Phoenix Players Theatre Group

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In 2009 Michael Rhynes and Clifford
Williamson, incarcerated men in the Auburn
Correctional Facility in central New York,
founded the Auburn Phoenix Players.
Shortly thereafter, the two renamed the
company to form The Phoenix Players
Theatre Group (PPTG). They did this because
they both realized that, while they were “in”
Auburn, they were not “of” Auburn.
In the founders’ own words, “PPTG is
a grassroots program developed by and for
incarcerated persons and communities in
a maximum security prison."
We are a transformative theatre community,
that utilizes theatre to reconnect
incarcerated people to their full humanity.

Founded in 2009

The Phoenix Players Theatre Group began at Auburn Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Auburn New York, with a small group of incarcerated men dedicated to the idea that theatre work, combined with inner healing work, provides a genuine opportunity for them to connect and become more fully human.

About

Mission

History

Timeline

What Defines PPTG?

The PPTG Motto

Each evening’s workshop begins with the PPTG Motto, written by one of the founding members of the group, Michael Shane Hale

We are a community of transformation.
Through the power of self-discovery,
We create the opportunity
To know and grow
Into ourselves.

“In 2009 Michael Rhynes and Clifford Williamson, incarcerated men in the Auburn Correctional Facility in central New York, founded the Auburn Phoenix Players. Shortly thereafter, the two renamed the company to form The Phoenix Players Theatre Group (PPTG). They did this because they both realized that, while they were “in” Auburn, they were not “of” Auburn. In the founders’ own words, “PPTG is a grassroots program developed by and for incarcerated persons and communities in a maximum security prison. It is a transformative theatre community, which utilizes theatre to reconnect incarcerated people to their full humanity” (Phoenix Players Theatre Group 2014a).” -Excerpt from “Where the Walls Contain Everything but the Sky: The Birth and Growth of the Phoenix Players Theatre Group”

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