WE PLAYERS on Alcatraz

Youth Conference on Justice & Freedom

2011-07-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

youth! (14-18ish)

Join We Players for an action-packed afternoon on Alcatraz, SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2011. We'll explore the island via a treasure hunt, view the current gallery exhibit displaying youth perspectives on the Alcatraz themes, enjoy food and drink, group conversation, and create a collective art project, which will remain on the island for public viewing in the cell house gallery through mid-August.

Check our website for more details on this conference and the Faces We Wear exhibition currently on display in the cell house, sharing stories and artwork from teens at the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center.

The Knotted Line

2011-06-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Work WE believe in.

An important project by Evan Bissell, collaborating artist from We Players most recent Alcatraz gallery exhibition. Please check out The Knotted Line!

WWW.THEKNOTTEDLINE.US

What is The Knotted Line?

The Knotted Line is an interactive, online art project that looks at the historical relationships between incarceration, education and labor in the United States from 1495-2025. It combines over 75 miniature paintings of historical moments housed inside an online tactile laboratory.

VOTE FOR WEEEE!!!!

2011-06-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

BEST OF THE BAY!

maybe, perhaps, and possibly, you are inspired to vote for

WE PLAYERS

for the very bestest, superduperest theatre company in the Bay.

At least we have the literally IN THE BAY aspect covered.
What with the island-stages and all!

Go here!

http://www.sfbayguardian.com/best2011

Ernest Morgan Gets Paroled

2011-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Do you remember meeting this man, Ernest Morgan on the right ? At that time we were talking to Lonnie Morris, remarking on his amazing story, and our tour guide, Lt. Robinson, commented that Mr. Morgan was going to have a story real soon too. Well, the story is he got paroled. Here's the back story on that from this article where I got the foto (how did they get a camera in?). http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/02/san-quentin-inmates-serving-life-sentences-hope-for-parole-under-gov-brown.php

Here's the after story on Mr. Morgan. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/crime/2011/05/family-greets-convicted-murderer-freed-san-quentin-after-24-years

Lonnie Morris' story is an amazing chronicle of transformation, reform, redemption, all the words we use to describe what we hope can happen to a man behind bars, it just doesn't have the same ending as Ernest Morgan's, yet. Read Mr Morris' story at the link below. http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-01-27/news/no-way-out/

Off the Hook

2011-04-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

I killed a man. His mother’s tears and my mother’s tears

had no place to rest. They fell upon my heart, woke up

something inside of me. And I put down my sword.

- - - - -

The Aztecs say the hummingbird is a warrior. He beats back

darkness with iridescent wings. He sucks the evil out of

men, leaves them with a thirst for beauty.

SUPPORT "OFF THE HOOK" !

projects/71517319/off-the-hook-on-the-road-0

IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE

2011-04-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you wonderful people for such a fantastic day on Saturday, April 9th at We Players' second gallery opening event on Alcatraz.

Huge applause for artists Evan Bissell and Monica Lundy, your work is fantastic. Regular park visitors are filling the Band Practice Room to absorb your art. Very powerful to drop in these images, these ideas just before they exit through the gift shop...

Thank you Patrick Gillespie for your great work curating this exhibit and moderating Saturday's panel discussion.

Thank you Sujatha Baliga for your insights and for bringing your heart and deep knowledge to the conversation.

Jim Breeden, thank you for your ongoing commitment to skillful, comprehensive interpretation on Alcatraz.

Thank YOU all for joining WE and sharing in this charged conversation.

More soon...

* we

prison island closure

2011-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

fascinating:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/01/last.prison.island.closes/index.html?iref=NS1

www.weplayers.org

2011-04-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

IT'S HERE!

WWW.WEPLAYERS.ORG

LOVE

*
WE

IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE

2011-03-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

Alcatraz Gallery Opening Event #2

IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

1pm - 5pm

We Players is proud to announce Monica Lundy and Evan Bissell as participating artists in our second 2011 exhibition on Alcatraz Island, IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE.

Join us on April 9th for the gallery unveiling and a panel discussion on the transformation of identity, restorative justice, and the methodology of state produced portraiture.

We Players' gallery curator Patrick Gillespie will moderate the discussion with participating artists, guest speakers, and YOU!

Reservations for April 9th are required. Invited donation is $30.

All donations will support We Players’ performance residency on Alcatraz.

WE thank you for your contribution!

http://we2011alcatraz2.eventbrite.com/

SEE YOU ON THE ROCK!

On display in the Alcatraz Cell House Gallery, April 9 - June 4:

- Select portraits by Monica Lundy from her Women of San Quentin series

- Select portraits by Evan Bissell from his collaborative What Cannot be Take Away: Families and Prisons Project

Please join us in continuing this conversation, inspired by the history and present life of Alcatraz.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:
We Players is seeking a couple additional volunteers to help things run smoothly on Saturday, April 9th. If you're available in the morning for final set up, and/or to help as an audience guide in the afternoon, please reply to info@weplayers.org and let us know.

OUR PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Monica Lundy’s paintings reveal the evolution of mug shots within the California prison system. She is a frequent visitor to the Sacramento archives and researches how the correctional system files and categorizes a civilian into the prison population. Her displayed artwork, excerpts from her Women of San Quentin series, shows the evolving efficiency of mug shots - a penalty that reduces personal history to a number, date, and a crime. Monica is interested in the immense social history that catalogues those who have passed through institutional systems and out of memory. She presents this interest through a method of painting that is a kind of entropy; she allows the image to build itself through the natural movement of mediums, alluding to decay and the degrading walls of old institutions. She frames a unique moment of transformation through her paintings of fresh prisoners, first introduced into the system, and subsequently passed out of memory.

Evan Bissell engages in collaborative art making, utilizing creativity to access unseen realities and generating creative expressions of personal and community truths. His contributions to this exhibition, a portion of the larger project What Cannot Be Taken Away, were created in partnership with multiple programs of Community Works West. Evan worked collaboratively with a group of prisoners and an unrelated group of youth who have parents in prison, facilitating dialogue between the two groups on the impact of incarceration on families, and developing large-scale self-portraits of each of the eight participants. Over a five month period, through writing, art making, audio conversation and meditation, each participant began to clarify the impact of the prison system on their identity and sketch out ideas for their final portraits, ultimately painted by Evan. The symbols and compositions, designed by the participants and Evan, represent reflections on transformation. The collaborative act of creating these portraits revealed a deep understanding of how prison affected the individual’s concept of self and what it means to change, for each individual involved with the project.

We Players Gallery Curator, Patrick Gillespie, will engage these artists and other special guests in a panel discussion on transformation of identity, restorative justice, and the methodology of state produced inmate portraiture. This gallery opening includes informal conversation and guided walks from the ferry to the cell house gallery with We Players producers Ava Roy and Lauren Dietrich Chavez.

The National Park Service and We Players are in the third year and final phase of their monumental collaboration on Alcatraz Island. This groundbreaking partnership has utilized site-specific performing arts programming to provoke critical thought and stimulate conversation on the themes of incarceration, isolation, justice and redemption. In addition to engaging the visiting public through site-specific rehearsals and performances, We Players and the National Park Service are creating lasting and transferable tools that use performance elements to augment Ranger interpretation.

After presenting a modern adaptation of the Greek Oresteia in 2009 and a traveling performance of Hamlet in 2010, this final year includes several performance events and gallery installations intended to draw connections between the Alcatraz themes and current realities of incarceration, isolation, justice and redemption in the Bay Area and beyond.

Grotowski's Workcenter comes to SF!

2011-03-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

This is very exciting! The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards is coming to the Bay! Below is some info about the group and listing of their Bay Area Events.

Hope to see you there! * AVA

The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards invites you to a series of performances, master classes, work demonstrations and film screenings during its month-long Bay Area residency in April 2011. These events have been organized by the generous and tireless efforts of Michael Hunter, Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Humanities, Stanford University; Frank Smigiel, Associate Curator of Public Programs at SFMOMA; Stephen Tourell, President of the Board of the Performance Art Institute; and Julia Ulehla, Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards.

EVENTS:

Friday April 8th 8pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

West Coast premiere of I Am America, based on the writings of Allen Ginsberg and songs from the American South. Seating is limited, please contact reservations@theworkcenter.org to reserve. $20 suggested donation.

Sunday April 10th, 1-6pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Master Class for Actors and Directors, led by Associate Director of the Workcenter, Mario Biagini. For more information and to apply for the workshop, please write to workshops@theworkcenter.org.

Sunday April 10th, 7-9pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Work demonstration by the Workcenter’s Open Program. Work demonstrations may include elements of Workcenter’s current research and practice, or a performance of any one of the Open Program’s four current opuses.

Thursday April 14th, 7pm, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street

Screenings of Jerzy Grotowski’s The Constant Prince and Workcenter’s Action in Aya Irini, Q &

A with Frank Smigiel, Associate Curator of Public Programs at SF MoMA, Mario Biagini, Associate Director of the Workcenter, and Actors of the Open Program.

Thursday April 14th, 10pm, Viracocha, 998 Valencia @21st Street, San Francisco

A chamber performance of Electric Party Songs based on the poetry of Allen Ginsberg and songs from the American South. Seating is extremely limited. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Friday April 15th, 1pm-4pm, Piggott Theatre, Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University, Palo Alto

Symposium/Panel Discussion on the Workcenter’s Open Program and Allen Ginsberg. At 3pm, symposium participants may move to Special Collections in Green Library, where Annette Keogh, curator of British and American literature, will give a guided tour of selected materials form the Allen Ginsberg archive.

Sunday April 17th, 1-6pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Master Class for Actors and Directors, led by Associate Director of the Workcenter, Mario Biagini. For more information and to apply for the workshop, please write to workshops@theworkcenter.org.

Monday April 18th, 7-9pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Tuesday April 19th, 7-9pm, Performance Art Institute, 575 Sutter Street, San Francisco

Work demonstration by members of the Workcenter’s Open Program. Work demonstrations may include elements of the Workcenter’s current research and practice, or a performance of any one

of the Open Program’s four current opuses.

Thursday April 21st 6-10pm: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street

Performance of Electric Party Songs. Drawing from their investigation of Allen Ginsberg's poetry, 11 actors animate SFMOMA with a cycle of song, action and movement that challenges the conventions of theater-based performance. Ginsberg's words flow through blues, rock, pop, opera, and even punk idioms as the performers themselves flow through the audience. Electric Party Songs creates a social space for new encounters with Ginsberg, American music, and the space of the museum. The program also includes a screening of films by and about Ginsberg, and Meatpaper magazine welcomes spring with an edible flowers-themed "Food & Thought" event in the Rooftop Garden. The event is free with museum admission.

Saturday April 23rd 7pm: Henry Miller Memorial Library, Highway 1, Big Sur:

Performance of I Am America followed by a Q & A with Director Mario Biagini and the Actors of the Open Program, screening of Action in Aya Irini. Tickets are $15 presale/$20 at the door.

Please visit www.theworkcenter.org for more information about the upcoming

events or to be added to the Workcenter’s mailing list.

support friends of We Players - LoCura

2011-03-15T07:49:00.001-07:00

Please visit LoCura's Kickstarter Campaign to help our incredibly talented friends and collaborators finish their 2nd album:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/locuramusica/locura-new-album-project

scouting for heroes

2011-03-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

Some of the early responses to our question about Heroes.

Thank you March Forth dinner guests for helping us begin to gather...

* "heroes: Mothers"

* "first thoughts: although it’s inspiring to look up to heroes, I think we focus too much on putting a few people up above the rest of us as almost “superhuman”, which actually may keep the majority of us not acting, because we separate ourselves from them. They (the heroes) are great and able to make change, to lead, but we’re just everyday people without such power/ability/courage. I like looking at communities who worked together for positive change, to stand up against injustice and think creatively, act collectively, to accomplish heroic tasks. Ex: Bolivians fighting against the privatization of water. I love “heroes” who lead from behind too. It’s important to recognize the ones in the shadows, but making sure everything is organized and the movement goes on."

* "A hero follows the Manifesto of DONE"

* "A hero overcomes: fear, uncertainty, doubt, obstacles, tradition"

* "A hero - in literature is: perfect. unrealistic.

in real life is: a good example. real people with flaws."

* "Greg Mortenson, building schools in Afganistan and Pakistan"

* "My hero is my 21 month old son. He arrived here a 6lb 8oz baby, vulnerable and not knowing the world. he has blossomed into a beautiful, proud, loving, person, He lives fearlessly, purely and in the moment. he is an inspiration every day. He makes me love more and more, I see more love in the world because of him."

* "The hero endures, so in this regard the title refers equally to those who compose our social fabric (I think of immigrants, mothers, the working class) as much as those we elevate or recognize as leaders. Vision of the inspired or higher kind is another aspect - this is the fuel for heroic effort. Finally, the hero serves, reaches others, expresses our common, if latent desires, dreams."

And at least one of you posed more questions! (we like your style :)

- What does he do after? post hero!

- Where does the hero come from?

- What culture, people, environment, produces the hero?

- Why is he a hero? Glory of self? Betterment of world?

- Do base motivations deny him of his status?

a feast to remember...

2011-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

thank you all who attended our March 4th dinner theater fundraiser!

what a great gathering of old friends and new... It's always a joy for WE to host our supporters, share performance sequences, offer appreciation for our collaborators, and share our excitement for projects on the horizon. This year was extra special for us; thank you for sharing the evening as We Players marches forth into our second decade.

tremendous gratitude for the skill and generosity of our head chef, Paul Plotkin (Herb'n Palate).
I don't know how you do it, Pauly, but your food is spectacular. Thank you for donating your time for the second year in a row.

thanks to Jane Hammond Events for allowing us to borrow all those place settings, vases, bread baskets... the scene was elegant.

and thanks to Small Potatoes Catering & Events for letting us use their kitchen and borrow all sorts of kitchen essentials for the evening.

Ava and I are going to take a couple days rest, and we'll send an update to our mailing list soon, to share the performance planning details we revealed on Friday with our larger community.

The Great Feast of March Fourth

2011-01-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

Join We Players as we MARCH FORTH

into a new decade of site-specific performance adventures!

We Players annual Dinner Theater Fundraiser
Friday, March 4th, 2011

Let us tantalize your taste buds with five courses of delicious local fare, while you enjoy performance sequences, live jazz, an open bar, a silent auction, and the unveiling of exciting performance plans for 2011 and beyond.

Garden opens at 6:45; doors open at 7; dinner at 7:30.

TO MAKE A RESERVATION, CLICK HERE!

Join WE on Alcatraz this Saturday 1/29/11

2011-01-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Events

The National Park Service and
We Players present:

The National Park Service and We Players are beginning the third year and final phase of our monumental collaboration on Alcatraz Island. This groundbreaking partnership has utilized site-specific performing arts programming to provoke critical thought and stimulate conversation on the themes of incarceration, isolation, justice and redemption. In addition to engaging the visiting public through site-specific rehearsals and performances, We Players and the National Park Service are creating lasting and transferable tools that use performance elements to augment Alcatraz interpretive themes as presented by the Rangers.

On Saturday, January 29th, We Players and the National Park Service will present live music, a presentation titled “ Proliferation” that includes screenings, and talks by the artist, Paul Rucker, in a gallery space inside the Alcatraz Cell House. Please join us to continue this conversation, inspired by the history and present life of Alcatraz.

PROLIFERATION

In May of 2009, Paul was honored to be part of a Prison Issues residency at the Blue Mountain Center, a working community of writers, artists, activists and musicians in the heart of the Adirondacks. Amazing artists and activists from around the world provided over two weeks of inspiration, knowledge, and camaraderie.

While doing individual research, he happened upon some maps created by GIS and CAD consultant Rose Heyer that showed the growth of the US Prison system. With that information, he was inspired to create Proliferation, an animated mapping of the US Prison system set to original music.

If you would like to receive a free copy of the Proliferation DVD, email your name and address to paulrucker@gmail.com. You may also view Proliferation on YouTube and copies will be available on Alcatraz.

Rucker is an interdisciplinary artist (cellist-bassist-composer-visual artist-creator of interactive sound/video installations) who has released two critically acclaimed CDs of his compositions. He composes new music presented in a way that allows the viewer-listener the opportunity to interact with the work (participants can trigger sounds with the wave of a hand, touch of a finger, or press of a button). Ruckers’ s pieces have been on display at high-profile galleries and conventions, and he has received numerous grants and has been awarded residencies to several prestigious arts centers worldwide. As a musician and director, Rucker plays in various situations from solo cellist to leading his large ensemble of twenty-two musicians.

Visit www.paulrucker.com for more information.

Saturday, January 29, 2011 @ 1pm
Guided walk with We Players and Artists talk with Paul Rucker

Meet at 1pm at Pier 33, Alcatraz Landing
Ferry departs at 1:20pm
Return to Pier 33 at 4:40pm

Reservations required; no charge; ferry passage included with reservation. For more information, please visit

We Players’.

http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/website/pprog-upcoming-events.aspx

slideshows of Hamlet on Alcatraz

2011-01-16T10:08:00.001-08:00

Enjoy photos!

We Players' production of:

Hamlet on Alcatraz

(October and November, 2010)

Photos HERE!

love, WE

collaboration with artists through SF Sheriff's Department

2011-01-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Below is summary text explaining the puppets and banners that Anna Martine Whitehead created with artists on probation, parole, or supervision through the San Francisco Sheriff's department, in collaboration with We Players' production of Hamlet. Their work is presently on display in We Players' gallery in the cell house on Alcatraz.

While We Players rehearsed Hamlet lines beat by beat over the demanding Alcatraz terrain, new and returning artists at the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department spent Summer 2010 building giant puppets and banners that address Hamlet’s themes - including isolation, redemption, and loss. Over the course of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet finds himself more and more alone within a court of panderers, backstabbers, adulterers, andmurderers. He struggles with the moral question of how to avenge his father’s death, increasingly aware of the cycle of violence and limitations of reason. He becomes morose, and in the process loses not only his father, but his mother, a sense of family, his love, and ultimately his own life.

These same themes of loss, isolation, and redemption are felt keenly by the 260,000 people incarcerated in California jails and prisons, and the over 446,000 California residents on probation, parole, or supervision. Setting the trend for the nation, incarceration has become an epidemic in California.

The artists who designed the work presented in the gallery are all on probation, parole, or supervision and a few have served time at San Quentin State Prison, directly across the Bay. They have experienced the loss of friends, family, childhood, social standing or a sense of self to violence, drugs, AIDS, and incarceration.

For those who repeatedly showed up to make artwork, several times a week for over twelve weeks, the manipulation of raw material into identifiable images of salvation and remembrance (ghosts, fists raised in the air, and crosses, among other things) was a critical step in their ongoing process of redemption and self-forgiveness. Their lived experience of these themes, as well as their commitment to the art of personal expression, was an important part of We Players’ generative process.

Ava Roy speaking at the Commonwealth Club

2010-11-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

Follow this link to hear Ava Roy speak about site specific theater and Hamlet on Alcatraz, in conversation with Stuart Bousel. Recorded at the Commonwealth Club on October 20, 2010.

Hamlet on Alcatraz final weekend waiting list

2010-11-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

I just want folks to know that we have given waiting list pre-placement priority to folks who had reservations to shows that were canceled due to inclement weather back in October. As a result, our waiting lists for the final three performances of Hamlet on Alcatraz (Friday @ 3:10, Saturday @ 3:10, and Sunday @ 11:35) already have approximately 15 names at the top of each list.

Additional names will be taken starting 1 hour prior to performance start time. Come to Pier 33 to add your name to the list.

WE in Stanford Magazine, November/December 2010

2010-11-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Stanford Magazine November/December 2010 issue:

"All the prison's a stage"

Check out the article online HERE!

2010-11-03T17:36:00.001-07:00

Not much I can say that hasn't been said ("All You Need Is Love") just appreciation to have been part of the Hallowe'en Hamlet audience (thanks A&A). I couldn't imagine at the beginning of the project how it would be accomplished, but it was and so well. The scene where Claudius tried to repent and Hamlet wouldn't kill him since he thought he might get into Heaven made me think of the prisoners and their struggle to exculpate themselves. I thought of all those men in their cells and wondered how many repeated that agony and how many broke under the weight of it. The themes of the Play and the Park seemed to join so smoothly. Anyway, I posted a review on FB that I hoped sounded like some kind of 'telegraphed in' piece, which a 'Friend' said reminded him of the Fat Guy/Skinny Guy movie review TV show. Here's the post and my reply:

I saw the We Players production of Hamlet on Alcatraz yesterday, Hallowe'en. The foreboding emotionally intense action propels the audience forward, anticipation building, toward the ultimate horror. The play reanimates the hopelessly guilty karmic soaked landscape and the ghostly grim abandoned architecture with the murderous motives and methods that landed men on the forbidding Rock in the first place. It is Alcatraz as nothing else could be.

and a comment:

Ha, I was goin for somethin, Fat Guy Critical maybe, got off track by the win fireworks, mini riot, cop cars outside, and it turned out kinda cryptic, tortured syntax, grammatical violence - hah, cryptic - hallowe'en - tortured - violence - Alcatraz - hah hah

WE on West Coast Live, streaming here!

2010-11-02T12:39:00.001-07:00

Listen here!

WE were thrilled to share the airwaves with musical groups Tango #9 and Albino!

as well as deeply honored to share space with the wise and beautiful Alice Walker.

SF Chronicle: rockin the Rock

2010-10-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Steven Winn writes about We Players on The Rock

check out the article in SF Chronicle: click here!

WE PLAYERS on West Coast Live this Saturday 10am!

2010-10-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

WE on West Coast Live !

This Saturday, 10/30
aired in the SF Bay Area on KALW 91.7FM
and other pulbic radio stations nationwide.

Show is streamed live 10am-12pm at www.KALW.org

more info on the show at www.WCL.org

Join us as part of the live audience! Reserve tickets at 415-664-9500

We'll share a few scenes from our current production of Hamlet on Alcatraz, followed by interview with director Ava Roy and cast members.

Join us live! and on the air!

Waiting List for Hamlet on Alcatraz

2010-10-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

double double toil and trouble...

The typhoon blew us off the Rock yesterday, and our magic wand seems to be on the fritz...
Some conditions are beyond even the powerful charms of WE.

Thank you for your patience and understanding the nature of site-specific work.

WE are entirely booked for all performances of Hamlet on Alcatraz.

If you don't already have reservations, the waiting list is a good option!

We begin taking names for our waiting list 1 hour prior to performance start time/ ferry departure.
Come to Pier 33 and look for the Hamlet on Alcatraz signs and the crew in red t-shirts.
We release unclaimed reservations 15 minutes before departure.

Remaining shows as follows:

Friday, October 29, 3:10pm
Saturday, October 30, 3:10pm
Sunday, October 31, 11:35am
Saturday, November 6, 3:10pm
Sunday, November 7, 11:35am
Saturday, November 13, 3:10pm
Sunday, November 14, 11:35am
Friday, November 19, 3:10pm
Saturday, November 20, 3:10pm
Sunday, November 21, 11:35am

See you on the Rock!

*

Performing New Lives, with Jonathan Shailor

2010-10-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

Meet Dr. Jonathan Shailor

author and editor of Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre

at MODERN TIMES BOOKSTORE

888 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

on MONDAY NOVEMBER 15, 7pm

Book trailer: http://www.tinyurl.com/performingnewlives2

Jonathan is the director of The Shakespeare Prison Project

(http://shakespeareprisonproject.blogspot.com/)

and the editor of a new book: Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre

(Jessica Kingsley Publishers - to order the book, click here).

Ava will be joining Jonathan at the reading to share in the conversation.

AVA at Commonwealth Club, Wednesday 10/20

2010-10-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

Join me in conversation at the Commonwealth Club!

https://tickets.commonwealthclub.org/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=2

Ava Roy

Hear what the audience has to say about Hamlet on Alcatraz:

2010-10-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

"This is an amazing artistic effort that creates an experience that truly transports you into another world... The visual beauty of this performance will knock your socks off." —mdn

"The audience was intimately mixed with the cast and the setting such that the brilliant words were coming from in front, behind and ultimately inside my head... I feel much more alive having seen it." —andywolpert

Other audience thoughts: The Opposite of Truth, Theo's, Cameron Maddux, My Grainy View, Love and Eggs

Thank you for all of your thoughtful reactions.

We Players at The Commonwealth Club!

2010-10-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

We Players' creative director, Ava Roy, will be speaking at The Commonwealth Club on Wednesday, Oct. 20th at 5:30 PM. To purchase tickets and learn more about the event, visit the Commonwealth Club's website.

O Proud Death

2010-10-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hamlet on Alcatraz filled to capacity!

2010-10-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

what an honor! over 2,500 reservations placed just after opening weekend!
We are taking names for our waiting list 1 hour prior to listed performance time and releasing unclaimed reservations 15 minutes prior to ferry departure. Follow the signs to the reservations table at Pier 33.

Off WE Go!! Celebrate our opening with Reason to Party!

2010-10-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who joined us on our opening weekend! WE are celebrating with Reason to Party at Medjool, a roof-top bar in the Mission, on Thursday, October 14. Purchase your advance ticket for $25 (or $35 at the door) HERE. Reason to Party brings together Bay Area communities and awareness for local charity organizations -- and next week they are throwing a party for WE. Come join us and meet the cast and crew of Hamlet!

WE and NBC!

2010-10-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Check out NBC LA's article about Hamlet on Alcatraz here!

RESERVATIONS NOW OPEN! and filling up fast...

2010-09-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Click here to make a reservation for Hamlet on Alcatraz.

What Cannot be Taken Away: Families and Prisons Project

2010-09-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

WE just visited Evan Bissell's show at SOMArts called What Cannot be Taken Away: Families and Prisons Project. The show grew out of a series of workshops and dialogues between the artist, incarcerated men and local youth with incarcerated parents. Bissell documented and displayed the process of the project in order to emphasize the collaborative nature of the portraits on display. The exhibition also includes interactive wall drawings, installation pieces and audio. The show will run through September 19th. Be sure to check it out! Additionally, Evan Bissell will be offering a visual arts workshop related to healing and justice on Saturday 11, 2010.

There are over seven million youth in this country with parents in the legal justice system.

Public Secrets

2010-09-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

According to Sharon Daniel, creator of Public Secrets: there are secrets that are kept from the public and then there are "public secrets" - secrets that the public chooses to keep safe from itself, like, "don't ask, don't tell." The public secret is an aporia - an irresolvable internal contradiction between inside and outside, power and knowledge. Public Secrets is an interactive testimonial in which women incarcerated in the California State Prison System reveal the secrets of the war on drugs, the criminal justice system, and the prison industrial complex.

Explore Public Secrets' stunning website and hear the voices of women incarcerated in the California Prison System.

WE's night out!

2010-08-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

WE had a blast at Elixir in the Mission last night. Thanks to all who joined us! Special thanks to Elixir for hosting us and La Mediterranee for the DELICIOUS food. Next party? VOLUNTEER training! Sign up to help out with Hamlet on Alcatraz.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

2010-08-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

We Players is seeking volunteers for our upcoming performances of Hamlet on Alcatraz. WE are looking for responsible persons, interested in theater, and for whom creating art on Alcatraz would be an exciting adventure. We have myriad volunteer opportunities, which we have separated into three different categories -

Stage and tech crew*
Front of house Crew*
Off-Site or work day helpers (specialized training not required)

Please click on the appropriate link/ volunteer title to provide the required information and choose performances to crew. More detailed information will follow via confirmation e-mail, once you sign up.

If you would like to crew a performance with a group (school class, office, team, etc.), please contact Outreach Coordinator, Elizabeth Nichols, elizabeth@weplayers.org.

Thanks for your enthusiasm and support! ALL volunteers will be listed and thanked here on our project blog. We look forward to you joining WE in making history on Alcatraz!

* Specialized training is REQUIRED for Stage & Tech and Front of House crews. Volunteers for these crews are also REQUIRED to attend our final dress rehearsal on Friday, October 1^st, 4:40-9:40pm. Stage and tech crew and front of house volunteer positions consist of a 26 hour minimum time commitment over the next 2 1/2 months. These trained volunteers will receive a We Players on Alcatraz CREW t-shirt, (2) advance-book reserved spaces for Hamlet on Alcatraz, and name listing in our program.

Shakespeare Behind Bars

2010-08-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

Shakespeare Behind Bars, a documentary about the process of putting on a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest in Luther Luckett Prison in Kentucky, shows the transformative power of art and theater in the context of the prison system.

help PAPER MACHE!!!

2010-08-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

We Players guest artist Anna Martine Whitehead is leading a puppet making workshop with volunteers via the San Francisco Sheriff's office. She and her volunteers are creating large puppets for our upcoming production of Hamlet on Alcatraz. Anna needs some help with paper mache THIS WEEK! The party will be held in the East Bay, ~ 15 min walk from a BART station, at the following times:
Tuesday, 8.17 from about 2pm probably til 6pm
Wednesday, 8.18 from about 1 or 1:30 to probably 5 or 6
Thursday, 8.19 possibly in the morning, if need be, from about 10am to 12 noon

Please e-mail alcatraz_puppets@weplayers.org if you're interested in helping out.
*gracias

GATHERING

2010-08-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you Kickstarter supporters!!!

You can still spread the word and support WE

click the DONATE button here to donate via Paypal!

We also have a materials wish list, posted below.

Let us know if you can help provide: food, fabric, bells, rope, lanterns, lumber, paint, a megaphone, 104 melons. These are some of the things we seek.

Total of 20 hours working on-site this weekend, yeeeeeow.

We are in continual practice

Training our bodies and voices for this epic feat.

thank you for all your help.

Celebrate our KICKSTARTER campaign and come PLAY with WE!

2010-08-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

WE are in the New York Times!

2010-08-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

Read about Hamlet on Alcatraz in the NYT! AND... Today is the last day of our KICKSTARTER campaign. Help us reach our new goal of 12k! HUGE thanks to all who have supported us already. Keep spreading the word!

Help We exceed our Kickstarter Dreams!

2010-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for donating to We Players via Kickstarter! We have raised over $9,000, well exceeding our $7,000 goal. ALL money pledged will be received by We Players and will be used to produce Hamlet on Alcatraz, so please keep encouraging your circles of friends and family and coworkers to donate!

kickstarter!

2010-07-11T22:03:00.001-07:00

happy solar eclipse...

WE start rehearsals NOW!

help kickstart the rehearsal process and help WE reach our $7000 goal!

please visit kickstarter.com and search for We Players

or just click here: KICK IT!

please spread the word!!!!!!

2010-07-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

October 2nd - November 21st

Stay tuned here for information about show times,

salon events, work-in-progress showings and

special gala performances on-site this summer.

california correctional peace officers...on Prison Reform

2010-06-20T14:28:00.001-07:00

check out:

http://ccpoa.org/reform

Wish List

2010-06-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Rehearsals for HAMLET on ALCATRAZ start in one month!

Help WE gather necessary materials and supplies!

Here is our current WISH LIST.

Contact info@weplayers.org if you can donate or connect us with any of the following...

Supplies:

Paper (especially card stock - any weight)

Fabric (especially blacks, velvets, heavy fabric, canvas)

Plexiglass

Plywood

Lumber

Rugs

Clip lights

Flashlights

Lanterns

Batteries

Stamps

Electric kettle

Electric coffee pot

Hot water pump dispensers

Coolers

Icepacks

Compostable plates, cups, forks, spoons, napkins

Food Stuffs: Water in bottles, Juice/ tea in bottles, Cookies, Crackers, Coffee, Nuts, Dried fruit

First Aid: lip balm, tampons, advil, water jugs, rescue remedy, emergenC, cough drops, extra socks, hats, burn balm, tiger balm, Neosporin, allergy med, Benadryl, arnica gel, aloe

Transportation: Air travel, Gas cards, Bart cards, Fastrak passes, Muni passes

Printing: glossy posters and flyers

THANK YOU!

Thank You, By Heart

2010-06-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

A big Thank You to Judith Tannenbaum for sharing BY HEART with us last Saturday!

Your work is inspiring and powerful.

Please check out Judith and Spoon's book, By Heart.

BY HEART reading on May 29th

2010-05-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

BY HEART

reading with author Judith Tannenbaum

Saturday, May 29, 2010

4-6pm

1029 Dolores Street, SF

(private residence)

“By Heart” is a two-person memoir written by Judith and Spoon Jackson. Spoon was Judith’s student at San Quentin in the 1980s, where he found himself as a poet and writer, and played Pozzo in the prison’s 1988 production of Waiting for Godot.

Judith and Spoon are very special friends of We Players and some of their poetry will be included in our work on Alcatraz.

Visit their websites at:
judithtannenbaum.com
spoonjackson.com

“This is a book about poetry, about struggle, about freedom and incarceration, and most of all about heart. It is a wonderful read.” - devorah major, San Francisco Poet Laureate 2002-2005

from a friend, wrongly accused

2010-04-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

he sent this to me yesterday... and gave me permission to share on this blog.
what an intense story. what a challenging reality.
how is jail different for those who actually committed a crime, and those who definitely did not?
*
l

(transcribed from original scraps of paper)

A true test of my nerve and my strength of will. I thought I would be tough if I ever came into danger; but I am not as tough as I thought. I am terrified. My pulse races with the constant thought of my peril.

I cannot be humbled, because I am innocent. The crime I have been charged with deeply offends me. This charge of kidnapping is ridiculous, born out of someone's paranoia and profiling. I was only trying to help the child. He bumped his head, and wandered forward into the parking lot, looking at the ground, quietly saying "mommy". I walked with him, trying to ask him if he was alright, what was his name, where did he last see his mother, can he show me... when a woman hurries up, identifies him, takes his hand and hurries him off to reunite him with his mother. Confident that the matter was resolved, I continued on to my car and left, as I had intended to do before my concern for the boy. Next thing I know, I get pulled over and arrested under suspicion of child abduction! The cops don't believe my story. They think I "fled the scene". I am being kept in maximum security. I'm on the news! My photo and name on television and in the sunday paper! They say I kidnapped that child! I've been demonized; they've turned it into a witch hunt. Now I am surrounded by violent criminals... who all think that I kidnap little boys.

I have asked for protective custody, and I am confined to my cell. I have broken NO laws; I have been arrested and imprisoned merely because of someone's false interpretation of what they saw. In my hat and trench coat, I had been stereotyped as a villain.

Room is six sided polygon. Stainless steel sink and toilet. Mirror and small stainless steel shelf. Wooden shelf and large wooden shelf/desk below the first. One buzzing tube light. Two ventilation ducts, in and out. Cement base bed and padding, with a pillow and 2 blankets. Two narrow barred windows near ceiling which look out to a red brick wall.
145 and 5 thirds tiles on floor (deep red)
46 tiles on wall base perimeter, covering half of 24 wall bricks.
460 bricks and 45 half-bricks (excluding the 24 above mentioned bricks) on walls (white paint)
2 tiny spiders about 2 millimeters squared.
Cell paced 2,600 times.

Why do I fear death? Because I have barely begun my life of service to the future generations; I have barely done anything to leave this world better than I found it. Only when I am satisfied with my works, will I be able to die in peace, and not fear and regret, which is the worst kind of death.

Justice must be done, or I shall wither away in here, a punching bag for the resident monsters. All I can do for now is watch the shadows move on the brick wall outside as the Earth turns.

When my innocence is proven, I will demand the media run a story to clear my good name. This absurd misunderstanding has slandered me; I am disgraced in the public eye.

Some of these inmates... they are so filled with hot hate and anger; unstable; irrational. This place is a mad house. I don't belong here. My rights, my freedom, taken away so easily.

Another paper to write on. I've thoroughly brushed my hair, washed my face, my armpits, brushed my teeth twice since dinner, and done more sit-ups and push-ups than I ever have in one day before. I think, I hope, that I'll be seen in court tomorrow, and they will set my bail. I just want this ugly mess to be over and get on with my life.

I have a feeling that the boy scout troop won't want me teaching the kids. From now on, everyone in town is going to treat me like I'm the scum of the Earth.

I'm not allowed to exercise during lights-out, and all I have to read is the Inmate Information Manual Rules and Regulations, which I have read. I'm tired but I can't sleep.

Dawn. My arraignment is today, at 13:30. My charge will be read (kidnapping 2), and they may set my bail amount; they might not. I hope it won't be over 10 grand.

This is infuriating! I only wanted to make sure the boy was okay, but who will believe me? At least those who know me will know I tell the truth.

I am a sheep amidst wolves. In this place, I have seen the dark side of humanity. I've come face-to-face with a murderer who has gotten the death penalty. He seemed proud. These monsters, they pray on the weak, and judge everybody. They assume everyone (me) is guilty. It was by sheer luck that I avoided getting attacked in the waiting room before court; the man who wanted too didn't only because he has a child on the way on the outside and want's out, which means not starting any fights. I'm going to get eaten alive if I stay here. I can't be in my cell all the time. All I can do is keep my mouth shut.

Another night in this cell; this uncomfortable bed. At least I have a book to read now; I was able to get it from the common room. A Traitor to Memory, by Elizabeth George. A British mystery. It seemed all that they had in that cupboard were mysteries and thrillers.

One of the inmates down the hall has been cussing, shouting, and singing (badly) for hours on end. If someone tells him to shut up, it starts him into a fit of insults. Gods, I hope they set my bail tomorrow. I thought they would do it today after my court appearance. I need to get out of this accursed place. There is nothing here but hate, vanity, insanity, and indifference in the absence of the former.

I can't stop thinking about how badly this can go. This is crazy. If I get out of this jam, I will be content to just plant trees for the rest of my life.

A terrible encircling darkness of anxiety curses me.

Bad things happen to good people.
There is no justice in it;
It is just the world that we have made for ourselves.

-----------------------------------------------

After my release:

Bail security deposit paid - $35,000

Under house arrest. Cannot leave house unless authorized.

Shackled with electronic surveillance tracking devices.

Attorney working very hard to find facts.

Witnesses may not wish to come forward out of fear.

Poetic Justice link

2010-04-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Deborah Tobola

is creating theater with formerly incarcerated people. Visit: http://www.poeticjusticeproject.org/Hard_Facts.html

This video is quite poignant, a short documentary about how having a family member in prison affects the lives on the outside.

http://kqed02.streamguys.us/anon.kqed/tv/truly/1003-sentence-apart.m4v

eat cake and read hamlet

2010-03-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2010

William S. turns 446.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark turns 387.

Join WE for a read through of HAMLET.

Friday 4.23

7-10pm

at OCSC (sailing school)

1 Spinnaker Way, Berkeley

We'll read from the current working-cut. Help shape the final version, for performance on The Rock.

Various people will read various parts

(rsvp if you'd like a scene assignment)

it will be a working session

with birthday cake !

Spring. Birth. Give. Create.

2010-03-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends

please consider donating right now!

$5, $10, $20, $50

whatever you can give

it all adds up

each one of us

makes many of us

makes we

and gives WE the fuel to carry on.

(consider it a birthday present to me ;)

we have an incredible cast and team and crew

but we have a long way to go to fund the project

please help us.

click the DONATE button to your left now!

THANK YOU!

ava

How much more ?

2010-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

You hafta look at this article, http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-01-27/news/no-way-out/http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-01-27/news/no-way-out/ . Lonnie Morris, San Quentin lifer, convicted cop-killer, and by almost all accounts (not counting the San Pablo PD and the dead Cop's family) he's a model of rehab, reform, redemption, all the re-s. Somehow he got turned around, more like he turned himself around, but he can't get paroled. Somehow he become a murderer and then somehow he managed to find redemption ? How do you change from being a murderer ? If a man changes, finds a new self, gets reformed in prison, does this mean that the system worked ? We say this about lots of other programs when people complain of money wasted, 'but if one person is helped?'. What is it about about Lonnie Morris and Alcatraz cons like John Banner, Leon 'Whitey' Thompson, Jim Quillen, who received a Presidential Pardon or Darwin Coon who fostered nine children after he got out, that enabled them to change in jail and why is it that other men can't or couldn't, men like Alcatraz cons Robert Stroud and Henri Young ? Is it some kind of program that changes men, or is it something else, some inner quality, a spiritual experience, or that human desire to be free ? You know the story about the Zen master that ordered a hot dog from the street vendor asking for "One with everything" and handed over a Five. When the vendor didn't give him anything back, he asked for his change and the vendor replied "Ah, change must come from within". How much more does Lonnie Morris have to change ? What would happen to him if he did ? What is this really about ?

Secrets.

2010-03-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

A thank you to Sharon Daniels for this powerful website.

"Don't ask, don't tell."

What are the rocks we choose not to look under? What things are out in the open that we choose to ignore, choose to pretend don't exist? Is it a conscious choice? Where does the fear of knowing come from? Is there ever such a thing as knowing too much?

An exploration:

Public Secrets.

gathering the troupes

2010-03-10T21:51:00.001-08:00

auditions were awesome

thank you to all of you who came out to play!

still working on final callbacks and decisions

we will post our cast list soon!

percentage

2010-02-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

"Since 1980, the number of people in U.S. prisons has increased more than 450%.

Despite a crime rate that has been falling steadily for decades."

from the book: "Golden Gulag" (Ruth Wilson Gilmore)

why?

2010-02-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

Another comment left on an envelope at the dinner party:

"While we know that prisons aren’t perfect, still remember that some people need to be in prison (or something like it). Some people “deserve” to be dealt with."

Thank you for this - for bringing this into the conversation. Actually this has been coming up a lot for me - that my natural sympathy, and desire for understanding is not meant to excuse or justify crime. But how can we heal, how can there be rehabilitation without trying to understand what motivates crime/ violence in the first place?

I have been reading James Gilligan's book: VIOLENCE.

Phew - check it out. Pretty intense, and really interesting how Mr. Gilligan has found in his 30 years of working with some of the most violent men in the nation - as an MD and psychiatrist - that Shakespeare and the Greeks provide some of the most useful information and archetypes for getting at an understanding of even the most horrendous crimes. But rather than turn this post into an exploration of Gilligan's book - I return to my the quote above...

So I recognize that yes, I tend naturally to be sympathetic to the struggles and experiences of people in prison. The more I learn and expose myself to - the more painfully obvious appears the injustice of the justice system. A system that in many cases, works to break the spirit and souls of the prisoners, quite contrary to any sense of rehab. Why bother trying to understand why people commit crimes? I mean not just the MOMENT of the crime, but the larger social and cultural conditions urging someone, the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, the pressures, confusions. Can you imagine only being remembered for the rest of forever as the one worst thing you ever did ? To have your whole self condensed into that one instance ? Okay so this trying to understand is not meant to gloss over the real horror of the crime committed, the suffering unleashed upon the victim and relations, not to justify or ignore the crime that put someone in prison, but trying to place it and understand it within a larger framework - that this could be a way to uncover solutions for healing and change.

And I'm finding that many effective programs exist – art, education, and meditation based programs that return a sense of Self, Strength, and Hope to a person – except these programs are getting slashed and burned.

I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to meet some of these artists / educators / activists working within the prison system and learn from them. We Players will strive to incorporate what we learn and gather into our performances.

The other part of WHY is this...

We all have one thing in common - we are Human Beings.

This is at the heart of the work in the theater. It's a vehicle for better understanding myself, this being human, the layers, subtleties, complications, influences...Who Am I? How Must I Act?

i believe it is part of our job as artists is to remain open and curious and willing to feel. all of it.

and it's all breaking my heart a little every day

it's also strengthening that same muscle

On the Menu

2010-02-23T00:10:00.000-08:00

At last...here are some of your comments from the February Feast:

(and thank you for the lovely pictures on your envelopes too!)

“I noticed that Hamlet called Denmark a prison…You probably noticed this.”

We thought there was some kind of connection in there! ;)

“Invite ex-prisoners to come see the show” / “Will (former) prisoners be able to participate in the production?”

Yes! In fact we are exploring a number of ways for prisoners to be involved in this work. Including incorporating their poetry and artwork, and inviting some former prisoners to be involved as crew and performers.

“Local schools would love to see the energy of We Players!” / “Get local schools to come on field trip?”

We agree. Our thanks to Michele Haner, who will arrange for Ava to visit the French-American International High School and lead a discussion about site-specific theater, and using theater as a tool for social action. We plan to arrange student internships for the summer rehearsal and production period. We are hoping to team up with other teachers and existing outreach programs to incorporate work with at-risk youth.

Please let us know if there's a teacher you think we should talk to!

“A haiku for We:

You are amazing

Your manifested beauty’s

Magnified by love

Keep it up.”

Thank you. We are buoyed up and strengthened by your support!

“How long by homing pigeon flight is a trip from Alcatraz to San Quentin?”

Very good question. Please let us know the answer. Although it may be more relevant to ask this of cormorants, gulls, egrets…other bird species that make their seasonal nesting home on Alcatraz.

“How are the prisons related?”

Amazing how few people are asking that question. Thank you. We will provide information through the project, and infuse our work on site with current stories and statistics to help make the connection between the two.

“Can we watch the play from a boat?”

Do you think we would leave out any detail?

“Will you reinstate the Alcatraz garden?”

Please check out: http://www.alcatrazgardens.org/

The volunteer garden crew on the Rock is amazing. They are restoring the gardens throughout the island.

In November we ate figs from the trees as part of our harvest / fire ceremony.

“What prisoners were sent to Alcatraz and why?”

The so called “worst of the worst”. That is, if you went to prison, but then got in trouble there you could be sent to Alcatraz. Very few prisoners were sent to Alcatraz directly. It was, “reserved for those desperate and irredeemable types”.

Irredeemable?

“The insane are often incarcerated. Is Hamlet insane? Depressed? What about Ophelia? I’m excited to find out.”

Me too.

“Put Hamlet/We player info on the Alcatraz/Park Service website (including background on Shakespeare and the play itself)”
Despite our partnership with the park, we are running into fields of red tape on this one.

Please consider sending this request to the Park Service!

A story from Stanley Williams who was executed at San Quentin in 2006: A friend snuck a rose petal in to him on a visit to death row. Stanley took it from her, held it in his palm for a minute, then put it in his mouth…and swallowed it. He told her he though it might be his last and only chance to connect with the natural world and he wanted to experience it fully.

How can I support you without giving money? / I would like to be of service, even if I can’t give money.

There are so many aspects to this project. We welcome your support, your talents, your thoughts, your questions. Please write to info@weplayers.org and tell us what you're interested in, what aspects of the project ignite you, and we will find a fit. YES. We want your help.

Can we tie race into the picture?

Yes please. This begs a longer response...perhaps a blog post unto itself...

More opportunities like this for fans and supporters to get together and get to know We Players better. Doesn’t have to be as lush as this one, even a pot-luck would do.

Salons / work-in-progress / conversations this spring. Stay tuned here.

I’ve left out most of the general praise and support of we comments – though we thank you truly – oh but here are a few anyway...

Take good care of yourselves throughout this process and KNOW that you are serving this community in a profound way.

I can’t wait to see the show! Your company is singular in making these spaces available through a trans-historical yet extremely current performance tradition. Bravo!

This has been magical.

I’ve never attended an event such as this. I have nothing to add or change.

I am he as you are she as you are me and WE are all together.

2010-02-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Apologies to the Beatles for changing their I Am The Walrus lyric to be gender inclusive (ooooohhh I'm so evolved, I wear my short sleeved shirt over my long sleeved shirt over my short sleeved shirt). I gotta get this thing out about the AZ Overnight, remember that game WE played there, getting the nod and walking across that circle, leaving your safe place to take another's place? Made me feel so weird when I left my spot, like I didn't exist for a moment, reminded me of this conversation I had about quantum physics where scientists can see an electron in one shell before it jumps to the other shell, then see it in the other shell, but they can't find any evidence of its existence when it jumps, when it's in between those shells. Then I heard about these eleven dimensions where you can exist in different dimensions/times/places at the same time, spending years somewhere else in between moments. I brought a book that night because it had a scary story, Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, where she describes her grandmother's experience at a medical school in China where all the women slept in a dorm, when there was a fine empty room, but it was haunted. Well, Grandmother took that room and battled a ghost all night, she left her body in the battle and was gone twelve years, and then woke up in that room the next morning. What does this mean? What's it all about Mr. Natural? Well, that night I thought that's what life was like on Alcatraz, a parenthesis, a dimensional jump, where there was no evidence of a man's existence, a place where men battled ghosts. One man described it as closing his eyes and seeing things then going places in his mind, that's how he dealt with it. Anyway, in the morning WE were all there, no matter where WE went that night, the one chance WE had to sleep in those cells. So for me that night was all about existence, being and non being, here and there, now and then, "to be or not to be" and everything in between.

By Heart

2010-02-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

By Heart, a two person memoir by Judith Tannenbaum and Spoon Jackson

We are really excited about both of these poets! We are in conversation with Judith, who has over 30 years experience teaching poetry and working with men in maximum security prisons, and hope to include some of Spoon's writing in our performance on The Rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8684AjtFYU

Bookstore Readings

Thursday April 8, 2010 7 PM Diesel, a Bookstore 5433 College Avenue, Oakland, CA

Sunday April 11, 2010 4 PM Booksmith 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA

More on the 2010 Season and We Players Rock Residency…

2010-02-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

HAMLET is particularly suited to the island for many reasons. It is a story of a man in isolation wrestling with conscience and consciousness, and is fraught with themes of grief, madness, loss, revenge - all of which extend from the core project themes of isolation, incarceration, and justice. We hope that the play, centered around these issues, will act as a catalyst for conversation.

The root of this conversation is about FREEDOM.

What is it to be free? Is it something that can be granted or taken away?

Or is it something more fundamentally personal than that?

How must I act? To do or not to do?

The show will be built in such a way as to serve both the regular park visitors, with many elements occurring in public areas, as well as the designated audiences who we will guide through a carefully crafted route through the space.

We have already begun conversations artists and teachers who work with local justice advocacy groups, juvenile offenders and with people living in maximum security prisons. We are building partnerships, gathering research, collecting works of art – all of which will be central to the final stage of the residency, culminating in summer 2011.

The Players are a group of traveling actors within Hamlet – and in our production, the Players will be performing virtually non-stop in a public area. In addition to the classical text, they will perform a wide variety of other material which is intended to contextualize the themes…this text will include poetry and first hand materials by those people directly affected by the issues we are exploring - people in prison and their families. The Native American community has a deep connection with the island, and we are inviting their voice into the process as well.

Alcatraz has a magnetic draw. About 5000 people per day in the high season visit the fog enshrouded island in the San Francisco Bay. It is legendary both in the national landscape and within international awareness as well. Both We Players and the National Park Service are asking, “What experience are people having?”, “What are they coming away with?”. This project reflects a true partnership between We Players and the NPS as we join in the shared goal of stimulating more critical conversation of important current issues, issues that are entrenched in the multi-layered history of The Rock.

We feel a tremendous responsibility to those people whose lives are immediately affected by these issues. Please send us your thoughts, reading suggestions, direct us to organizations and individuals you think we should contact.

Write to: alactraz@weplayers.org

HAMLET on The Rock.

2010-02-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

O god, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space......

We Players proudly announce our 2010 production

Shakespeare's HAMLET

to take place as an interactive, island-wide journey on the legendary

Alcatraz Island

this October/November

Stay tuned here for information about salon events, work-in-progress showings and discussions, and special gala performances on-site this summer.

This production is part of our three year residency on The Rock,

in collaboration with the National Park Service.

We are developing outreach programs and diverse on-site installations in conjunction with the production of Hamlet, to incorporate voices of under-served populations, such as people in prison and their families.

write to us at alcatraz@weplayers.org

or info@weplayers.org

with questions, suggestions, or to get involved.

an enterprise of great pith and moment

Join us!

THANK YOU

2010-02-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

thank you dear friends and supporters and performers

for filling the church with warm and joyous presence

for savoring and celebrating

this. now. yes!

(more soon. prep for San Quentin tour now...)

join us at the feast!

2010-02-03T22:48:00.000-08:00

"That when I waked, I cried to dream again..."

Don't let tomorrow night, THURSDAY February 4th, pass you by!

seriously incredible food and so much heart and spirit poured into every drop and morsel

donations from organic farmers across the land

cases of wine sitting in my living room, waiting for you

hilarious performers lie in wait

music and merriment

WE and YOU

help us manifest this crazy Alcatraz adventure

WE can't do it without YOU...

shall we dare to dream this dream?

you tell us.

draft menu for 2.4.10

2010-01-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

the months of preparation are coming together! I had a lovely time visiting our kind farmer-donors once again this morning, sampling the fruits of the season (California is amazing), and calculating bulk quantities with our fabulous head chef, Pauly Plotkin (herb'n palate supper club). Maybe I can entice those of you who are on the fence about attending our 2.4 dinner theater fund raiser with a rough sketch of the menu:

Antipasti marinated mushrooms, roasted red and yellow peppers, olives, cheeses, etc.
Potato Soup with wild-harvested mushrooms (thanks Pauly!)
Rabbit and Rooster or Vegetable Ragout with creamy polenta and side vegetable
Salad with blood oranges and candied walnuts
Apple Cake
and
homemade Pistelles with candy-cap mushroom dust (tastes like maple sugar!)

visit the link in the left column to buy your tickets! see you there! We look forward to pleasing your pallets!

Media on the Inside

2010-01-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

Inside Story: Prison media (click to view)

More than a dozen small-scale, prisoner-produced magazines are written, edited, published and distributed within British prisons today....

An article from the UK's Independent...

Redemption.

2010-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

A blip from a guide book:

Alcatraz, the Rock, 25 acres in size, is set in cold gray waters 1-1/4 mile from San Francisco. Even when it's hot in San Jose or Oakland, the cold winds across the rock never stop. It is truly a place of punishment, meant for the irredeemable.

And from Merriam-Webster..

Main Entry: re·deem

Pronunciation: \ri-ˈdēm\

Function: transitive verb

Etymology: Middle English redemen, from Anglo-French redemer, modification of Latin redimere, from re-, red- re- + emere to take, buy; akin to Lithuanian imti to take

Date: 15th century

1 a : to buy back :repurchase b : to get or win back
2 : to free from what distresses or harms: as a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental c : to release from blame or debt : clear d : to free from the consequences of sin
3 : to change for the better : reform
4 : repair, restore
5 a : to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby b (1) : to remove the obligation of by payment 2) : to exchange for something of value trading stamps> c : to make good : fulfill
6 a : to atone for : expiate b (1) : to offset the bad effect of (2) : to make worthwhile : retrieve

Irredeemable.

A societal construct of redemption.

What does it mean to us? What does it mean to label a person as irredeemable?

What does redemption look like?

San Quentin on This American Life

2010-01-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

Prisons. Right across the bay is San Quentin. And, so the dialogue diversifies - being not only about Alcatraz but about incarceration across the state. This American Life brings a suspenseful, tear-jerking story of a man right across the Bay.

The tag line for the episode : "Stories of people betting on something with very bad odds, mostly because they have no other choice.", and was forwarded to us in the Prison University Project Newsletter. For more info on the amazing organization, PUP, or to sign up for their newsletter please check out their website: Prison University Project

25 to life with chance of parole. This is the sentence given to Don Crock, an inmate who committed first degree murder in the 1980's. A drug riddled burglary gone wrong and in a matter of seconds, 25 year old Don Crock had become a felon. At the time of recording Mr. Crock was 52 and, with a spotless record for his time served, had been deemed by the parole board fit for parole. Here is where the bad odds come in - as written in the story's description:

Act One. Hasta La Vista, Maybe. In California, Maryland and Oklahoma, the governors can overrule parole boards' decisions to free prisoners serving life sentences. In all three states this has evolved to the point where very few prisoners get released. For years Nancy Mullane followed the case of Don Cronk in San Quentin Prison, to see what would happen as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reviewed his case. Though Cronk knew the odds were against him, he found it hard to stop himself from believing he'd get out.

An amazing story. Something to get the wheels turning. Do we as a society believe in redemption?
Thank you to PUP and This American Life. A story for a rainy San Francisco afternoon... grateful to be living out in the world.

Click here to listen:

This American Life, Episode 398: Long Shot

Alcatraz in 1900

2009-12-31T12:21:00.000-08:00

prison/ hotel

2009-12-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

from our dear Ranger Dave...

http://planetfunn.blogspot.com/2009/08/unusual-hotel-alcatraz-hotel-in-germany.html

from Reuters last year -

"Visitors to a German city can get that jailhouse feeling, by spending the night in a former prison turned hotel. At the "Alcatraz hotel" in Kaiserslautern, guests who want to spend a night behind bars can expect to pay around 50 euros, or 70 dollars (USD), for the experience."

I slept in a cell on our overnight... but I can't see myself paying to sleep in a cell (even if it's a former cell-turned-small modern hotel room). But I am impressed how the lawyer-owners stayed true to the building's history, and are probably making a lot of money; we all know how popular Alcatraz Island is with the international tourists.

But what does the popularization of prisons say about our cultural awareness of incarceration? Do you think any guest of the hotel has ever known anyone who's gone to prison? Do you know anyone who has gone to prison? What would inmates think of a hotel making money off of stylized prison cells-for-rent?

day in the life of...

2009-12-17T21:33:00.001-08:00

super condensed version of the DAILY ROUTINE from Rules and Regulations handbook gives a sense of the to-the-minute specificity imposed.

Weekdays

7:00 A.M. Morning wake-up bell.

7:20 Count Bell. Stand up by your celldoor, facing out, remain there until the bell signal sounds again, indicating the count is correct. Absolute silence must prevail during all counts.

7:30 Breakfast.

8:00 Outside work call.

11:35

11:45 Outside details leave shops on signal and proceed in column of twos to the cellhouse. Do not carry on loud and boisterous conversations. Do not jostle or indulge in horseplay with others.

12:00 Noon. Dinner.

12:30 P.M. Count Bell.

12:35

1:00

3:30

4:10

4:20

4:35 Count Bell.

4:40 Supper.

5:30 Final Lock-up Count.

9:30 P.M. Lights out, retire promptly. All conversations and other noises must cease immediately.

rules and regulations handbook: alcatraz U.S.P.

2009-12-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

Of 53 items in the Regulations book, these are some of note…

You are required to work at whatever you are told to do.

YOU MAY BE STOPPED AND SEARCHED AT ANY TIME.

YOUR CELL IS SUBJECT TO SEARCH AT ANY TIME.

Loud talking, shouting, whistling, singing or other unnecessary noises are not permitted. You are permitted to hold QUIET conversations and to play games QUIETLY with your adjoining neighbor ONLY.

Do not exceed the ration. Do not waste food.

Boisterous conduct will not be tolerated in the dining room.

You must eat all that you take.

You are not permitted to wear your hair in an unusual manner or have any special haircut.

You must be clean shaven at all times. No special beards, mustaches, or goatees are allowed.

Do not take issue with an Officer, foreman, supervisor or civilian employee on account of any order he may issue to you. IF it should seem to you that such person is exceeding his authority or abusing his office, do not argue. Follow his instructions and report the matter to the Associate Warden after the duty is performed.

Guitars and other stringed instruments may be played in the cellhouse in a QUIET manner only between the hours of 5:30 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.. No singing or whistling accompaniments will be tolerated.

SPECIAL PURCHASES: There is no commissary at Alcatraz. The institution supplies all your needs.

One pack of cigarettes may be issued to each inmate in good standing, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening.

Panopticon

2009-12-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

The Panopticon (designed by Jeremy Bentham. 1785), was the ultimate realization of a modern disciplinary institution. It allowed for constant observation characterized by an "unequal gaze"; the constant possibility of observation. Perhaps the most important feature of the panopticon was that it was specifically designed so that the prisoner could never be sure whether s/he was being observed. The unequal gaze caused the internalization of disciplinary individuality, and the docile body required of its inmates. This means one is less likely to break rules or laws if they believe they are being watched, even if they are not.

Foucault builds a case for the idea that prison became part of a larger “carceral system” that has become an all-encompassing sovereign institution in modern society. Prison is one part of a vast network, including schools, military institutions, hospitals, and factories, which build a panoptic society for its members. This system creates “disciplinary careers” for those locked within its corridors. It is operated under the scientific authority of medicine, psychology, and criminology. Moreover, it operates according to principles that ensure that it “cannot fail to produce delinquents.” Delinquency, indeed, is produced when social petty crime (such as taking wood in the lord's lands) is no longer tolerated, creating a class of specialized "delinquents" acting as the police's proxy in surveillance of society.

Panopticon as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example."

Creates a "sentiment of an invisible omniscience."

As the watchmen cannot be seen, they need not be on duty at all times, leaving the watching to the watched.

ALSO SEE : http://cartome.org/panopticon2.htm

Foucault: the birth of the prison

2009-12-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Michel Foucault, 1975

(the book) traces out the shifts in culture that led to the prison's dominance, focusing on the body and questions of power. Prison is a form used by the "disciplines", a new technological power, which can also be found, according to Foucault, in schools, hospitals, military barracks, etc.....Four parts: torture, punishment, discipline and prison.

TORTURE: the public spectacle of torture was a theatrical forum that served several intended and unintended purposes for society. Intended: - Reflecting the violence of the original crime onto the convict's body for all to see. - Enacting the revenge upon the convict's body. Unintended: - Providing a forum for the convict's body to become a focus of sympathy and admiration. - Creating a site of conflict between the masses and the sovereign at the convict's body. Foucault notes that public executions often led to riots in support of the prisoner.

The theatre of public torture gave way to public chain gangs...the first step away from the excessive force of the sovereign, and towards more generalized and controlled means of punishment. But, he suggests that the shift towards prison that followed was the result of a new "technology" and ontology for the body being developed in the 18th century, the "technology" of discipline, and the ontology of "man as machine".

DISCIPLINE: The emergence of prison as the form of punishment for every crime grew out of the development of discipline in the 18th and 19th centuries…discipline concerned with the smallest and most precise aspects of a person's body. Discipline, he suggests, developed a new economy and politics for bodies.

"Historically, the process by which the bourgeoisie became in the course of the eighteenth century the politically dominant class was masked by the establishment of an explicit, coded and formally egalitarian juridical framework, made possible by the organization of a parliamentary, representative regime."

Foucault's argument is that discipline creates "docile bodies", ideal for the new economics, politics and warfare of the modern industrial age—bodies that function in factories, ordered military regiments, and school classrooms.

(wikipedia)

shifting tactics: rehearsal

2009-12-11T12:49:00.000-08:00

nothing quite like gathering people in a room

and playing with the energy we bring

the surprise and discovery

(that is the opposite of blocking ;)

showed up to rehearsal with a draft of an idea

that with these few willing and ready troupes

we quickly shape into something

looking forward to sharing at the party TOMORROW!

short shakespeare monologues in coversation

Paulina responds to Angelo, Caliban calms Lady Macbeth, Hermione vs. Claudius...

Prospero and Caliban dispute the island

"and here you sty me in this hard rock, whilst you do keep me from the rest o' the island"

"thy vile race...wast thou deservedly confined into this rock, who hadst deserved more than a prison"

If you were standing at the threshold of death, the big goodbye, what would you say?

What is there to say?....

november 25th - sunrise

2009-12-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Sunrise Ceremony on the Rock

drums on the boat, we're inside the drum, walls buzzing

in the still dark morning, the throb of welcoming the day

circles are our natural orientation

on the Rock, bundled against the dripping fog and chill breeze

sage burning smoke warming the senses

as we walk to the fire on the Parade Ground

so many gathered at dawn to honor our ancestors

and each other

rising.

thanks and giving.

reminds me of the earth spinning, just a rock relying on the sun

thanks for the elements.

simple and and true.

1868 Russian reflection on capital punishment

2009-11-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

from Dostoevsky's novel, The Idiot, as the main character discusses the French guillotine, remembering having seen a criminal cry as he stepped up to certain death --

"... the chief and worst pain may not be in the bodily suffering but in one's knowing for certain that in an hour, and then in ten minutes, and then in half a minute, and then now, at the very moment, the soul will leave the body and that one will cease to be a man and that that's bound to happen; the worst part of it is that it's certain.
... To kill for murder is a punishment incomparably worse than the crime itself. Murder by legal sentence is immeasurably more terrible than murder by brigands... Anyone murdered by bringands... must surely hope to escape till the very last minute. But in the other case all that last hope, which makes dyingten times as easy, is taken away for certain. There is the sentence, and the whole awful torture lies in the fact that there is certainly no escape, and there is no torture in the world more terrible.
... Who can tell whether human nature is able to bear this without madness?"

Pieces...

2009-11-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

this will be a kind of:

"prison-indigenous land-violation-occupation-rediscover-conscience and consciousness-crime and punishment-liberation-redepmtion kind of piece"

- Malavika Mohanan, friend/collaborator

* * * * * *

"There is also something that I came across today. Jeremey Bentham, great English philospher, came up with this extraordinary plan for a type of prison The Panopticon

"Morals reformed— health preserved — industry invigorated — instruction diffused — public burthens lightened — Economy seated, as it were, upon a rock — the gordian knot of the poor-law not cut, but untied — all by a simple idea in Architecture!"

What a quote! (upon a rock)

Here's more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon"

- Jessica Joffe, friend/collaborator

night on the rock

2009-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

sleepless sleepover on the rock

like kids all night exploration

rubble piles, roof tops, skeleton architecture against the sky

open spaces sprawling and closed trapped corners

envisioning stunts, fights, flight

shifting and opening souls

the power of the game of "yes", you who know the one, and in the cell house at that.

fire circle - ritual of building our first prayer bundle

sweet

without a forced sense of solemnity,

the power presents itself with ease

but my lungs crushed in the cell at 5am

when i tried to lie down and rest

finding i can navigate the weight of space when i'm in motion

working, engaging, activating

but to be still.

to sit with it

just sit and be still with it ?

i physically can not breathe.

escaped to sunrise vista

and an hour of sleep outside under the lighthouse

stone holds memory.

ACCESS. JUSTICE. INCARCERATION. ISOLATION. REDEMPTION.

2009-11-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd start at the beginning and ruminate on the themes. I started this a week ago...

Access. I think first of an entry way. Availability. A portal. I look it up in the dictionary and find it's also the right to pass. It suggests the future to me. Something will come of it. I like the thought, "I have access". It suggests favor.

Justice. Richard Pryor said it meant, "Just Us".

Two definitions for justice are fairness, and equity. I've been assured the world isn't fair, and I believe it. I feel a wry cockiness, a "valiant ignorance" when I think of how I know the world isn't fair.

And in this thought they find a kind of ease

Bearing their own misfortune on the back

Of such as have before endured the like..

From this perspective justice does seem like "Just Us". It comes down to whoever is in charge, whoever is administering, to give justice it's face, its character. There must be checks and balances. I'm guessing most people think that "justice is served" in our courts. I do. I generally think I know what's fair. I'm conscious of the argument about "the alternatives". How often can equity be imposed, or fairness assured? The world isn't fair. Wondering about this, I feel resigned, fatalistic.

Incarceration. Time to ponder the error of my ways. This word seems the unhappy spawn of the words incineration and carcinogen. Incarcerate: to imprison, to confine. What does confinement accomplish? Or imprisonment? It isolates a dangerous person, removing them from society. Serving a sentence is supposed to result in the paying of a debt. By one account, we have 5% of the worlds population, and 25% of the worlds prison population. I wonder how this fits into our national debt.

Isolation. By chance I ran across an essay in the NY'ker titled "HellHole" by Atul Gawande...some excerpts:

"Human beings are social creatures. ...to exist as a normal human being requires interaction with other people".

"Twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals (test monkeys) socially. They became permanently withdrawn, and they lived as outcasts--regularly set upon, as if inviting abuse".

"In 1992, fifty-seven prisoners of war, released after an average of six months in detention camps in the former Yugoslavia, were examined using EEG-like tests. The recordings revealed brain abnormalities months afterward; the most severe were found in prisoners who had endured either head trauma sufficient to render them unconscious, or solitary confinement."

I observed myself becoming neurotically possessive about my little space, at times putting my life in jeopardy by flying into a rage if a guard happened to step on my bed. (memoir of former hostage Terry Anderson)

"First, after months or years of complete isolation, many prisoners "begin to lose the ability to initiate behavior of any kind"...Second, almost ninety per cent of these prisoners had difficulty with "irrational anger" compared with just three per cent of prisoners in the general population." (Craig Haney, UC Santa Cruz from study of randomly selected one hundred inmates at Pelican Bay supermax)

"The simple truth is that public sentiment in America is the reason that solitary confinement has exploded in this country, even as other Western nations have taken steps to reduce it. This is the dark side of American exceptionalism."

Redemption. Having put right. To make up for. There's to society, and then there's personal redemption. I'm acting as my own judge, or I'm ceding to a higher personal authority. I feel my imagination engaging with those thoughts. Then there's a convenience store right next to a church near Great Barrington, MA. Between the church and store, there's a redemption center sign. It's primary meaning is to advertise where you redeem your empty's. I'd always have sneaky thoughts when I drove by there.

sleepover/ beginnings...

2009-11-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

walking down D-block, alone

(though tourists were still wandering the island, the cell house was remarkably quiet)

after the last light of day had faded from the clear night sky,

a mere 10 minutes before We 15 gathered down on the Parade Ground for circle...

I listened,

and though I didn't hear anything verbal, I felt a sense of welcome.

I talked to the spirits,

stating that we are here in peace... with the desire to explore JUSTICE, deeply feel access and isolation, and experience the richness of now layered with residues of incarceration and redemption... with honest intentions to acknowledge the truth present on this Rock and to creatively express the hindrances to and opportunities for collectively shaping a more just future.

I listened,

and I felt a sense of welcome.

I do not believe/think I can clearly/effectively communicate with spirits (though I hope to soon meet a local indigenous person who can)... and I knew deep down that I had to try.

I do know what I felt.

this Rock, these spirits, want to be heard.

the space wants us to awaken to the spectacular world around us.

I am humbled and honored to participate in this project with We Players and the National Park Service and all.

I pray that our bodies and minds are safe and that are hearts are ever opening...

performance here holds the potential for profound provocation.

I pray that our process unfolds in a good way and reminds all that we are the awareness of our experience, and collectively, the architects of our culture.

today I give thanks for all people who have the courage to feel the fullness of life and are willing to experience the vulnerability of honest expression. and I give thanks for the ever-present possibility and the enlivening experience of transformation.

What is SuperMax?

2009-11-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

"What is a SuperMax prison exactly? According to the Spunk Library SuperMax prisons are essentially solitary confinement for the duration of the sentence. Prisoners are locked into a small cell for 23 hours a day, (1 hour a day “exercise” in a different concrete room with a pullup bar) communication is restriction or totally denied, etc, etc. This quote from the article is notable:

The effects of solitary confinement have been known for more than a century. The following is a quotation from an opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1890: “[E]xperience demonstrated that there were serious objections to [solitary confinement]. A considerable number of the prisoners fell, after even a short confinement, into a semi-fatuous condition, from which it was next to impossible to arouse them, and others became violently insane; others still, committed suicide; while those who stood the ordeal better were not generally reformed, and in most cases did not recover sufficient mental activity to be of any subsequent service. . . .” "

Thoughts from the field

2009-11-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

Steve Boss (Prospero from our production of The Tempest in the raw and wild landscape of the Albany Bulb, 2006), and I found ourselves landing on this thought during a recent conversation about vengeance…the what, the wherefore, the for whom?

“Vengeance is for the Dead. Mercy, FORGIVENESS, is for yourself.”

Or, as Portia in Merchant of Venice would articulate it:

“We do pray for Mercy, and that same prayer,

doth teach us all to render the deeds of Mercy”

from our dear friend and supporter, Ranger Dave McDonald, of Alcatraz and Fort Point:

"thinkin of ya…,thinkin of the transforming power of the rock, of the men that were broken, even as they broke the rock, of the men that found themselves, their own strength, inner iron, sharpened against the rock, and the paradox and promise, broken and bled out, soldiers and indians finding a soul, violence and men who refused violence, strength to weakness to strength

Dave."

listening with the bones

2009-11-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

A pleasure to have one of my teachers from Shakespeare & Co., of my hometown, Lenox, MA, here in SF to lead a weekend workshop with local actors.

As a witness during the workshop, it was so beautiful to watch the rapid transformations as actors were guided by Dennis towards their personal connection with the Shakespeare text. An honor to witness the breakthroughs and full body experiences of the Word.

Many reminders and new discoveries…

Ever centering back to the breath. The source of all things.

That the thought is carried on the breath. Follow the emotion, the thought, from breath to breath. Let it change with each breath. Without anticipating what will come next, let the breath do the work. Let the breath carry you.

The bones as the resonating material for vibration.

Listening with my bones.

Letting my vibration penetrate the bones of others.

This way we don’t have to work to listen. When we speak with the whole body, when we speak with the whole of our being, we can likewise listen with the whole body, with whole of our being.

Why Shakespeare?

These characters living at the extremity of their beings; they are models for living to the greatest amplitude possible.

Everything is possible within the realm of human experience. These characters are vessels for plumbing the depths of human potential. If I can come to taste and know a glimmer of these human states, I might inch closer towards a greater understanding of what it means to be human. This process may make blame impossible.

If everything is possible within ME, then there really is no OTHER, no monster outside.

This is one step towards real justice.

The knowledge that we are the same.

The willingness to see myself in the eyes in another, despite all that may be in the way. This is the walk towards peace - the dissolution of blame and persecution, that grows from understanding and compassion.

(SF weekend workshop with Shakespeare & Company director of training, Dennis Krausnick took place at The French-American International School in SF)

www.shakespeare.org

LINKS and assignments

2009-11-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

ALCATRAZ RELATED LINKS:

http://www.alcatrazalumni.org/index.htm

http://www.alcatrazalumniassoc.org/index.html

http://web.mac.com/mr.alcatraz/iWeb/Alcatraz_Island/Welcome.html

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE BRAVE AND WILLING:

If anyone is excited and some time visit either the Presidio Park Archives or the San Bruno Prison Archives, we’d love it!

We're looking for supplementary materials...

texts from modern sources around our broad and challenging themes.

if you have things you think we should read, links to articles and so on, please let us know!

more research links...politics and justice...

http://www.chomsky.info/letters.htm

www.howardzinn.org

Other Groups we’re excited about:

http://www.cornerstonetheater.org/

http://appleofdiscordproductions.com/ and http://trustcommunity.org/

http://mabelnegrete.com and http://thecounternarrativesociety.org

http://www.prisonuniversityproject.org/

http://www.theintersection.org/

THANKS as ever to the wonderful support team at CounterPULSE, our fiscal sponsor.

www.counterpulse.org

COMING UP

2009-11-03T12:38:00.001-08:00

WE Party in DECEMBER

music. actors. dancers. drinks. merriment. conversation. dance party.

nice.

date to be announce soon....

Dinner Theater, February 4th

at St. John's, in the Mission

(15th and Julian)

mark your calendar!

spread the word!

invite your friends to the feast!

and make your reservation early…

Notes on the Residency:

This marks the first ever artist residency on Alcatraz!

Created specifically for We Players, by invitation from the National Park Service.

Special thanks to Howard Levitt (chief of interpretation for the GGNRA), and Amy Brees (site supervisor on Alcatraz), for the invitation, for their support, and their committed collaboration with WE.

Special thanks to the staff of Alcatraz Cruises for safe passage to and from the island, and special thanks to the Alcatraz Rangers and island staff for their enthusiasm and the budding collaborations and promising conversations already underway.

We Players are committed to making vital theater in public landscapes, using theater as a tool for engaging individuals and invigorating spaces.

Ever experimenting with what the work, and our presence in a place, ignites and stirs up in people. What questions and conversations we can actively explore when the full sensory apparatus is engaged via artistic experience. WE encourage seeing as an act of creation, listening as tuning in to the hidden stories that linger, and awakening to the wonder and ART all around us, all the time.

WELCOME!

2009-11-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome, WE've come to the land of blogging...

okay, I’ll admit, I’ve never been very good at keeping an active online presence.

I respond to emails and such, but a BLOG, oh my…

my friends know that when I’m at sea, I manage to scrawl these long, rambling stream of consciousness updates on my pirate adventures, from snatches of time on land.

But to regularly update a BLOG, and write complete sentences?

Well, I’ll try…

I’ll be attempting to reach my own goal of updates every other week...

and let you know what we’re discovering and how things are evolving.

I must admit, I’m more interested in what YOU’RE discovering, your questions, and your findings, so I hope you’ll get involved and post your thoughts HERE! We’re also looking for links to sites, articles, and so on, for the larger We Players’ community to share.

The themes:

JUSTICE. INCARCERATION. ISOLATION. REDEMPTION.

solitary confinement.

the struggle of the self

conscience and consciousness.

madness or liberation?

crime and punishment.

healing and reconciliation.

judgment. mercy.

phew...

we start to gather

scatter the floor with paper

see what floats

post away!

WE PLAYERS on Alcatraz

Youth Conference on Justice & Freedom

The Knotted Line

VOTE FOR WEEEE!!!!

Ernest Morgan Gets Paroled

Off the Hook

IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE

prison island closure

www.weplayers.org

IN VISIBLE CATEGORIES: INVISIBLE PEOPLE

Grotowski's Workcenter comes to SF!

support friends of We Players - LoCura

scouting for heroes

a feast to remember...

The Great Feast of March Fourth

Join WE on Alcatraz this Saturday 1/29/11

Upcoming Events

The National Park Service and We Players present:

PROLIFERATION

slideshows of Hamlet on Alcatraz

collaboration with artists through SF Sheriff's Department

Ava Roy speaking at the Commonwealth Club

Hamlet on Alcatraz final weekend waiting list

WE in Stanford Magazine, November/December 2010

WE on West Coast Live, streaming here!

SF Chronicle: rockin the Rock

WE PLAYERS on West Coast Live this Saturday 10am!

Waiting List for Hamlet on Alcatraz

Performing New Lives, with Jonathan Shailor

AVA at Commonwealth Club, Wednesday 10/20

Hear what the audience has to say about Hamlet on Alcatraz:

We Players at The Commonwealth Club!

O Proud Death

Hamlet on Alcatraz filled to capacity!

Off WE Go!! Celebrate our opening with Reason to Party!

WE and NBC!

RESERVATIONS NOW OPEN! and filling up fast...

What Cannot be Taken Away: Families and Prisons Project

Public Secrets

WE's night out!

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Shakespeare Behind Bars

help PAPER MACHE!!!

GATHERING

Celebrate our KICKSTARTER campaign and come PLAY with WE!

WE are in the New York Times!

Help We exceed our Kickstarter Dreams!

kickstarter!

california correctional peace officers...on Prison Reform

Wish List

Thank You, By Heart

BY HEART reading on May 29th

from a friend, wrongly accused

Poetic Justice link

eat cake and read hamlet

Spring. Birth. Give. Create.

How much more ?

Secrets.

gathering the troupes

percentage

why?

On the Menu

I am he as you are she as you are me and WE are all together.

By Heart

More on the 2010 Season and We Players Rock Residency…

HAMLET on The Rock.

THANK YOU

join us at the feast!

draft menu for 2.4.10

Media on the Inside

Redemption.

San Quentin on This American Life

Alcatraz in 1900

prison/ hotel

day in the life of...

rules and regulations handbook: alcatraz U.S.P.

Panopticon

Foucault: the birth of the prison

shifting tactics: rehearsal

november 25th - sunrise

The National Park Service and
We Players present: