CASES–THE CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, INC.
The Insight Project is a comprehensive theatre-making class offered by the Court Employment Project (CEP), an alternative-to-incarceration program addressing the needs of court-involved youth at CASES. Following the success of the company’s first and second cycle productions of the original plays Bird’s Eye View and Brazil at Theatre Row Studios on 42nd Street, the Insight Project will focus its next cycle on bringing these productions into the community.
Bird’s Eye View raises challenging questions about becoming an adult while negotiating family loyalty, ethical and legal behavior. Brazil explores the impact of a single act of violence and the struggles of those affected to make sense of the incident. Both scripts are original pieces, written in the course of the Insight Project’s work by the participants and Writer-in-Residence Todd Pate, and inspired by the participants’ life experiences.
The Insight Project’s third cycle will bring project alumni together with professional actors and new CEP participants to revive these two powerful performances as a repertory company. Our goal is to use these performances to engage communities in a conversation on the underlying issues of offending behavior and a dialogue on the value of community-based alternatives to incarceration. Accordingly, performances will be accompanied by a curriculum guide for interested high school and undergraduate institutions, and will be followed in all cases by a talkback, in which audiences will engage directly with performers about the play’s content and their individual perspectives on these issues.
Institutions interested in hosting a performance of Bird’s Eye View or Brazil in May or June of 2009 should contact Insight Project Director Dan Stageman. There is no charge for the performance – an appropriate venue (with minimal production values) and an engaged audience are the only requirements. Performance scripts and curriculum guides are available upon request.
CASES–THE CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, INC
The mission of CASES is to increase the use and understanding of community sanctions that are fair, affordable, and consistent with public safety.
***
Contact Information:
Daniel Stageman
Director, Insight Project.
Telephone: (347) 885 8222
Fax: (212) 571 0292
dstageman@cases.org
www.cases.org