In addition to my BFA in theater performance, I completed a minor in Law, Justice, and Social Control. Improving prison policies is one of the central motivations which led me to this minor. For a long time, I didn’t see a way to combine my two passions: theater and prison reform.
It wasn't until I discovered Shakespeare Behind Bars that I understood how perfectly these can complement each other. SBB and other programs like it allow inmates to reconnect with their emotions through performance.
NATIONAL RECIDIVISM RATE
WITHIN FIVE YEARS, ABOUT 76.6% OF RELEASED PRISONERS ARE REARRESTED
prison conditions
INCREASINGLY HARSH PRISON CONDITIONS IMPART SEVERE AND OFTEN PERMANENT PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA ON INMATES.
arts in prison
PRISON ARTS PROGRAMS ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION, TRUST, DECISION MAKING SKILLS, EMPATHY, A DESIRE TO NURTURE OTHERS, AND MANY OTHER LIFE SKILLS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESSFUL REENTRY.
effects ON PRISONERS
PRISONERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN ARTS PROGRAMMING REPORT INCREASED CONFIDENCE, MOTIVATION, AND DISCIPLINE, AND DRASTICALLY DECREASED RECIDIVISM RATES.