Prison Theater Class
2019 Prison Theater Class. Top (left to right): Walker, Simeon, Ray, Alex, Kevin, Bruce, Mark, Adam, Jayme, Dan, Robert. Middle (left to right): Danielle, Ilana, Keyra, Mabel, Judy, Ariel. Bottom (left to right): Sheldon, Demetrius. (Photo and Video Credit: Peter Carroll)
“Prison Theatre and the Possibilities of Transformation” is a course that is an elective within Cornell’s minor in Crime, Prison, Education and Justice. First offered during the spring semester of 2017, and again during the spring semester of 2019, Professor and PPTG facilitator, Bruce Levitt, in collaboration with the men of The Phoenix Players Theatre Group, created the course. Students attend the Friday evening PPTG workshops at Auburn Correctional Facility, going through the workshop training regimen with the men, receiving coaching and support from other PPTG facilitators, and participating in improvisations and scenarios alongside the members of PPTG.
Each week the class meets on campus to discuss assigned texts, to conduct ZOOM interviews with other prison theatre practitioners around the country, and to reflect on the past Friday’s session.
2023 Prison Theatre Class Video: Jianing, Peter, Daniela, Oscar
For the 2023 video presentation of the Prison Theatre class, we were able to follow the students and PPTG members for the entire semester. Peter Carroll edited together this 20-minute video summarizing the overall journey that took place for both students and PPTG members. The video was filmed during the Fall of 2023 when four students in the Prison Theatre Class began their semester-long participation with the Phoenix Players. The four students came to Auburn Correctional Facility and worked with the continuing members for several weeks. During this time, they witnessed the process by which the continuing members select new members to invite into the workshop. Finally, the students participated in the six-week workshop orientation process for new members and then continued to collaborate with the Phoenix Players on their journey toward transformation. After having spent fifteen weeks with PPTG the students’ participation ended at the conclusion of the academic semester in December of 2023:
2017 and 2019 Prison Theater Classes
The final project for the 2017 and 2019 semester’s work was to structure a piece around the theme of Convergence/Divergence. Groups of three workshop members–one student and two PPTG members–spend two Friday sessions exploring their lives to discover where their journeys converged or were similar, and where they diverged or were dissimilar. During a third session, each team of three rehearses and stages the piece they have created. On the fourth Friday, the group presents their pieces to the other members of the workshop. The ten short three-minute videos in this section record the students’ final reflections on their fifteen-week experience with The Phoenix Players, interwoven with moments from the presentations of Convergence/Divergence. The filming and editing is by Peter Carroll, PPTG filmmaker, and collaborator.
DANIELLE AND MARK
2019 Class Videos
Alex
Ilana
Keyra
Mabel
2017 Prison Theater Class. Top (left to right): Robert, Rebekah Maggor, Bruce, Adam, Walker, Leroy, Sheldon, Norm. Middle (left to right): Elana, Ray, Elise, Alison, Mark, Andrew, Mwangi. Bottom (left to right): Nate, Jayme, Judy, Mané. Front: Demetrius. (Photo and Video Credit: Peter Carroll)
2017 Class Videos