I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 08
I’m a theatre-maker working behind bars. Since I last wrote, I’ve held the 7th and 8th workshops of a multi-month process aimed at devising a new, 60-minute work of American theatre about the origin of American violence.
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 02
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 03
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 04
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 05
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 06
I just went to prison for 5 months. Again. | 07
For the last 7 weeks I’ve been writing about my experience as a “college professor” with University Beyond Bars, a nonprofit offering college-level courses to inmates, and the opportunity to earn Associates and Bachelors degrees.
At first I started off writing my posts each week, but I have decided as the program has progressed to give you bi-weekly updates, and one is due! Today, I’ll document the 7th and 8th workshops held during the creation of an original piece of live theatre about American violence sourced from 21 men incarcerated at a medium security unit in Washington state.
As you may remember from my last post, we spent time during our class crafting the following 5 thematic statements (I call them axioms) to guide our work creating the play:
Tomorrow is a dream for the hopeless.
Laugh now, cry later.
To thine own self be true.
Loyalty and Betrayal.
War ready.
We then worked collaboratively to select the one, single statement that resonated most deeply with our entire room. The selected statement was:
Tomorrow is a Dream for the Hopeless
Using this central theme, we have spent the last 2 weeks crafting the story and outline of our play. Today, I will share the bare bones outline of what we are creating. We will be “writing” the script this week and next, so the next time I write a post I will be able to tell you (fingers crossed) that we have everything down on paper!
The Story
The play will follow 4 characters who are united via a common rehabilitative program within a local prison which they all attend. Due to some recent legislative changes, 4 of the men are about to be released. The play opens on a Panel Discussion of the men with some of their peers and the program administration talking about their plans upon release and their future success! Of course, it’s not all that simple. The 4 characters we will follow are:
Veteran with PTSD: This character is a veteran whose mental state is in question and was extremely fragile, which led to his imprisonment. In the somewhat controlled facility environment he has learned to control his symptoms, but quickly realizes upon release that he cannot cope in the real world with no support network. In this situation we see a character whom the system fails.
Lucky: A once-upon-a-time gangster who has served over a decade of time behind bars. He has reclaimed his life and upon release makes the decisions and moves necessary to remove himself from his past life and start afresh. He manages to save himself.
Young Kid with Big Plans: This character is a young man who has served only a handful of months and still doesn’t understand the gravity of his choices. He is one of the young bloods who don’t care if they spend time in and out of prison because they have not yet experienced real consequences, or time, for their actions. Through his own actions, he will enter the system again.
Dad Who Loses Everything: This character is released only to lose his entire family immediately in a tragic house fire. Although he contemplates revenge, or a return to his old ways, he has rehabilitated enough to save himself and the memory of his family...but just barely.
The play will be structured as a series of scenes showing what happens to the men, and how they cope, after their release. Throughout, a talented rapper in our class will write lyrics that can be used as freestyle rap narration to help illustrate story points and create through lines for the audience.
DRAFT of Scenes
SCENE ONE
A panel discussion between a rehabilitative organization within a prison and its members. Four of them are about to be released and this is their chance to celebrate and reflect with their community on how far they’ve come and where they’ll go when they return home.
SCENE TWO
We see a physical theatre sequence of the men getting out of prison, and in particular the VETERAN getting off the bus station and being overwhelmed by the crowds of strangers at the bus station. His PTSD kicks in and he runs away, ending up in a residential neighborhood where he huddles next to a house. His best friend, who died in the war, appears to him as a hallucination and a scene ensues where we learn more about him and his current struggle. At the end of the scene, in anger, in stupor, or just for warmth, he lights a fire which consumers the house in flames. Police rush to the scene and he runs away.
SCENE THREE
We see the KID approaching OG TWO TONE, a local gang leader, to get his position back with the gang after being locked up for a few months. As he jostles for attention, LUCKY shows up and reconnects with OG TWO TONE who used to be his best friend and partner. The KID is asked to wait outside as the two hash things out. Although they care for each other, LUCKY wants out and its a tense conversation about who “family” really is. Ultimately he leaves, and makes the break.
SCENE FOUR
The KID approaches OG TWO TONE again, who listens to him this time and takes him seriously (his ego has just taken a blow from LUCKY’S departure). He takes the KID under his wing and offers him the same big job he offered LUCKY in the previous scene, which the KID accepts.
SCENE FIVE
We are taken back to the scene of the House Fire with the investigating officer. He is interviewing the Father of the family who lived in the house (they are tentatively all killed in the flames) who happens to be the DAD we met in the first scene. He is being profiled intensely because of his record, despite his obvious distress at what has just happened to his home and loved ones.
SCENE SIX
A series of 4 interconnected monologues that allow each of the characters to show more of their inner journey and connect to some of the themes in the play. The monologues will each riff off of the theme tomorrow is a dream for the hopeless -- the phrase will be interpreted differently by each character based on their journey within the story.
SCENE SEVEN
A scene of the VETERAN cautiously exploring an alley as two police officers patrol. The officers spot him and pick him up, roughing him up, and take him back to the station.
SCENE EIGHT
A scene with DAD who is feeling the pull of many emotions as he considers what he will do after experiencing an unexpected tragedy on the heels of his release. There is parts of him that wants revenge, part of him the is contemplating suicide, and part of him that is ready to give up on caring all together. It’s at this point that he meets up with LUCKY (a friend from his time inside) who talks him down and gives him the encouragement he needs to keep fighting for a healthy life.
SCENE NINE
LUCKY meets up with one of the program counselors from the prison program to talk about his time outside and how it is going. As he talks with them more, he realizes his own successes, and is given an application to be a peer counselor for other inmates to help them also have a successful rehabilitation.
SCENE TEN
We are back with the KID and see him taking on the job he has been assigned which includes robbing the home of a wealthy man. He is caught by the man and instead of shooting, listens to what the man has to say. The man is a holy man of sorts, a philosopher, who captures the KID with his words and questions. The KID waits to long, pondering, and the holy man has already called the police who arrive and arrest him.
SCENE ELEVEN
We are back with LUCKY who we meet on his first day as a counselor at the prison. On his first day he comes face-to-face with the VETERAN and the KID in his session, leading to an interesting conversation between the three as they look at their track record of relationship together.
And that is all we have, for now! This next week we will put up all of the scenes “on their feet” and work with playwrights to start writing all of it down. I’m excited to put this to paper with the ensemble.
I believe that these men have a wonderfully interesting idea sketched out and now it will be a trial of detail and storytelling to pull it all together and do it justice. Thank you, as always, for stopping by to check out what we’re up to! More coming soon -- from the other side of the writing process!
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An interesting story
Thanks for the support @alhiyadat!
yes. you are welcome
A very well written story, which I'd love to see if I could. Interesting storyline and the rapper fits very nice in I think.
Thank you so much for saying so and for stopping by!
Seriously?? i've upvoted this post 3x @lilyraabe😂😂
Aww, I appreciate that you keep coming back to read the series, that is so awesome. Thank you. <3
What a story, that was very interesting. I even repeated reading it almost 5 times because the story is so interesting, by the way, i got something for you, hope you like it my sister.
Click this link :
https://steemit.com/artzone/@iqbalzr/steemitdraw-3-make-a-drawing-for-lily-raabe-with-pencil
I really appreciate that, so happy you enjoyed the story as we’ll begin crafting it tomorrow night. It’s great to hear that people are responding well to the content.
I love how the story linked back to the DAD, connecting the dots. Great writing!
Awesome, I’m glad you like it, you don’t think it’s overly dramatic or soap opera-ey? It’s my only reservation with where things are going...
No, it did not seem overly dramatic. I think it made the DAD character more loveable ;0)
Great story @lilyraabe You're good writer, wish I could write like that :D
Ha, well, I wish I had your drawing skills...lol
Fair enough :)