Prison Arts

ACT Ensemble is an investigation at the intersects of performance, art, dance, aesthetics, narrative, and the meaning of theatre/performance in prison. ACT focuses on original ensemble creation, rooted in personal and communal history.

ACT Ensemble (Action Change Theatre) is a program operating in three Colorado prisons, co-founded by Julie Rada and Misty Saribal and currently under the shared leadership of Julie Rada, Joanna Rotkin, and Diana Dresser.

History

ACT Ensemble performed two productions in Sterling’s West Programs Building for audiences of invited guests and facility staff:

• Mercury in Retrograde (August 9, 2018), an original devised performance developed by the ensemble based on the adventures of the god Mercury as he flew through time, disrupting moments of everyday peoples’ lives.

• Monologue Mixtape (February 2, 2019), a showcase of monologues excerpted from award-winning contemporary plays of the U.S. American theatre and arranged into a collaborative hour of performance.

ACT Ensemble then embarked on an investigation at the intersects of performance, art, dance, aesthetics, narrative, and the meaning of theatre/performance in prison. Throughout, the ensemble incorporated compositional and embodied practices to discover artistic excellence, develop new work, and deploy practice-based-research methods. ACT Ensemble brought in guest artist, Joanna Rotkin, to amplify the role of dance and movement in our creative explorations.

In spring 2019, Rada was recruited to facilitate with the newly founded University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI) and began co-directing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Ashley Hamilton, in concert with many of the same artists who had been part of ACT Ensemble.

In September 2019, Rada closed ACT Ensemble to work full-time as DU PAI’s Director of Programming, developing key principles and pedagogical practices, training dozens of DU PAI facilitators, launching several cornerstone initiatives, and establishing DU PAI as a statewide initiative.

Now, in September 2022, ACT Ensemble re-emerges. Rada continues this work and is joined by Joanna Rotkin and Diana Dresser in co-leadership with programs at Limon, Denver Women's, Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center, and in upcoming months, Sterling.

Philosophy

• ACT Ensemble is fundamentally about creating spaces of possibility.

• ACT Ensemble’s approach is philosophically oriented toward the potential for liberation through art, specifically the creation and exploration of the performing arts as an inquiry into the human condition. Storytelling and embodied practices are how we get there.

• ACT Ensemble believes high-quality, aesthetically-rich art should be available to all, rather than inaccessible and elitist. We believe in the intrinsic value of art for all lives. We believe all people possess the capacity for wonder and art.

• ACT Ensemble envisions a world of accessible art spaces, shared and abundant resources for artists, and a world without punishment and retribution. As we strive for this horizon, ACT has the privilege of creating outstanding art alongside the brilliance of incarcerated artists in the here and now.

• We share curiosity, joy, and humanity by accomplishing the near impossible – performing art in spaces of confinement.

• We believe anything worth doing is worth doing together.

• The connected relationships between individuals, groups, and ideas are of particular interest.

• We move at the speed of trust.

• We listen. We respond.

• We are oriented toward holistic growth.

• We show up as individuals and as an ensemble. We attend to both—self and group—as sites of inquiry. We are accountable to one another and to ourselves.

• We practice emergent strategies. We look to nature for inspiration. Like any ecosystem, we recognize the value and strength in our diversity, our different roles to play. We expect change to occur; it always does. We seek collaboration.

• We believe in transformative justice. No person is disposable, no act is unforgiveable. All harm carries the possibility of repair. We search for root causes. We acknowledge agency. No one is broken. No one requires saving or fixing.

• We engage in reflection, sustaining inquisitiveness about ourselves and others.

• We ask questions. We embrace complexity. We strive toward a sense of belonging.

Sponsors