Photos
THE STRENGTH OF OUR CONVICTIONS: THE AUBURN REDEMPTIOn | 2018
The photos below were taken by Peter Carroll during the performance on May 24, 2018. Watch the performance.
Demetrius performs “Blame”/Conspiracy Theory with Sheldon accompanied by Robert’s beat boxing. Left to Right: Demetrius Molina, Robert Lawrence, Sheldon Johnson
Jerome Walker performs “Words.”
Adam Roberts performs “Doc Jelly”
It was the first time that “Fourth” generation members, Mark, Robert and Jerome had performed with PPTG. These three are the latest members to have gone through PPTG’s two-year process of training, exploration and creation. This was the fifth time PPTG performed for an invited audience of eighty civilians. It was also the last performance for facilitators Chris Seeds, Nick Fesette, and Mary Rolland. Seeds and Fesette completed their Ph.D. degrees and took faculty positions at University of California, Irvine and Oxford College in Georgia respectively. Rolland decided to resign as a volunteer to pursue assisting PPTG in other avenues. Both student volunteers who appeared with PPTG in “Strength”, Jack Press and Elise Czuchna, graduated from Cornell shortly after the performance.
An Indeterminate Life | 2014
Photos from rehearsals and the performance of the May 2014 performance of An Indeterminate Life.
The curtain call. Left to right: Blaize, Nate, Judy, Leroy, Nick, Sandra, Michael, Demetrius, David.
After the performance of Maximum Will and the reflections on that experience that followed, the group continued to train together, and new members Nate, Demetrius and Leroy were invited to join. During the training Shane and Bruce kept notes that later served as the basis for some of the pieces in An Indeterminate Life. Over one hundred events, stories and scenes were gathered. Six months before performance, Sandra and Blaize joined the group, along with Nick. Judy would again perform in the new piece as she had in Maximum Will. Each member of the group was asked to name those two or three pieces that were their favorites from each of the other individuals. Then each member of the group selected his/her own favorite two or three pieces. These pieces were then developed for another two months and then the same process was repeated so that the script would end up being about ninety minutes in length. The theme that emerged centered on incarceration–from arrest to separation from family; from visits to phone calls; from neighborhood to imprisonment.
Michael performs “Zoo.”
Sandra performs the role of Na’cir in Leroy’s piece “Na’cir’s Google Search.”
Nate Performs “Window Onto Pain” with the group. Left to right: David Bendezou, Sandra Oyeneyin, Blaize Emily Hall, Leroy Lebron Taylor, Nathan Powell, Michael Rhynes, Nick Fesette, Demetrius Molina.
Members support Nick’s piece in which a lightsaber duel takes place. Left to right: Leroy Lebron Taylor, David Bendezou, Demetrius Molina, Nick Fesette, Nathan Powell, Michael Rhynes
David Performs “Ghost Bus.”
Demetrius and Blaize during a pauze in rehearsal for “Home school & Life, Love, Loss.”
David welcomes the audience with a piece comparing the prison he is in with the prison we find ourselves confined in in our daily lives.
Demetrius performs with Sandra.
Leroy performs a piece about his daughter and dances with her.
Leroy and Demetrius rehearse scene between a prison education professor and his student.
The group meets after the rehearsal in the chapel.
Maximum Will | 2012
Photos from rehearsals, discussions and performance of 2012’s Maximum Will.
Top: Kenneth Brown. Bottom (left to right): Michael Rhynes, Michael Shane Hale, Efraim Diaz, David Bendezou.
Michael suggested that the second performance piece be rooted in Shakespeare. After looking through dozens of soliloquies the men choose two or three that resonated with them. Over twenty weeks the group worked on understanding the texts and acquiring the craft necessary to perform Shakespeare. At this point, Bruce suggested that the men write reflective pieces inspired by their selections or the selections of others in the group. The original texts were then interwoven with the material taken from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. The resulting piece was performed in April of 2012. During the creation of the performance, many conversations were prompted by both themes found in Shakespeare and the content of the original writings. The creation of Maximum Will, its performance, and several sessions after the performance make up the over seventy hours of the documentary about PPTG. These photos are screen shots from the film footage. For more on the film, see the short clips found under the video section or the Sizzle Reel of Maximum Will.
PPTG plays tug-of-war in Maximum Will.
Kenny and Michael rehearse.
David as the group assembles for rehearsal.
Shane and Kenny pre-show.
David and Michael during rehearsal.
Rehearsal with David Roth (left) and Bruce Levitt (right).
The group rehearses for the performance in the chapel.
Judy and Michael dance during rehearsal in the chapel with the film crew present.
Offstage during rehearsal.
Michael enters the audience during a piece for Maximum Will.
Michael leads the post-performance discussion.
Judy and Michael perform.
Shane and De react to a question from the audience following the performance.
Danielle Frimer Guest performer in Maximum Will.
Bruce directing Maximum Will with Allison and De in the background.
Stephen Cole with Andi Obarski of the film crew.
David and Danielle perform in April 2012.
Bruce greets Michael before rehearsal.
The audience during the Q and A following the performance.
An audience member asks a question.
Alison speaks with David and De before the performance.
PPTG member Michael Shane Hale and facilitator, Alison Van Dyke, during discussion of PPTG’s upcoming performance.
PPTG member, Kenneth Brown, discusses PPTG’s upcoming performance while Auburn Director of Volunteer Services, David Roth, looks on.
Efraim Diaz and Kenneth Brown listen to a discussion of a piece for performance.
Judy and Shane during De’s Leontes soliloquy from Winter’s Tale.
PPTG rehearses a group piece while facilitators Judy Levitt and Alison Van Dyke look on.
The opening moments of Maximum Will.