Theatre Y is screening films featuring their INSIDE ENSEMBLE (The Incarcerated Mass) - twenty-five men who have been part of the DePaul and PNAP (Prison+Neighborhood Art Project) Think Tank for many years, to introduce the world to these men who have been buried alive and to aid the fight to reinstate Parole in Illinois. These films give voice to some of the thousands of Humans of Life Row in the state of Illinois (one of 16 states without a Parole System).
Theater as Friendship, Sanctuary & Revitalization
Theatre Y is inspired by András Visky’s Barrack Dramaturgy which frames the ritual of theater as one in which we willfully incarcerate ourselves with a group of strangers around a problem, and no one is allowed to leave until we arrive at a new place together. Theatre Y is a community that is continuously re-thinking the ritual of theater as a revolutionary practice, employing radical hospitality, vulnerability, and confrontation as tools of liberation.
Raul dorado in front of the Incarcerated mass / photo credit karl soderstrom
Members of Theatre Y's Incarcerated Mass: Michael Sullivan, Johnny Taylor, Robert Curry, Benny Rios Donjuan, Raul Dorado, Joseph Dole, Darrell Fair, Antonio Kendrick, Eric Watkins, Michael Bell, Reginald BoClair, Juan Luna, Daniel Perkins, Steven Ramirez, Lonnie Smith, Charles Hill, DeCedrick Walker, Rodney Love, Robert John, William Jones, Carlvosier Smith, Alberto Zavala, Ryan Miller, Tyrone Brewer Jr., Devon Terrell, Todd Smith, and Jimmy Soto (now Liberated!)
Filmed and edited by Justin T. Jones and Alex Morelli, with Ben Kruse, Kennedy Smith, Shayla Gammon, Susan Lucci, E.R. Emison, Andrew Schoen, Karl Soderstrom.
NOT TO BE: Piano and vocals by Demetrius Cunningham - Change is Coming
Donny Hathaway and Carlvosier Smith - Sack Full of Dreams
FACET SCREENING: James Gibson - Mama, Can you hear me? and Torture
www.crossroadsfund.org/the-clara-and-james-gibson-foundation/
Artistic Director Melissa Lorraine explains why Theatre Y began working in prisons:
Special Thanks: Panelists Jimmy Soto, Lisa Daniels, Max Cerda and Brian Beals. Theatre Y board, staff and volunteers: Justin T. Jones, Alex Morelli, Ben Kruse, Kennedy Smith, Susan Lucci, Shayla Gammon, E.R. Emison, Andrew Schoen, Karl Soderstrom, Nadia Pillay, Lucia Agajanian, Lauren Valice, Akinbode Akinbiyi, Steve Bynum, Liz Lazar, Rachelle Zola, Emily Bragg, and Deena Eichhorn. PNAP faculty, staff and interns: Alice Kim, Arianna Salgado, Eliza Gonring, Indigo Wright, Neomi Rao, Raphel Jackson, and Taji Chesimet. Dr. Christine Rivers and DePaul Faculty, staff, and interns. Facets, Karen Cardarelli, Matt Silcock, Chaplain Damien Davis and Chaplain Megan Gleason at Stateville, Chief Naomi Puzzello, Senator Rachel Ventura, Senator Lakesia Collins, Fred Moten, Spencer Bambrick – and more!
Gathering together every week for six years now (with a hiatus during COVID) has deeply touched and transformed all of us fortunate enough to be in community with the men on the inside. In fact, this unique experience has broken our hearts open to the power of proximity, story, healing in relationship, restorative practices like check-ins, and human transformation in the most unlikely of places.
We want everyone to meet the 25 amazing human beings who have become our beloved brothers, but these men are currently serving life sentences without any possibility of parole. (Learn more about parole in Illinois.) Perhaps you’ve seen their pictures on the Inside Ensemble wall at the theater or read about the Incarcerated Mass on our website. Tragically, when Stateville was closed by court order this September, our friends were scattered and sent to prisons all over Illinois, shattering our community.
Filmed by Justin T. Jones and Edited by Shayla Gammon
EMAIL info@theatre-y.com OR CALL 773-908-2248 to arrange a screening!
Call your representatives and tell them you believe in parole
as a common sense human practice.
LEARN MORE about THE ENDING OF PAROLE and THE NEW BILL you can support at ParoleIllinois.org
ERIC WATKINS, TYRONE BREWER JR., AND RODNEY LOVE / PHOTO CREDIT KARL SODERSTROM
Portraits of some of The Incarcerated Mass
by Justin T. Jones
Theatre Y Artistic Director Melissa Lorraine has been working with men serving extreme sentences at Stateville Correctional Center since 2018. With no parole system for natural life sentences, these men will never be released, despite acquiring multiple degrees and starting a non-profit inside: Parole Illinois.
Reginald BoClair: An incarcerated multimedia artist, a son of Chicago and a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University with a degree in Restorative Justice with a focus on African-Centered Transformative Justice Public Education. He is also an Afrofuturist Prison Industrial Complex and Community Abolitionist.
Lyfe (Robert Curry): "Forgiveness takes courage; be courageous."
Joseph Dole is a writer, artist, and activist who was coerced into performing in this play after making the mistake of saying "anything for the cause".
Raul Dorado: "Certified Human Being"
"Sentenced to Die"
Darrell Fair is an artist, scholar and lover of humanity.
Rodney Love: "I care about you!"
Steven P. Ramirez is in his final year with North Park Theological Seminary, earning a Masters of Arts in Christian Ministry with a Restorative Arts Track. "At one point I was living 2 die, now I am dying 2 live!"
Benny Rios DonJuan: "I have a heart and I love."
Carlvosier Smith: "Until all of us are whole, none of us are safe."
He has since been sent to Dixon Psych Unit because "the weight of the impossible has broken vital pieces of his strong spirit." - Spiritual brother and neighbor for decades, Robert Curry
Lonnie Smith: Survivor
Jimmy Soto: Liberation Organizer. Exonerated in December of 2023 after 42 years - the longest case of wrongful incarceration in Illinois. Jimmy Soto's first visit to Theatre Y as a free man was an indescribable moment of joy. His release seemed impossible as Illinois abolished parole in 1978, but the Exoneration Project successfully secured Jimmy's freedom. His standing on Theatre Y's roof is a poignant celebration. We hope he is the first of many!
Michael Sullivan: Father, Artist, Scholar
DeCedrick A. Walker: "I'm no longer my past, I am my present and I'm redefining my future."
Eric J. Watkins; M.A. RJM: "Serving God through serving others."
Alberto Zavala was an understudy for this performance. He is a life learner, a writer, activist, abolitionist, mentor, educator and proud father of two exceptional sons.
Theatre Y makes a case for Restoring Parole at the 2024 Jeff Awards
We affirm the theater as a ritual and catalyst of public dialogue, and make our performances accessible to all. Theatre Y operates under a model similar to NPR’s Public Access Membership, where Members donate monthly to support our work so we can offer it free to the public. While the average member pays $20/mo, $5/mo guarantees you a seat to each performance and helps us keep our doors open to those who can’t afford a ticket.
Please consider supporting us: http://www.theatre-y.com/member.
Stateville Correctional Center Think Tank Photos by Karl Soderstrom
Justin T. Jones portrait
Photo Credit: karl soderstrom
Hands that harmed into hands that H.E.A.L - Higher Education Ameliorates Lives Scholarship and Mentoring Program: www.npcovenant.org/heal
100% of the funds raised go to college or trade school for H.E.A.L Scholars.
