People who have been sentenced to time in prison are often treated as “others,” and our prison systems frequently fail to rehabilitate these offenders. Shakespeare in prison programs like the Shakespeare Behind Bars (SBB) program address this shortcoming by allowing participants to explore their identity. Despite the 6% recidivism rate seen amongst participants in SBB, the criminal legal system has not widely adopted this method of rehabilitation.
One of the root causes of criminal behavior that can be addressed by rehabilitation is trauma. Trauma can cause an altered sense of self which can lead individuals to criminal behavior. Children are especially vulnerable, and the psychological, behavioral, social, and biological effects of trauma can extend into their adulthood. These effects have long-term consequences including a risk for further victimization, delinquency, adult criminality, and substance abuse.
Changes to a person’s view of their identity can be solidified by social reinforcement. In criminal law, people who are incarcerated are often considered as “others” which fosters a general societal attitude that some people are worth less than others. This concept is known as “Labeling Theory” in Criminology. Even if a person’s criminal behavior comes from a traumatic experience they had, “othering” can cause them to think that they are no better than their label, and they may fall into patterns of repeated unlawful behavior as they mistakenly identify as their “othered” self.
People who are not successfully rehabilitated often find themselves back in the criminal legal system. One method of rehabilitation that breaks the cycle of “othered” behavior and releases individuals from restrictive mindsets is participation in applied theater programs. Applied theater operates beyond the traditional scope of performance by deliberately engaging with groups of people to shift their social realities and empower transformation.
Shakespeare Behind Bars is an organization that has been leading applied theater programs for incarcerated populations for thirty years. SBB is about finding community and addressing what it means to be a human being. Its method is not only more effective at keeping recidivism rates low, but it also connects participants with their identity to encourage successful reintegration with society.
SBB is also the oldest, continuously operating organization of its kind in North America. Although it began in Kentucky, other Shakespeare programs operate across the United States, from Massachusetts (Shakespeare in the Courts) to California (Marin Shakespeare Company). SBB offers a theater program to incarcerated, post-incarcerated, marginalized, and at-risk communities, allowing them space to deal with personal and social issues through Shakespeare.
Participants forge many skills that prepare them for reintegration with society like decision making, empathy, compassion, trust, taking responsibility for their pasts, becoming a responsible member of a group, community, or family, and developing tolerance and skills for conflict resolution.
Because of the transformative nature of the programming, SBB boasts a drastically lower recidivism rate among state prisoners (6%) compared to the national average (approximately 68%). It is similarly low in comparison to the average recidivism rate in Kentucky (approximately 27%), where most of the twelve SBB programs operate. The program is successful by positively changing participants’ ways of thinking which, in turn, changes their behavior.
Through acting out the timeless, human themes found in Shakespeare’s works, participants can relate their roles to their own past, present, and future life experiences. Scott Jackson, a teacher at the Westville Correctional Facility’s Shakespeare program in Indiana said, “[t]here’s something about Shakespeare that ‘holds,’ to quote Hamlet, ‘the mirror up to nature.’”
Participants in these Shakespeare programs engage with performance to explore their personal experiences. They form a community where they each can drop their guard, perform as a character, experience frustrations that they themselves may face in life, and express their emotions through performance rather than through violent or illegal outlets. Matt Wallace, an eleven-season facilitator of SBB in Kentucky, said that participants are “getting more tools in their emotional toolbox” and that they are “able to express their emotions in a safe place, so hopefully they don’t act out in other ways."
In 2014, Larry Brewster, a professor at the University of San Francisco, published a study about arts programs in prisons, including Shakespeare for Social Justice. He found that incarcerated individuals who participated in these programs gained greater emotional control, the ability to communicate with others, and intellectual flexibility. They received fewer disciplinary infractions and were more likely to participate in additional vocational and educational programming. Shakespeare for Social Justice teaches inmates to make better decisions and envision lives where they no longer identify themselves as “criminals” or “prisoners” but as a part of society. These programs work to undo the years of ostracization that people filtering through the criminal legal system often experience by allowing them to process their frustrations by stepping into new roles.
So, what’s in a name? That which we call a person by any other name would be just as human.
The true potential of Shakespeare in prison programs is unknown because there is a lack of data. A more wide-spread integration of programs like SBB, society, through judges, prosecutors, or other advocates, can address the roots of recidivism by recommending and supporting applied theater before and during a person’s incarceration. Shakespeare in prison programs should be adopted across the country because their installation will continue to reduce criminal activity and recidivism.
Interested in learning more? You can learn more about the Shakespeare Behind Bars program on its website. You may also contact the program by email at info@shakespearebehindbars.org. The Shakespeare in Prison Network is also an available resource. In this Facebook group, you can follow network members as they share related programs.
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