Jecoina Vinson was first incarcerated at the age of 18 and had absolutely no experience with theatre or performing whatsoever. Little did he know that after nine years of being behind bars, he would get an opportunity to perform a monologue, which would change his life forever.
Vinson outlined several benefits of being involved in a theatre program while incarcerated and how his engagement with the program changed his perspective on himself and life at large for the better. The following are quotes from Vincent on how each benefit affected him.A sense of identity: “I went in at 18 and had no identity outside of the prison system. It wasn’t until I got into theatre that I really knew who I was.”
Developing empathy: “It allowed me to see the guards as human when I could analyze them as characters and not just oppressors. I was inside 11 years before I spoke with a guard for the first time, and it was directly related to the theatre program. It helped the guards see us as human too. The administration relates to the guys totally differently after they see us perform.”
Taking ownership: “When you start to analyze character motivations, you can look at your own life with a new perspective: Maybe I did this because of my environment, or because an event set some course of action in motion. I had a much clearer sense of cause and consequence.”
Gaining introspection: “I could investigate answers to questions about my values and learned to be empathetic to other people’s world view.”
Exploring expression: “It gave me a forum to explore vulnerable emotions in a safe space, and to see other men express vulnerability. As a character, I can perform an emotion and not be seen as weak or soft by my peers. We were incarcerated at such a young age; prison is full of people who don’t really know what manhood is, they’re just performing what they think is masculinity.”
Growing camaraderie: “It gave me an incredibly deep and lasting bond with the men in the program. On the outside I can call any one of the men I performed with inside and know he’s going to do anything for me.”
Learning to think: “It helped develop my process of reasoning and made me think so much more about the message I might be conveying to other people through my actions.”
Strengthening self-assurance: “From a really practical standpoint, it played a major role in my parole board hearing. I was a more confident speaker, for sure, but it also gave me something to talk about with the commissioners on the board. They were surprised I knew Shakespeare and could have a conversation with them about him. In my release summary, they highlighted that specifically.”
Vinson now works as a Youth Engagement Specialist at Drama Club, an organization based in New York, which focuses on granting theatre training and mentoring for youth who have been incarcerated. The organization aims to give incarcerated youth a safe space where they can explore their creativity and artistic side via the use of improv and theatre games. [4]Asia Johnson was incarcerated in the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Michigan. While incarcerated there, she was given the opportunity to participate in the Women’s Ensemble, which had a Shakespeare in prison program.
Johnson took on the female lead when reenacting Romeo and Juliet, and she was “having a hard time emotionally because it hit so close to home. People kept asking me if talking about love and suicide was too much; at times it was, but I didn’t give up.” According to her, exploring these characters made her think about her “own behavior and motivations. Analyzing characters like Othello, who have committed heinous crimes but found redemption, helped me see past my own mistakes. At the end of the play, the world is right again and this beautiful story has emerged from ugly characters. There’s a sense of belonging that came from Shakespeare. I’ve never felt so supported, like my talent meant something. The past didn’t matter. I had a future.” [4]In an article published in The Detroit News, we are introduced to Sarah Lauderdale, who took on the role of one of Shakespeare’s characters, Macbeth.
Lauderdale discusses the introspection that she had when performing in the role of Macbeth. She analyzed Macbeth’s actions and compared her embezzlement to Macbeth’s decision of killing whoever got in his way. Her performance of Macbeth gave her the opportunity to reflect on the crime that she had committed."That character definitely helped me kind of work through my own issues and kind of come to terms with why I did what I did," Lauderdale said. "A lot of it came down to, I was angry. I had a decent life, but it wasn't what I had expected." [1]