Out of the Yard

Empowers personal growth and builds community for adults in the justice system

Playwrights Project’s Out of the Yard Program empowers personal growth and builds community for adults who are serving time in correctional settings and those who have returned home after incarceration. Participants dramatize stories of their own creation. Recognizing that challenging situations can lead to difficult decisions and that we all make mistakes, the program supports individuals in creating fictional plays that examine hardships, explore positive solutions, look forward to brighter futures, and redefine themselves and their characters beyond the labels imposed by past choices.

Sessions involve restorative circles, group theatre activities, creative writing exercises, brainstorming ideas, weekly writing assignments that lead to developing 10-minute plays. Professional actors perform the completed plays at the end of the program. Participants interested in acting also join in the performances. When permitted, peers from the facility attend the performances or families and friends attend in Visiting Rooms.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

• 10-16 workshop sessions are conducted weekly for 1 to 2.5 hours each
• Professional actor perform completed plays in culminating performances

OPTIONS

• Group plays can be devised rather than individual plays
• Rehearsals can be included if participants choose to perform
• Specific themes can be explored (e.g. suicide prevention, substance use disorder)