What we are doing

First, we are so happy to hear that word of this project is getting out thanks to those of you who check this blog. THANK YOU!!!!

Then we realized you all might not have all the information you need about what it is exactly that we here at Pelican Bay Speaks are doing... so... here we go:

Elizabeth and Gabe, are students from Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theater in our 3rd year of study. Part of the requirement of our training is to develop a piece of theater with a community group of our choosing.

We choose a group that we knew it would be next to impossible to ever see or touch, a group united by location and isolation, a group that many have deemed the "Worst of the worst"- the men imprisoned at Pelican Bay State Prison. It was this choice that has made all the difference.

For the last 4 months, Gabe and I have been going on Sista's Place every Sunday on NPR's KHSU station and giving the men up at Pelican Bay State Prison creative writing prompts. This was our only way to really get to work with the men... men of words and thoughts and ideas...

These great letter writers have supplied us with over 275 creative writing pieces. The joke and say, "All I have is time, so here is another piece." But in reality, the work that these men have poured into this writing project has gone over and beyond our initial ideas of what was possible.

We are now in the second stage of a three part process. Currently, we two are compiling these pieces of writing and forming them into a play, a play written entirely by the men at pelican Bay State Prison.

The play, "Pelican Bay Speaks", will be performed live on Sunday, March 14th at 2pm at Dell'Arte's Carlo theater. It will also be aired on KHSU 90.5fm and live streamed on www.khsu.org/listen_live. The show will be free, but reservations are required you can make reservations simply by calling Dell'Arte's box office at 707.668.5663. Following the show will be a community forum.

In so many of the letters we receive from the men, they speak about the love they have outside the walls of the prison that help them survive daily on the inside. Early on we realized that this play was as much for the loved ones as for the inmates. We would love for as many loved ones as possible to be in the audience, but we understand that many of you all thousands of miles away. If you cannot make to the show, we hope you listen in either on the radio or on the internet.

Again... Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 2pm followed by a community forum

Performed at Dell'Arte's Carlo Theater in Blue Lake, CA (7 miles from Arcata)

live on KHSU and KHSR 90.5

and on www.khsu.org/listen_live

hope to see you there

Elizabeth and Gabe