Posted on 06/30/2011 7:56:17 PM PDT by Drango
NORCO, Calif. — Fifteen men darted across the room, their faces slathered in greasepaint, reciting lines from “Tartuffe.” The stage, such as it was, was a low-ceilinged recreation room, and the cast was a troupe of felons who had just stepped in from the dusty yard of the California Rehabilitation Center.
For four hours, they conducted workshops under the direction of the Actors’ Gang, an ensemble from Los Angeles, which goaded them into acting out emotions that could be put to use in the 17th-century Molière farce about, appropriately enough, a con man working a swindle.
“Why are you angry?” Sabra Williams, the prison project director, demanded of the jostling lineup of actor-prisoners.
The room burst into giddy smiles and rubbery limbs from men in prison jumpsuits.
Advocates say these programs have reduced recidivism rates, though there is no conclusive research on that. But prison officials and inmates suggest that the workshops — by forcing inmates to confront emotions and to deal with other inmates they might ignore or fight with outside — can produce fundamental changes in behavior and character.
(snip) “You know, this whole prison situation, where you have to act macho and put up these mental barriers, this really allowed like a mental vacation,” Mr. Paxton said. “It makes doing time that much more easier.” (snip)
“I know this,” said one of those inmates as he sat on the floor in a circle with Mr. Robbins, Ms. Williams and the other inmates. He and his fellow prisoners had just performed scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” “I’m thinking about Shakespeare in the shower. I don’t think I ever did that before.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Too ******* bad!
For four hours, they conducted workshops under the direction of the Actors' Gang, an ensemble from Los Angeles, which goaded them into acting out emotions that could be put to use in the 17th-century Molière farce about, appropriately enough, a con man working a swindle.That's just about as appropriate as it gets, right down to this PR piece.
What Joker thought up this idea?
A ‘safety valve’ for Actors’ Gang, actually.
Are they still allowed to pump iron?
Sure they're acting? Maybe they just got their bed assignments. It IS California, after all.
Hey!!! That black dude (at far left) is in WHITEFACE! That’s RACIST!!!!
I’m more concerned about keeping the “safety valve for citizens” AKA prison in place than this program. BTW, in My state these type of programs are known sarcastically as a “hug a thug” program.
“As would a much more frequent application of the death penalty.”
If you do it right, one application is enough. :)
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