Jonathan Shailor, Curt
Tofteland and Meade Palidofsky will be at after-words
books on Thursday, February 24th
from 5:30-7:30 p.m. signing copies of their book Performing New Lives. There will be a wine reception
following the presentation. Performing
New Lives: Prison Theatre (Jessica
Kingsley Publishers, Paperback, $37.95)
Performing
New Lives draws together some of the
most original and innovative programs in contemporary prison theatre. Leading
prison theatre directors and practitioners discuss the prison theatre
experience first-hand, and offer valuable insights into its role, function, and
implementation. A wide range of prison theatre initiatives are discussed, from
long-running, high-profile programs such as Curt Tofteland's Shakespeare Behind Bars in LaGrange, Kentucky, to
fledgling efforts like Jodi Jinks' Arts Aloud
project in Austin, Texas.
Here in Chicago
we have Meade Palidofsky’s Storycatchers
Theatre.
This book is essential reading for drama therapists,
theatre artists, and prison educators, as well as academics. Excerpts of
interviews with inmates, and a conversation between practitioners in the final
chapter, reveal the impact that prison theatre programs have on the performers
themselves, as well as audience members, and the wider community.
Three national
leaders in prison theatre will read from their new book, and will discuss how
their theatre programs function behind prison walls as vehicles for prisoners'
reintegration into society.
Jonathan Shailor (editor and author) has been teaching
and facilitating The Theatre of
Empowerment in Wisconsin prisons
for over 15 years. Jonathan's work has been celebrated in The New York
Times and on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Curt Tofteland (author)
is a professional producer/director/actor and award-winning playwright, and the
Founder and Producing Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Behind Bars
(SBB) program (now in its 16th year). SBB has been featured in an
award-winning documentary which premiered at the Sundance Festival: Shakespeare
Behind Bars.
Meade Palidofsky (author)
is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, director, youth development
specialist. Meade is the Founding Director of Storycatchers Theatre (formerly Music Theatre
Workshop) now in its 27th year. It is
dedicated to the healing and development of youth in juvenile detention centers
and prisons in the Chicago
area. Storycatchers has been featured in the Emmy
award-winning documentary, Girls on the Wall.
