The Theatrikats group gathered and acted out a skit that depicted a time when they were young.Maggie Beck/Union Democrat
Prison group uses poetry, acting as forms of therapy
Published: February 21, 2008
By KRISTI DYES
The Union Democrat
The Union Democrat
At Baseline Conservation Camp, far from the barracks and work crews, eight prison inmates are pouring their hearts out on camera.
A large helicopter pad serves as a makeshift stage. A lone cameraman and a woman give encouraging, but firm directions to guide the men through poetry and skits. In them, they explore themes of racism, lost hopes and future dreams.
As Kevin Grimm of Oakland and J.P. Echivaria of San Jose mime trading skins with each other, constant reminders of daily life — including passing vehicles, airplanes and the camp dispatch system — interrupted many takes.
"I can't work in these conditions," Echivaria joked, as the group prepared for a retake.
The company, called the Theatrikats, is part of the substance-abuse rehabilitation program at Baseline, a minimum-security firefighter training camp attached to the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown.
The inmate group performs skits and writes poetry as a form of therapy. It helps members deal with issues that have led to their being incarcerated, said Reggie Kramer, a correctional counselor with the Division of Addiction and Rehab Services.
Recently, eight of the group's original works were recorded by SCC Television Specialist Jim Spears.
Once Kramer gets permission from her superiors in Sacramento, the performance will be uploaded on the YouTube.com Web site. That will allows the inmates' families to see the progress they are making, she said, adding that the performance should be posted in the next few months.
Core Theatrikats members include Echivaria, Joseph Ramirez of Santa Ana, Edward Thomas of Oakland, Paul Herrera of Hollister, Grimm of Oakland, Ric Clayton of San Bernardino, Rob Abeyta of Roseville and Anthony Lee Bailey of Sacramento.
They meet once a week to work on movement exercises, writing and acting. That is in addition to work they do in the community, attending mandatory group meetings, homework assignments and papers.
Their days start at 7 a.m. and sometimes end as late as 9:30 p.m.
A requirement of Theatrikats participation is that everyone's work be autobiographical.
Inmates have used personal experiences — like the loss of childhood innocence, being biracial, homelessness, and overcoming racial stereotypes — as the basis for their work.
"I can safely say that nobody holds back in this group and that's what makes it so unique," Herrera said.
The Theatrikats group was inspired by Kramer's first prison-theater group, the CAT group, at the higher-security Sierra Conservation Center about 10 years ago.
Kramer, who has been a correctional counselor in the prison system for 19 years, said her reason for starting the CAT group was strictly creative, but bringing in the autobiographical elements made the group therapeutic. She had worked in community theater while living in Susanville, and wanted to introduce that aspect into her new job as an SCC counselor.
Negative public reaction to stories about a ballroom dancing class at San Quentin State Prison made the CAT group a tough pitch, Kramer said.
"I did not think they were ready for inmates to do theater," she said of SCC's administration.
Kramer said she still pushed forward with her idea, however, calling it a "cognitive awareness transfer," or CAT, group. She then slowly introduced elements like drumming and dancing.
At one point, inmates were learning ballet — which some guards passing by a door thought looked like martial arts, which is against SCC rules.
Kramer then went to the warden and admitted that she was teaching the inmates to dance. She was able to continue.
When the group presented a performance called "Nutcracker Remix," which introduced break dancing and hip-hop elements in the classical ballet, the administration and correctional officers really began to open up. Inmates, as well as prison staff, attended the shows and were all impressed by the production, Kramer said.
Herrera was a member of that group who later moved to Baseline Camp. About a year ago, he decided to begin a similar group at the camp, dubbed Theatrikats, and enlisted Kramer's assistance. He also runs a men's reflection group and thought this would be a good complement to it.
"Mrs. Kramer takes us out of prison for four hours," Abeyta said.
The group has given a number of performances in the year they have been in existence, including a Christmas performance of the "Nutcracker" at SCC and a performance at Tuolumne County's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
Although some members were nervous about taking their act beyond the camp walls, they all said they were overwhelmed by the emotional response they received at the MLK Day event.
"It's a real good feeling," Ramirez said. "When you have people give you a standing ovation, that's a high for me."
In addition to tackling serious personal issues, the group also has a lot of fun. One of its first performances was a skit called "The Masculine and the Feminine," that was alternately titled "International Models." It was basically a mock fashion show with the inmates playing male and female models, and Abeyta doing an Austin Powers impression as the emcee.
Bailey said he never thought he would see himself opening up this way.
"I've made leaps and bounds that I never thought were possible," he said.
Another benefit of the Theatrikats, members said, is that the usual race segregation that takes place in higher-security prisons has no place in their group.
"We're all friends, we have a bond," Ramirez said. "We're going to be friends no matter what. They (other prisoners) see us opening up and interacting, and it opens them up a little bit."
The group has also had some troubles. During their MLK Day performance, Herrera made an impromptu speech — thanking the audience — at the end of their set, even though Kramer had expressly told the group not to.
Because of his actions, he cannot participate in the group for seven weeks.
Kramer said she decided to do this because Herrera has had a need for acknowledgment, sometimes to the detriment of others, and she does not want him to have that behavior once he is released from prison.
Herrera said he is working to be at peace with this learning experience.
"When you trust what she (Kramer) is trying to do for you, you have to trust the good and the bad," he said. "It really hurts me because I have so much pride in what I'm trying to do."
Kramer will be retiring this fall, and said she wants to work with at-risk kids before they reach the prison system. But from what the inmates have said about the program, her work has made a difference.
"(This group) increases our self-awareness," said Echivaria. "There is not a lot of programs like this that lets us let down the images we have to uphold."
A large helicopter pad serves as a makeshift stage. A lone cameraman and a woman give encouraging, but firm directions to guide the men through poetry and skits. In them, they explore themes of racism, lost hopes and future dreams.
As Kevin Grimm of Oakland and J.P. Echivaria of San Jose mime trading skins with each other, constant reminders of daily life — including passing vehicles, airplanes and the camp dispatch system — interrupted many takes.
"I can't work in these conditions," Echivaria joked, as the group prepared for a retake.
The company, called the Theatrikats, is part of the substance-abuse rehabilitation program at Baseline, a minimum-security firefighter training camp attached to the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown.
The inmate group performs skits and writes poetry as a form of therapy. It helps members deal with issues that have led to their being incarcerated, said Reggie Kramer, a correctional counselor with the Division of Addiction and Rehab Services.
Recently, eight of the group's original works were recorded by SCC Television Specialist Jim Spears.
Once Kramer gets permission from her superiors in Sacramento, the performance will be uploaded on the YouTube.com Web site. That will allows the inmates' families to see the progress they are making, she said, adding that the performance should be posted in the next few months.
Core Theatrikats members include Echivaria, Joseph Ramirez of Santa Ana, Edward Thomas of Oakland, Paul Herrera of Hollister, Grimm of Oakland, Ric Clayton of San Bernardino, Rob Abeyta of Roseville and Anthony Lee Bailey of Sacramento.
They meet once a week to work on movement exercises, writing and acting. That is in addition to work they do in the community, attending mandatory group meetings, homework assignments and papers.
Their days start at 7 a.m. and sometimes end as late as 9:30 p.m.
A requirement of Theatrikats participation is that everyone's work be autobiographical.
Inmates have used personal experiences — like the loss of childhood innocence, being biracial, homelessness, and overcoming racial stereotypes — as the basis for their work.
"I can safely say that nobody holds back in this group and that's what makes it so unique," Herrera said.
The Theatrikats group was inspired by Kramer's first prison-theater group, the CAT group, at the higher-security Sierra Conservation Center about 10 years ago.
Kramer, who has been a correctional counselor in the prison system for 19 years, said her reason for starting the CAT group was strictly creative, but bringing in the autobiographical elements made the group therapeutic. She had worked in community theater while living in Susanville, and wanted to introduce that aspect into her new job as an SCC counselor.
Negative public reaction to stories about a ballroom dancing class at San Quentin State Prison made the CAT group a tough pitch, Kramer said.
"I did not think they were ready for inmates to do theater," she said of SCC's administration.
Kramer said she still pushed forward with her idea, however, calling it a "cognitive awareness transfer," or CAT, group. She then slowly introduced elements like drumming and dancing.
At one point, inmates were learning ballet — which some guards passing by a door thought looked like martial arts, which is against SCC rules.
Kramer then went to the warden and admitted that she was teaching the inmates to dance. She was able to continue.
When the group presented a performance called "Nutcracker Remix," which introduced break dancing and hip-hop elements in the classical ballet, the administration and correctional officers really began to open up. Inmates, as well as prison staff, attended the shows and were all impressed by the production, Kramer said.
Herrera was a member of that group who later moved to Baseline Camp. About a year ago, he decided to begin a similar group at the camp, dubbed Theatrikats, and enlisted Kramer's assistance. He also runs a men's reflection group and thought this would be a good complement to it.
"Mrs. Kramer takes us out of prison for four hours," Abeyta said.
The group has given a number of performances in the year they have been in existence, including a Christmas performance of the "Nutcracker" at SCC and a performance at Tuolumne County's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
Although some members were nervous about taking their act beyond the camp walls, they all said they were overwhelmed by the emotional response they received at the MLK Day event.
"It's a real good feeling," Ramirez said. "When you have people give you a standing ovation, that's a high for me."
In addition to tackling serious personal issues, the group also has a lot of fun. One of its first performances was a skit called "The Masculine and the Feminine," that was alternately titled "International Models." It was basically a mock fashion show with the inmates playing male and female models, and Abeyta doing an Austin Powers impression as the emcee.
Bailey said he never thought he would see himself opening up this way.
"I've made leaps and bounds that I never thought were possible," he said.
Another benefit of the Theatrikats, members said, is that the usual race segregation that takes place in higher-security prisons has no place in their group.
"We're all friends, we have a bond," Ramirez said. "We're going to be friends no matter what. They (other prisoners) see us opening up and interacting, and it opens them up a little bit."
The group has also had some troubles. During their MLK Day performance, Herrera made an impromptu speech — thanking the audience — at the end of their set, even though Kramer had expressly told the group not to.
Because of his actions, he cannot participate in the group for seven weeks.
Kramer said she decided to do this because Herrera has had a need for acknowledgment, sometimes to the detriment of others, and she does not want him to have that behavior once he is released from prison.
Herrera said he is working to be at peace with this learning experience.
"When you trust what she (Kramer) is trying to do for you, you have to trust the good and the bad," he said. "It really hurts me because I have so much pride in what I'm trying to do."
Kramer will be retiring this fall, and said she wants to work with at-risk kids before they reach the prison system. But from what the inmates have said about the program, her work has made a difference.
"(This group) increases our self-awareness," said Echivaria. "There is not a lot of programs like this that lets us let down the images we have to uphold."
FONTE (photo include): Union Democrat - Sonora,CA,USA
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