The Penthouse Players
by
Sheila Maurer
Sometimes, if you are working with someone, it is helpful to find out something about them, without prying, but this was a problem when I, along with a colleague, was asked by the Stony Mountain Penitentiary recreations officer, if we would be interested in starting a drama group at the institution. It was a strange and enlightening experience and made us ponder our own safe, middle-class existence.
John was the oldest member of the club, white-haired, gentle, dependable. How could a man like that end up in gaol? Gradually I got to know his story; he trusted me and perhaps found some relief in talking to an outsider not connected with the law and prisons.
He had been a professional man in a Canadian city, had contributed to his community and was well-liked. His home life was not ideal. He had two daughters and he suspected that his wife was having an affair on the side. He had no proof of this and rather than have a confrontation and upset his children, he ignored his suspicions and carried on as though there was nothing wrong. He said he regretted that he had not had it out with his wife before things erupted.
One night after a busy day, he had a few drinks with friends at a local bar and returned home to find a strange man in the bedroom. This fellow was able to gather up his clothes and run before John really took in the situation. But suddenly all his suppressed fears about his wife's infidelity rose to the surface and, bolstered by his alcohol consumption, he acted in the most violent way. His suspicions about his wife reached boiling point and resentment and frustration took over. She began to scream abuse at him and rushed into the living room; completely out of control he followed her and his fist shot out catching her on the point of her chin — she fell backwards striking her head on the fireplace kerb. John realized he had killed her. In a trance he first called the police and then finally his family to make arrangements for his two teen-aged daughters. He wanted to be put away and forgotten.
At his trial there was no attempt by his lawyer to have the charge against him reduced to manslaughter, and John refused to appeal his life sentence. Whether the drama club helped him to take another look at himself and give him hope, we don't know; perhaps this was the first time he had talked about the whole wretched affair with someone not connected with the law or his family. At any rate he changed, became much more approachable and began to make plans for his future. He applied for parole, which was granted and he managed to find a place for himself in the outside world. He married again and I like to think that The Penthouse Players, as our drama group was called, helped him to integrate into society and made him realize that he was a worthwhile person.
