – the group was truly “running the show.” That hasn’t quite been the case with Sessions 2 and 3. The women said that it can be difficult to give feedback because it “opens you up.” We’ll need to address that going forward, and our new policy of open group discussion should help.
   
• The group feels that things really started to come together when we began to set small goals and deadlines, i.e. “On Tuesday, we’re working this scene, so memorize your lines for it.” We all agreed that setting more intermittent goals will help to keep us on track, motivated, and believing that we can accomplish the more daunting goal of staging an entire play.

Finally, we debated which play to work on next session. Although the scales were at first tipped in favor of Hamlet, further discussion led the group to decide that it may be more of a challenge than we need or want as we try to better solidify the group’s mechanics. We settled on The Taming of the Shrew, about which we are excited because it’s a comedy that touches on issues very relevant to incarcerated women.

Before we disbanded, one woman shared that a poem of hers was recently published, and told us that she has been asked to write some short fiction for publication as well. She read us her poem, and we were all very enthusiastic about these accomplishments. “I’m proud of you,” said one.

We parted with hand shakes and thank yous, well wishes for one woman who will be paroled over the summer, and much anticipation to start back up in September.

Even with all of our challenges, this has been a transformational season for Shakespeare in Prison in all of the right ways. The ensemble came together and worked as a team to accomplish the goals they set for themselves. They are vocal about their increased confidence and empowerment, and they have creative solutions for challenges going forward. On the administrative side of things, we came close to fully funding the program for the first time, and I am confident that we will fully fund it next season. Our new model of a team of facilitators works beautifully, and I am so thankful to the team of volunteers for all of their hard work and passion.

I am inspired, energized, and ready to begin work for next season. We'll be back at the prison in September. Until then, I'll update this blog with reflections from co-facilitators who would like to share and any news about the program.

Please visit The Supporters and take a look at the long list of names of people who helped make Shakespeare in Prison possible this year, whether by physically helping out or with donations. And many thanks go out, as always, to the staff at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility, who are so supportive of this program.