Some years ago I brought an amazing artist to my college, Middlesex Community College, in Lowell, Massachusetts — Homer Jackson.  Jackson had honed his chops on Philadelphia's performance art scene and worked with prisoners and former prisoners.  My students loved him, and in particular, the way he allowed art and performance, poverty and loss, prisoner and free person to all blend into one.

One thing always leads to another it seems, when you're working for prisoner rights, and this year, I heard from a friend of Homer's, Steve Rowland,a two-time Peabody Award winning documentary producer, currently involved in a new project.

Called "Globe to Globe Visits Prison, or, To Whom Does Shakespeare Belong?" Rowland says he had two experiences that changed his world:  1) interviewing men in a Shakespeare class organized by Rehabiltation Through The Arts at Woodbourne Prison in NY State;  2) being the head interviewer at an amazing international Shakespeare festival at London's Globe Theater

Now, along side the Globe and along with Rehabilitation through the Arts, he's using material from three of Shakespeare's plays and making a documentary touching on issues domestic violence, questions of manhood, loyalty, betrayal, way and identity.

Here's a photo from a Nigerian production of A Winter's Tale which inspired Rowland.

And here's 5 minute trailer on his project page which clarifies more about the documentary.

Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA)  was founded in Sing Sing in 1996. Today, RTA works in five New York State prisons with innovative programs in theatre, dance, creative writing, voice and visual art. From their website, RTA says that they are "dedicated to using the creative arts as a tool for social and cognitive transformation behind prison walls."