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INSURGENT THEATRE
Contact: Ben Turk
Phone: 614 704 4699
Email: insurgent.ben@gmail.com
Website: insurgenttheatre.org, redbirdprisonabolition.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Local Theatre Group Makes the Case for Prison Abolition
Insurgent Theatre announces a six show run of their original work, IN THE BELLY, performed at various venues throughout Columbus. There will be performances between the dates of Sept. 29th and Oct. 8th. This show has toured throughout the midwest and east coast since Feb. of 2011. IN THE BELLY depicts long term solitary confinement in order to begin a critique of the entire US prison system. This collaboratively developed workshop piece draws from many prisoner accounts, audience feedback and close study of history, including ideas from Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow and Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish. One third of the money raised will go to supporting Ohio Prisoners via RedBird Prison Abolition.
***This show contains nudity, violence and other sad realities of the US prison system.
All shows are $5-15 suggested donation.
9PM Thursday Sept. 29 at Skylab, 57 Gay Street, skylabgallery.tumblr.com
9PM Friday Sept. 30 at Kafe Keruac, 2250 North High Street, kafekerouac.com
9PM Sunday Oct 2nd at Villa Vilekulla, 2623 Neil Ave
8PM Tuesday Oct 4th at Wild Goose Creative, 2491 Summit Street, wildgoosecreative.com
8PM Friday Oct 7th at 83 Gallery, 1038 N High Street, 83gallery.com
8PM Saturday Oct 8th at Columbus Free Press, 1021 E Broad Street, freepress.org
MORE ABOUT IN THE BELLY:
In the belly is where things digest, where they are broken down so their value can be extracted. This is where things are made to rot. If our society is a beast, it's belly is the prison system. This new work from Insurgent Theatre seeks to manifest imprisonment on stage, overlays it with critical analysis of the system, and follows up with in-depth discussion about abolishing prison in America. The play is 45 minutes long, discussion can last all night.
In the Belly was collaboratively created and performed by Weslie Coleman, Kate Pleuss, and Ben Turk in the winter of 2011. The cast imagined themselves in three of the 25,000 long term solitary confinement cells in America. They're performing what they discovered in a series of scattered moments, regimented actions and critical perspectives.
"Most Americans seem to relate to prison as an unmentionable aspect of our society, something we all fear and regret, but few of us want to even imagine. For this project we have challenged ourselves to discover and share our notions of prison life and to imagine this system acting on our bodies and minds." -The Cast
MORE ABOUT REDBIRD PRISON ABOLITION: RedBird Prison Abolition is a group of people in Columbus, OH who want to see the prison system come to an end. The all-volunteer group has no budget, substantial funding or formal mission statement. RedBird's activities are guided by correspondence with incarcerated people because prison abolition ought to begin with the needs of those most directly effected by the system. Things they've done include: writing prison pen pals, connecting prisoners with needed resources, raising funds for legal defense, hosting events, publishing materials, and creating critical discussions about the US prison system. One third of funds raised from performances of In the Belly go to RedBird.
MORE ABOUT INSURGENT THEATRE:
Insurgent Theatre strives to connect performing arts with radical struggles, to make theatre that is relevant, engaging, challenging and useful for those who confront the US police state and global capitalist empire. We've been making original theatre since 2003 and frequently touring the country since August, 2008.
PRAISE FOR INSURGENT'S PREVIOUS WORK:
"One of the most inpiring DIY tours I have ever encountered. Its execution is intensly captivating and provocative. What other play features an hour of harsh interrogation and pistol-whipping followed by remarkably constructive conversation with its audience?" -Robert Inhuman, Realicide
"Insurgent Theatre's exciting, insightful, postdramatic scripts, their courageous acting and staging, and their generous, even tender, care for their audiences, reflect a passionate commitment to learning, [and] a faith in the value of theatrical communion." -John Schneider, Obie award winning playwright and cofounder of Theatre X
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