THEATER
My play, The BOX, written by a survivor of solitary confinement, myself, in collaboration with other survivors, is based on my 3-year investigation into the horrors of solitary confinement, is a piece of transformational theater that asks us to re-examine long-held notions of punishment as it reveals the tragic—and sometimes painfully comic and absurd—realities that dictate life “inside the box.” With a plot that illuminates the innate resilience of the human spirit, The BOX tracks its characters as they make their journeys against all odds: from racist to revolutionary, from tough-guy to suicide victim, from guru/teacher to frightened, lost soul, and from father to friend. By turns entertaining and unsettling, The BOX is a rare glimpse into the deep end of our prison system, the intimate bonds forged between modern-day heroes the ripple effects of systematic torture, and what it means to be human. Its debut on Alcatraz was be a powerful and historic moment for the movement against solitary confinement and mass incarceration.
In 2016, The BOX premiered at Z Space over a 3-week run in San Francisco to sold out audiences of over 3,000 people, including celebrities, representatives from dozens of organizations and two California senators. 350 postcards were written to people in solitary confinement. Directed by Michael Garces. Featured in San Francisco Magazine, The California Endowment, W Kamau Bell's Kamau Right Now!, Poverty Arts Journal, Vice, NPR, KQED, Democracy NOW, the Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. Co-produced by The California Endowment, The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Neda Nobari Foundation and Toni Rembe & Arthur Rock.
In 2019 The BOX was performed on Alcatraz Island. Its debut on Alcatraz was be a powerful and historic moment for the movement against solitary confinement and mass incarceration. Produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock. Presented in conjunction with Future IDs at Alcatraz, the Success Center, the Stanford Graphic Novel Project, and the Art in the Parks Program of the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Featured in SF Chronicle here and here and covered by the Bay City News. In 2020, Rhodessa Jones and I were featured in one of the Pulitzer Center's Justice Talks on the Healing Work of Theater.
With gratitude to the people that have shared their stories with me, hugely contributing to this project and becoming my collaborators in this work: Billy Blake, Dameion Brown, C.F. Villa, Rafael Cacique, Dolores Canales, Jacqueline Craig, Steven Czifra, Jerry Elster, Rudolph Howell, Five Mualimm-ak, Brian Nelson, Raul Rocha, Alfred Sandoval, Ricky De Silva, Leon Singletery, Maher Suarez, Judith Vasquez, Cesar Villa and Albert Woodfox. Also to family members Marie Levin, Francisco and Reyna Cacique. In memory of Kalief Browder, Evan Ebel, Dannie Martin, Herman Wallace and all the others we’ve lost their lives to the horror of solitary confinement.
In 2016, The BOX premiered at Z Space over a 3-week run in San Francisco to sold out audiences of over 3,000 people, including celebrities, representatives from dozens of organizations and two California senators. 350 postcards were written to people in solitary confinement. Directed by Michael Garces. Featured in San Francisco Magazine, The California Endowment, W Kamau Bell's Kamau Right Now!, Poverty Arts Journal, Vice, NPR, KQED, Democracy NOW, the Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. Co-produced by The California Endowment, The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Neda Nobari Foundation and Toni Rembe & Arthur Rock.
In 2019 The BOX was performed on Alcatraz Island. Its debut on Alcatraz was be a powerful and historic moment for the movement against solitary confinement and mass incarceration. Produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock. Presented in conjunction with Future IDs at Alcatraz, the Success Center, the Stanford Graphic Novel Project, and the Art in the Parks Program of the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Featured in SF Chronicle here and here and covered by the Bay City News. In 2020, Rhodessa Jones and I were featured in one of the Pulitzer Center's Justice Talks on the Healing Work of Theater.
With gratitude to the people that have shared their stories with me, hugely contributing to this project and becoming my collaborators in this work: Billy Blake, Dameion Brown, C.F. Villa, Rafael Cacique, Dolores Canales, Jacqueline Craig, Steven Czifra, Jerry Elster, Rudolph Howell, Five Mualimm-ak, Brian Nelson, Raul Rocha, Alfred Sandoval, Ricky De Silva, Leon Singletery, Maher Suarez, Judith Vasquez, Cesar Villa and Albert Woodfox. Also to family members Marie Levin, Francisco and Reyna Cacique. In memory of Kalief Browder, Evan Ebel, Dannie Martin, Herman Wallace and all the others we’ve lost their lives to the horror of solitary confinement.
