ACE

Shakespeare in Prison

Theatre of the Oppressed Training

ACE-related links

About the Project

QSE's 2006 Arts in Community Enhancement project (ACE) was the first Australian Shakespeare-in-prison project, and is still the only one to date. The program is also a trailblazer in its fusing of Shakespeare with Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed methodology.

The heart of the ACE philosophy is that violent behaviour often comes out of an inability to express negative thoughts and emotions in words. It uses theatre as a medium, since one of theatre's main tools is embodied language.

ACE's main objective is different to many of its therapeutic counterparts, which have rehabilitation as a direct goal. The most basic aim of ACE is to put on a play. As anyone who has ever attempted staging a play from beginning to end can attest, this is not a simple task. In rehearsing a play for performance the rehabilitative side-effects become manifest: ACE develops emotional bravery and self-awareness, social skills and self-confidence, individual dedication as well as the commitment to work as a member of a team.

The beginning stage of each ACE program includes Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) games and exercises. These are designed to create an atmosphere of trust and emotional safety for the participants, to invite them to connect their personal experiences to their acting, and to tease out themes that the prisoners want to explore. A Shakespeare play is then chosen to rehearse and perform based on these themes.

2006

In 2006 the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble piloted the first ACE program as part of the World Shakespeare Congress. TO practitioner Brent Blair travelled from the US to train the QSE ACE facilitators and other Australian applied theatre workers. A highly regarded 'Joker' with years of experience in correctional systems in the USA, Mr. Blair also oversaw the initial implementation of the program in Borallon Correctional Centre.

In 2006 participants wanted to explore themes of incarceration, isolation and loss of privilege/freedom, and The Tempest was chosen as the vehicle for this. On December 1st, ACE culminated in an hour-long version performed by inmates and QSE artist-facilitators to an audience of prisoners, family members, Borallon staff, and Queensland Corrective Services employees.

The 2006 ACE project partners and supporters included The Department of Corrective Services, The Supreme Court Library, The Queensland Law Society and The University of Queensland. The facilitators were Eileen Conway, Stephen Daniels, Chris Koch, Tamara Meade, Anne Pensalfini and Rob Pensalfini.

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2009

ACE returned in 2009, launched again by an intensive week of Theatre of the Oppressed training. Led by QSE's Artistic Director Rob Pensalfini, this sold-out workshop was attended by ACE facilitators and other applied theatre practitioners, as well as indigenous artists and other professional and emerging performers from across Australia

The 2009 prison project saw a smaller, more experienced group of artist-facilitators (four) and a tighter, more structured schedule (10 weeks versus 5 months in '06). The number of inmate participants as well as the overall interest in the program - from prisoners, staff and media - increased. The prison project was again held at Borallon Correctional Centre, allowing QSE to strengthen important relationships with the Centre and the Department of Corrective Services.

The 2009 participants wanted to explore themes of betrayal, loyalty, violence and the use and misuse of power, and the play chosen was Julius Caesar. The final performance featured a dozen inmates and all four ACE facilitators (in minor roles), and was presented on May 1st - for an audience of family members, Borallon staff, and Queensland Corrective Services employees.

ACE 2009 partners and supporters included Arts Queensland, The Department of Corrective Services and The University of Queensland. The facilitators were Andrea Carne, Angel Kosch, Anne Pensalfini (Project Manager), Rob Pensalfini and Belinda Small.

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2010

2010 has seen another leap in about the buzz around the ACE project - evidenced by another Theatre of the Oppressed training intensive selling out, despite twice the number of public places being available. This year's workshop was again attended by ACE facilitators and other applied theatre practitioners, indigenous artists, professional and emerging performers, but also lawyers, teachers, psychologists, therapists and professional TO practitioners, a number of whom travelled large distances to attend.

In addition, the goal of reaching further into the community with the Theatre of the Oppressed work was realised this year. New contacts and partnerships were made through the Brisbane Applied Theatre Network. A second week of ACE facilitator training was added in which members of the public - including local artists and social workers - were invited to participate without cost. Free public Theatre of the Oppressed workshops were held monthly at the Indooroopilly Library, for those interested in or just curious about the methodology.

The themes for this year's project included the psychology of power and greed. The final performance - of Macbeth - took place April 30th, to a crowd of over a hundred guests including Borallon staff, participants' family members, invited inmates, and senior staff from the University of Queensland, government and the judiciary.

ACE 2010 was financially supported by Arts Queensland, The University of Queensland and the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble. Encouragement and practical assistance from staff at Borallon Correctional Centre grew enormously this year. Increased support has also been expressed by the Department of Community Safety, and by local Government. Sarah Woodland (PhD candidate in Applied Theatre at Griffith University, with relevant practical experience working with Geese Theatre in the UK) acted as a consultant and conducting research on this year's project. Facilitators were Jane Barry, Aisling Hoey, Anne Pensalfini (Project Manager), Rob Pensalfini and Liz Verbraak.

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