The Play's the Thing
by
Sheila Maurer
I had never seen the inside of a prison before and, as the heavy steel door clanged shut behind me, I felt claustrophobic and panicky. This was a men's gaol and curious eyes peered at me as I followed the guard along the cat-walk in front of the barred cells. This was a building of stone walls, steel bars, locks. There was a pervading smell of disinfectant, dust. There were no open windows to let the fresh air in. What in the world had I let myself in for?
The friend I came with was experiencing the same sensations, and we both breathed a sigh of relief when a door at the end of the range was unlocked and opened. We found ourselves in a large, lofty room with windows and a high ceiling.
"Wait here," said the guard, "and I'll bring the men."
The reason H. and I had penetrated this unlikely place was because we had been asked to form a drama group. The Recreation Officer, a friend, thought that this particular activity might benefit some of the inmates, so we agreed to come to the gaol, meet the interested group, and discuss with them the possibility of putting on a play.
It was not long before we heard the sound of feet on metal, keys turning, and into the room filed the would-be thespians. I don't know what I expected to see, but this could have been any group of men of different ages, height and appearance. We were formally introduced by the Recreation Officer. H. then began to talk about 'putting on a play', the need for commitment, the discipline of learning lines, working with each other on stage and off, etc. The group listened, nodded and, no doubt, wondered whether they had signed up for the right activity.
Our first idea had been to work on a one-act play, but when we saw the twelve before us we realized that we would have to do two plays to accommodate the group. We had brought a selection of one-acters with us so we each took a script, divided up the parts, and went to work. As there were no actresses available it was necessary to choose plays either with an all-male cast or to caricature women. I decided on a medieval play, Devil Among the Skins. H. chose a cowboy script. The whole evening was spent in readings, talking about the production of a play, and trying to get to know the group. It was a new experience for all of us. When we left the gaol two hours later, we had cast the plays, left scripts with the men, and hopefully were on our way with this new venture.
At our meeting the following week, problems beset us. It was obvious that we had to have more rehearsal space; we could not direct two plays at the same time in the same room. In another part of the gaol there were empty classrooms, but if we had separate rooms it meant that another guard had to be on duty. No one wanted to do overtime. This drama idea was thought to be for the birds! For a couple of weeks we tried to cope in one room, but it was hopeless. We felt discouraged and inclined to give up the whole project, which we were all enjoying.
Arriving at the prison the fourth week and having decided that we would have to abandon the drama idea, we found that we would be able to use the classrooms; one guard could patrol the corridor and keep an eye on both rooms through the glass windows in the doors. Half-way through the evening we would have a coffee break and the two casts would get together. We would bring in cookies and buns, and there was time to socialize and get to know the men better. We began to feel that the Recreation Officer's idea was paying off.
In our ignorance we thought that sets and props could be made on the premises in the carpenter's shop. Not so. The only things I remember the gaol providing were some risers and odd bits of furniture; the other necessities we had to bring with us. Always we asked for space where we could have a workroom, get the men to make flats, etc., but this never seemed to be possible. Although the Warden said he was interested in the drama project, he either was not able or did not want to meet our requests.
Sundays and Mondays were play nights, Sundays before an invited audience culled from 'outside', and Mondays before the inmate population. I can remember how terrified we all were when our first one-act productions took place on that first Monday night. The cast were scared. To rehearse with us was one thing, but to appear on stage before an audience of their peers was a different matter. However, when the first laugh rippled through the rows, not at, but with the players, the panic disappeared and the play came alive. It was a wonderful experience and straightaway we made plans for future productions.