{"id":739021,"date":"2022-07-10T15:17:12","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T15:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=9233c25b60c1fc470fa0252206c9b0df"},"modified":"2022-07-10T15:17:12","modified_gmt":"2022-07-10T15:17:12","slug":"a-new-play-imagines-the-end-of-isolation-for-all-incarcerated-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/07\/10\/a-new-play-imagines-the-end-of-isolation-for-all-incarcerated-people\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Play Imagines the End of Isolation for All Incarcerated People"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Box,\u201d a play about solitary confinement in prison, is going on the road this summer as part of the \u201cEnd of Isolation<\/a>\u201d tour. The play is written and directed by Sarah Shourd, one of three American hikers who were imprisoned by Iran from 2009 to 2010. It features formerly incarcerated actors, including John Neblett, who plays \u201cJake Juchau\u201d in “The Box.” Truthout <\/em>spoke to Shourd and Neblett about \u201cThe Box\u201d and their hopes of moving audiences to understand one of the darkest experiences of prison. The tour kicks off in July with visits in Austin (July 15-17), Chicago (August 5-7), Detroit (August 9-10), Atlanta (September 2-4), and other cities along the way. Tickets are on sale now.<\/p>\n

Brian Dolinar: Sarah, tell us about how you came up with \u201cThe Box.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah Shourd<\/strong>: I conceived of the play \u201cThe Box\u201d after I got back from my own incarceration. I was held as a political hostage of the Iranian government, and I was in solitary confinement the entire time for 410 days. When I got back, I realized that solitary confinement was used in a completely routine fashion in the United States.<\/p>\n

I was a journalist, and journalism didn\u2019t feel visceral enough. I don\u2019t think people\u2019s minds are changed by facts. I think that people will find the facts that support the way they feel. And the way they feel is based on the experiences they have had in life. I think you need a new feeling to open yourself up to new facts.<\/p>\n

The idea came from my colleague Jim Ridgeway, one of the cofounders of Solitary Watch<\/a>, who was a dear friend. He saw that I had experience with participatory theater, this methodology from Brazil, Theater of the Oppressed, which I did a lot with in my 20s, and still do. We use it in engagement circles with the play. Jim said, \u201cYou should write a play.\u201d I thought, \u201cI guess I should, that sounds like something I should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

I started to travel around the country to visit people in solitary confinement. First, I wrote to people intensively for months and I asked them if they wanted to participate in the project. I sent them prompts. I visited 10 facilities across the country. I tried to see as many of the people I had been writing to as I could. I had a few interns. Luckily, I had some support from UC Berkeley, and we typed it all up, read through it all, and went into a creative, internal space for a while, and hammered out the play.<\/p>\n

The play has had a few iterations, so what\u2019s the purpose behind the most recent “End of Isolation” Tour? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Shourd<\/strong>: The play has been produced three times now in California. The play is inspired by the California prison hunger strike<\/a> in 2013, which was the longest prison hunger strike in U.S. history. A historic settlement from a lawsuit came out of it that finally banned indefinite solitary confinement and put in a system of safeguards and step-down programs<\/a> so that when people are put in solitary, there\u2019s a way for them to get out. They are not just going to die in there or wait until they might get out of prison. The play contributed to a movement in California. State Sen. Mark Leno said that the buzz from the first production helped him push through legislation to ban solitary for youth in California.<\/p>\n

We want to take that same visceral power and contribute to people fighting on the front lines around the country. We\u2019ve reached out to organizations that are mostly led by formerly incarcerated, or system-impacted individuals, which are trying to pass legislation. We\u2019re going to the states on the front lines to help them to bring in new audiences, start dialogue and make change.<\/p>\n

How did you capture the experience of solitary, the sensory deprivation, in a play? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Shourd<\/strong>: It\u2019s absurd to try. Because I don\u2019t want to torture my audience. But I don\u2019t want anyone to leave the theater thinking, \u201cOh, this is not a big deal, this is just like spending a day in your bedroom.\u201d What the play captures is the unbearable intimacy of being celled next to someone for years and never seeing their face. It is the experience of being completely alone, of being overwhelmed by the lack of positive stimulus, and the overwhelmingly negative stimulus around you. You are in a pod with mentally ill people that have no business being there in the first place. You are subjected to their screams, their crying, banging. The play shows the horror to the degree that is fair to our audiences.<\/p>\n

More importantly, the play shows the humanity of the people being subjected to solitary, their incredible bravery and courage, and what\u2019s possible in there. These people just don\u2019t give up on life, they don\u2019t give up on resistance and they don\u2019t give up on themselves.<\/p>\n

Many people in the audience come up to me afterwards. Often formerly incarcerated people feel empowered, they give me a high five and say, \u201cYou nailed it! That\u2019s exactly what the guy\u2019s cell next to me was like, how\u2019d you know?\u201d It\u2019s the power of witness \u2014 to have something that\u2019s so invisibilized, so hidden, be witnessed collectively, and then have everyone stand up and applaud them.<\/p>\n

John, how did you get involved in \u201cThe Box\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Neblett<\/strong>: I caught the acting bug in 2006 when I started performing with the Marin Shakespeare Company<\/a> while I was incarcerated at San Quentin prison in California. In 1984, I killed a man and was sentenced to 15 to life. I did almost 30 years; I\u2019ve been out since 2015. I formed friendships with the community volunteers in the Marin Shakespeare Company, that\u2019s really been my support network.<\/p>\n

I knew Lesley Currier, the managing director of the company, who introduced me to Sarah Shourd. Then, in 2016, Jared Rudolph (founder of the Prisoner Reentry Network<\/a>) brought me to the premier of \u201cThe Box.\u201d I never knew I would be in the show as a performer. I later got a call from Lesley — they needed another actor for \u201cThe Box,\u201d so I jumped at it. After three interviews, I got the job.<\/p>\n