Isabella Martinez, Kristen Oliver, Angelika Robison, and Kelly Wolfe
Improv for Inmates: Reducing Prison Crime/Rates through Theatre
SECOND CHANCE ACT GRANT https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/July-2018_SCA_factsheet.pdf
Mass incarceration is a major issue in the United States. The U.S. has 20% of the world’s incarcerated population. There are many different contributing factors to this high rate of incarceration including extended prison sentences, high rates of recidivism, prison riots and crime. There are many institutional and legislative changes that need to be made to reduce the number of people incarcerated, but we believe that introducing improvisational theatre to inmates can have a positive impact in prisons, reducing prison crime and the recidivism rate. We would like to start with Lake City Correctional Facility and hopefully, grow the program and spread to prisons across Florida.
We will be applying for the Second Chance Act Grant, an initiative to reduce recidivism rates through the National Reentry Resource Center, in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Why state prisons?
A state prison rehabilitates criminals by maintaining them in confinement. In many cases they are funded by state taxes. Those funds go towards food, clothing, hiring employees, and keep the program up and running.
Lake City Correctional facility is a private state prison in Lake City, Florida, with a capacity of 894 prisoners.
The prisoners at Lake City are men from the ages of 18-24 serving short sentences (a maximum of two years). We feel that our program will help them maintain their social skills and get them ready to re enter and re adjust to the outside world. With this program in place, inmates will be able to open up and come out of their shells which will prove useful after leaving prison. Further research shows that inmates using a program such as this will benefit them once getting back into society and readjusting.
https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/state-prison/
PROOF THAT IT COULD WORK:
In 2015, the Detroit Public Theatre launched a series of theatre classes for prisoners in jails across Detroit. Their program was well received, reduced violence in prison, helped those suffering with PTSD, and prepared prisoners for reentry into society.
The Marin Shakespeare Company started teaching Shakespeare at the San Quentin Prison in 2003. Since then they have expanded to 7 prisons across the state of California.
Both the Detroit Public Theatre and the Marin Shakespeare Company’s programs have been successful in rehabilitating prisoners and getting them ready to reenter society and the workforce through classes like “Drama for Reentry”.
Theatrical programs like these have not only worked, but they have become a keystone of success for California prisons, reducing their recidivism by 13% over the last 10 years. We believe that our program will bring similar success to the Florida area.
http://www.detroitpublictheatre.org/shakespeareinprison
Recidivism Research
https://www.cfc.wa.gov/PublicationSentencing/Recidivism/Adult_Recidivism_FY2007.pdf
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514_sum.pdf
Sources and research:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180514-do-long-prison-sentences-deter-crime
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/2/12/18184070/maximum-prison-sentence-cap-mass-incarceration
Our plan for the program would be the introduce theatre to prisoners of the Lake City Correctional facility through base acting work such as monologues and scenes, theatre games, and an opportunity to perform in a fully staged show that we could write with the help of the men. Since our plan is very simple, we could get away with a smaller budget. All of the acting games are online and available to the public which would save some costs. As for scenes and monologues, we can pull from our personal collection and search online databases such as scribd which costs $8.99 a month. This cost would translate into $107.88 a year which is pretty great for the selection of plays we can pull from. Another cost we would plan for is gas to make it out to the correctional facility. From Jacksonville University, the correctional facility is around 116.4 miles round trip. We would make the trip to the facility once a week for a year which would mean 52 trips on an average of $3 per gallon gas. For a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, that would mean around $30 a tank per week and would equal out to $1,560 just for gas alone. One other large expense would be the budget of the end of the year performance. We would either write our own play or put together a showcase of the scene the inmates would have been working on over the year. Most of the money we would use for this performance would go to purchasing props, costumes, and some small set pieces if needed. I would set aside $1,000 for the purchasing of these items which could be found in around goodwills and other thrift stores around the area. The best part about this is that we would be able to get things which we could reuse for future correctional facilities. In total, we would be asking for $2,667.88 just to cover the base costs.
LETTER OF INTENT:
Kristen Oliver, Board Member
Bards Behind Bars
2800 University Blvd
Jacksonville, FL, 32211
April 15, 2019
Dear CSGP,
Bards Behind Bars seeks support for developing an innovative theatre program that will reduce recidivism rates by preparing inmates for the social and communicative demands of the world awaiting after release. We are requesting $3,000 over a one-year period.
Our organization has designed a simple, but effective program involving a variety of theatre-related activities, such as improvisational exercises, monologues and scenes, competitive games, and play writing. Each of these is chosen for specific purpose, intended to ready the inmate for the challenges of job searches, forming social connections, and other factors that have been proven to directly affect the likelihood of recidivism. Improvisation teaches inmates to think quickly, while monologues encourage the development of memorization skills. Scenes give prisoners the opportunity to create relationships and delve into their own emotions and how to process them. These skills, and more, are all part of the foundation of good and healthy communication, something that is often stifled in prison environments.
Most importantly, we will grant these men a sense of stability after their release by encouraging them to stay involved with our organization. As an added benefit, this allows us to expand as well as confirm that Bards Behind Bars is keeping people out of prison.
Your generous support would fund basic costs, including gas, costumes/props, and acquisition of scenes and monologues, over the course of a year of weekly visits to the Lake City Correctional Facility. These 18-24-year-old men have short prison sentences and are at high-risk for returning to crime upon ending their sentence. We hope, with your assistance, to give them a greater chance at a normal life. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Kristen Oliver
