Dell’Arte brings theater to life for prison inmates
Program for prisoners is in its fourth year
Dell’Arte International is heading into its fourth year of teaching theater classes at Pelican Bay State Prison, in partnership with the William James Association, the funding organization that supports Arts in Corrections classes at Pelican Bay through its Prison Arts Program.
“There is talent and creative vision abound inside those walls,” said Janessa Johnsrude, the Dell’Arte’s Prison Arts program director who teaches inside the prison, in a prepared statement from Dell’Arte. “Through consistent programming, we’ve seen our participants really investing in the outlet this work makes space for and in turn, functioning ensembles have blossomed. Longtime students are now becoming mentors and passing on theater training to newer students.”
Dell’Arte founded the first theater program offered at Pelican Bay in 2016, starting with just four students in the minimum security portion of the prison. Now, 45 students participate, split between five weekly classes, from all general population yards and security levels 1-4.
“I’ve seen a big change in myself and my peers, as far as being more open and speaking more, it’s just a feeling of community that wasn’t there before,” said one participating student from B-yard. “After going through the experiences of the classes and performances together, it just sort of built a bond.”
Dell-Arte did not share the names of inmates who were involved in the program.
Students in the theater classes at Pelican Bay work in ensemble to explore the creative act of generating theater through the study of character, storytelling, improvisation, voice work, writing for the stage, and original play development.
Johnsrude, a Dell’Arte faculty member and Melanie Schauwecker, a Dell’Arte graduate and teacher for the Prison Arts Program, work alongside several other local teaching artists at Pelican Bay, including visual arts teacher Julie McNeil, creative writing teacher Cecelia Holland, guitar teacher Dale Morgan, and Paul Critz, who leads the audio journalism class that just released the first podcast episode in a series called “Pelican Bay Unlocked.”
In December 2019, the firstever Arts in Corrections Gala was held in the B-yard gym of Pelican Bay, with students, their teachers and an invited public audience. Every Arts in Corrections class gathered for the daylong event and shared poetry, visual art, music, and plays for the invited public audience of fellow artists and supporters. The Dell’Arte Holiday Show, “Return to Oz,” was performed at the event, and artists from the inside and outside engaged in discussions about the creative process in their respective environments.
“There was a real sense of authenticity in the room and genuine connection,” said Johnsrude, who facilitated the event in concert with the other Arts in Corrections teachers at the prison. “Support for events like this, as well as for arts programming inside the prison, are vital for shifting community perspectives. The work being done by our students is testament to why programming inside prisons and jails is necessary. It’s also special that we can bring in work to create an exchange which offers an opportunity for everyone to grow and experience something deeply meaningful — the sharing of artistic expression.”
The theater students performed two original pieces which explored the theme “There’s No Place Like Home” inspired by Dell’Arte’s Holiday Show. For several months, the theater students on B-yard — from two different classes — worked with their teachers to create material and train in ensemble. With class time limited to two hours each week, theater students worked in their own time to bring writing and ideas to class and practiced their parts in their cells and on the yard to prepare.
This is the second time the annual Holiday Show has toured inside the prison.
“It didn’t matter that their props were made of paper, or that the space wasn’t exactly like a stage, because they were all in character, and they gave their character to us. We were able to get lost in the performance,” said a participating student speaking on the show Dell’Arte brought in, which was limited to what was allowed inside the prison. “It was almost universal in a way. We all want something out of life, there are always obstacles in the way. It doesn’t always end well, it doesn’t always feel good, and sometimes you make it, and sometimes you don’t.”
Watch it in action in 2018: