INTERVIEW: ‘Shared Sentences’ focuses on impact of incarceration
Photo: David Anzuelo and Emily Joy Weiner star in Shared Sentences, written by Weiner. Photo courtesy of Russ Rowland / Provided by JTPR with permission.
The new play Shared Sentences, written by Emily Joy Weiner and directed by Lisa Rothe, finishes its limited engagement Saturday, Nov. 12 at the 2nd Floor Theater at Mabou Mines in New York City. The production, courtesy of Houses on the Moon Theater Company, centers on the familial impact of incarceration. Specifically, the show follows the character of Olivia, an artist, who finds herself in a support group for those with an incarcerated loved one, according to press notes.
Shared Sentences began for Weiner and Houses on the Moon Theater Company several years ago when they interviewed individuals who had incarcerated loved ones. These stories inspired Weiner to put pen to paper and draft Shared Sentences for an audience.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Weiner about the new show. She serves as co-founder and artistic director of Houses on the Moon Theater Company, and she also performs in Shared Sentences. She has previously worked with teenagers going through the criminal justice system. Her previous directing credits include The Santa Closet, The Assignment and gUN Country. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Where did the idea for Shared Sentences come from?
Houses on the Moon’s mission has always been to amplify unheard voices and tell stories that are not often told. We hear so much about the incarcerated (TV, news, etc.) but very little about those who love, miss and support them. Following my personal experience of having an incarcerated loved one and the insanity and isolation in trying to navigate the system, I felt a human and artistic need to amplify the voices of others that shared this experience. I was introduced to Barbara Allan, co-founder of Prison Families Anonymous, and deeply inspired by the work she has been doing for over 50 years to support individuals and families who “lost” a loved one to incarceration. The play is fictional but inspired by and based on the [true] experiences of real people.
How have audience members been responding? Have you felt an impact while sitting in the theater and hearing from the crowd?
We are two weeks into our short run at the beautiful Mabou Mines theater at 122CC, and the response from the audience has been overwhelmingly positive. Our audience is a combination of general theatergoers and those that have personal experience with the criminal justice system, whether it be having an incarcerated loved one or being formerly incarcerated themselves. All around, people are saying they are deeply moved by this story. Some are saying this play is shedding light on human experiences they knew nothing about, and others are saying how validated they feel to have their own private journeys, struggles and triumphs seen and heard on the stage for the first time.
During this project, have you personally learned a lot of important information about how incarceration impacts families?
This project was born out of my own experience in caring for someone who was incarcerated, so I already knew a lot about the impact firsthand. When I started interviewing others and working with a core group of people (mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses), I learned a whole lot more, and it became very clear to me that these stories must be shared. And this play needed to be written.
What’s it like working with Lisa Rothe?
As an actor, working with Lisa Rothe is a dream. She is deeply committed to the process and to allowing the actors to individually discover their characters and journeys organically. She provides the necessary space and time for this day-to-day process, asking us questions much more so than giving us answers. When the time comes naturally, she offers very specific guidance/direction. Lisa has a nurturing and calm energy that sets the tone in the room, and in our case, she created an environment that was nothing but supportive, fun, loving and exciting. Often actors feel a sense of relief once the play opens and the director is no longer around. In this case, it is the opposite, and the entire cast misses Lisa every day!
As a playwright, I could not have been luckier to collaborate with Lisa. She gave all of herself to this play, working with me day to day on the script for weeks in advance of rehearsals. This was not part of her job, but she was/is passionate about the project and extremely generous with her time and her heart. This is my first play, and Lisa has extensive experience working on new plays. As a writer, she allowed me to keep discovering new things all through the rehearsal process, and her contributions to this play are extraordinary. I am feeling very proud of this play and production, and I don’t think I would be in this place if it were not for Lisa.
What’s the hope for the show after this present engagement?
We hope to reach as many people as possible with Shared Sentences. We would all be very excited for another NYC production — three weeks go by very quickly, and just as things are starting to really click, the time comes to a close. My larger goal with this play is to travel with it and reach more communities. Houses on the Moon is committed to taking our work to non-traditional spaces (hospitals, conferences, schools, libraries and more) to reach as wide a public as possible. I also hope that we can bring this play into prisons. There are many formerly incarcerated audience members expressing how beneficial it would be for those on the inside to experience this play.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Shared Sentences, by Emily Joy Weiner, plays through Saturday, Nov. 12 at the 2nd Floor Theater at Mabou Mines in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
