Bullet Points @ timlongo.com

I’m not one to spout off opinions on things like our national prison system. The truth is I have had thoughts about what is wrong with the very little I know about them, but seeing that I know so little I don’t think it would be fair for me to judge. The problems with the system is the last subject I would think of that would spark me to write this post, actually. In fact, the post isn’t about prisons in the end, but it is about one of my favorite documentary shows, a radio show to be exact, called This American Life. I’d been wanting to post about it for some time but wasn’t compelled to until I listened to an older episode recently that had a big affect of me. Every episode is great for its own reasons. They also have a TV show now on Showtime which is quite good as well. So basically this post is a big plug for Ira Glass and both of his shows and that if you like the thoughtful “slice of life” documentary style then you shouldn’t miss this stuff. The episode in question is no different.

The title of the episode is “Act V” and it is referring to the last act of the play Hamlet which I personally know all too well having both acted and directed the play and seen it more times than I’d like to say. Anyway, most everyone knows a little something about the plot, but needless to say there is a lot of talk about murder and in the final act a lot of real murder happening as well. Basically all the main characters kill each other at the end. Blood bath. The radio show episode is about a theatre director who goes into real prisons and does this last act of the play with actual prisoners over 6 months time. She auditions them, trains them, rehearses them and finally they perform. The wonderful thing about the show is that you can see over the course of the process how much they change in some profound ways. They make a great point that as many people as there have been who have played Hamlet over the years there is almost never an actor who has actually been a murderer. No one can really relate to this character at all. Except prison inmates. They are in many ways the perfect actors for this play. To hear them talk about their own analysis of the play and the characters and how it relates to their own life and wrong doings is quite profound (at least to me). Most of these guys have never been on stage let alone read Shakespeare. All levels of education and upbringing, etc. You can almost hear them being rehabilitated as the hour long radio show goes on. It just can’t be the case that our only solution for justice is to put someone in a cell for their entire life. I’m not saying I’m against the death penalty, but when you hear how these guys were affected by doing a simple thing like this play and how far they come over just 6 sporadic months of rehearsal, you begin to think that there must be many different forms of rehabilitation out there if we only thought more creatively. Yes, I’ll go ahead and say that it could be the “power of theatre” or some such nonsense, but you know, it kind of is.

Prisons, Shakespeare and Radio. Who knew. If you don’t listen to the radio show and you think it is up your alley, then check it out. If you get Showtime look for the TV show. It is only a half hour. If you subscribe to the weekly podcast you get the show for free each week for 7 days. I think it is often the most downloaded podcast in the country. The episode, “Act V”, can be found here. I think you may be able to stream the show for free from the web site too. There are going to be few times in life where these three unlikely things come together to present such a cohesive vision of possibilities. I dare say that this happens in almost every episode of the show. Thanks Ira.

Ghost
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.

HAMLET
Murder!

Ghost
Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.

HAMLET
Haste me to know’t, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.