Program Objectives
- Allow prisoners to constructively express their thoughts, feelings and emotions through the act of writing plays, poems and stories, and to provide participants, with a safe space in which to explore the emotional depths of their characters.
- Develop communication skills through workshop activities that include: reading plays and literature, writing original material within a structured setting, and engaging with the group through presentation and discussion.
- Improve conflict management skills by demonstrating and facilitating a group process whereby participants learn non-violent responses to conflict. A process which helps to decrease disciplinary infractions among participants.
- Create a sense of community in the prison through helping to build group relationships. While in most cases prison atmosphere is reinforced by the individual philosophy of "every man for himself," RTA strives to create a dynamic in group work wherein a contribution from all members is essential for the group to reach its goal.
- Enable participants to develop self-confidence and self-esteem, trust, and respect for others.
- Help build literacy skills through reading aloud, listening and memorizing lines.
The Impact
The impact of RTA on social and institutional behavior was formally evaluated by John Jay College for Criminal Justice, in collaboration with the NYS Department of Corrections. RTA Artistic Director Dr. Lorraine Moller, Professor of Speech and Drama at John Jay, led the project. Click here to view the executive summary.
RTA has profoundly affected the lives of its participants and awakened the prison community, both staff and fellow prisoners, to recognize the program's transformative capabilities.
One inmate recounts: “If someone would have told me that somewhere between my ninth and tenth year of incarceration I would develop an appreciation for the theater, I would have laughed... [After a tough rehearsal] I sat in my cell. My mind flashed back upon all those other times in my life when I turned away from a challenge for fear of what others may think of me. I thought of how I was weeks away from my 33rd year of life – the last thirteen of which I had spent in prison – still allowing such an irrational state of mind to influence my behavior. That night I cried. I cried for all the people throughout my life that placed their confidence in me, only to later be disillusioned. I cried for all the opportunities missed that, like one long and painful intake of breath, I knew to be somehow related to my imprisonment, mental and physical.”
Dennis Manwaring, former Director of Sing Sing’s Special Subjects, recounted, “RTA has changed the attitudes and goals of our inmates, giving them hope and an understanding of how major undertakings can be accomplished when everyone does their part for the common goal.”
The impact of RTA is felt by more than the 50+ prisoners who participate yearly. The productions are seen by approximately 1,500 of Sing Sing's 1,900 inmates each year. One audience member testifies, "I've seen 3 plays and each one has had me reevaluate my position in life. Tonight's performance touched me in a powerful way. I laughed, reflected and cried. It felt like a catharsis taking place as I sat and listened."
