The Judy Dworin Performance Project sings and dances based on tales emanating from time in the pen at CCSU on Thursday and Friday Feb. 1 and 2. Don't miss it.

 

Don't take my word that doing time sucks. My experience is limited. Check out what women behind bars endure, as illustrated by the Judy Dworin Performance Project's Time In.

Down at Central Connecticut State University Thursday and Friday Feb. 1 and 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, the Dworin players will perform the work that sold out the Charter Oak Cultural Center.

"Time in, an eye-opening and mocing multi-arts performance piece integrating dance, music and text to explore time as experienced by women inside a maximum-security prison was created by the Judy Dworin Performance Ensemble and a cappella gospel singers, Women of the Cross (WOTC)," said the the press release from CCSU.

The evenings begin at 6:30 with a meet and greet, and then after the show, the players will remain for a talk back. This is a great opportunity to discuss prison life and what we can do about the most adjudicated country in the world.

The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, and the prison-industrial complex grows at a faster rate than most other industries. We jail more black men than we send to college, and the prison rates for women grow at an even more alarming rate.

In 2002, America had more than 2 million behind bars. Today, according to the Sentencing Project, we have more than 7 million adjudicated. That's about 1 in 32 people. Those people have stories that are not often told.

"Time In is the culmination of a yearlong arts residency with women inmates at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, CT," the press release said. "The raw material generated during the arts residency provided fodder for the text and lyrics that are interwoven with imagistic dance movements to create an evocative performance mix. Unique and spirited harmonies counterpoint the movement and sound throughout the piece as audience members are led through a journey that begins with the prison's origins as a Native American hunting ground. Women inmates at York collaborated in the development of songs and dances."

More from the press release:

"In a uniquely authentic and unusually provocative way, Time In focuses on the theme of time from the perspective women – mothers, daughters, wives – serving time in prison. Many of the women – real women who have shared their stories – have battered histories of physical abuse, drugs, and street life; they are good women who made bad choices and are paying the price. For these women whose feelings find voice in Time In, the experience of participating in the project was life-affirming and life-altering."

"As Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me: An African American Woman's Spiritual Journey comments, 'This is as close as most people will ever get to hearing the voices of incarcerated women, of seeing the world through their eyes, and of experiencing how they feel-- about life, crime, space, and especially time. A truly masterful gift for us all.'"

"Time In brings the humanity of these women behind bars and the complex tapestry of feelings they experience– anger, pain, regret, fear, loneliness, despair and glimmers of hope– to the public."

"The piece incorporates the jarringly honest words and voices of dozens of women inmates at the maximum-security York Correctional Institution who participated in the yearlong arts residency with JDPE and WOTC. The residency included an intensive five-day session in June that culminated in two performances of Time In at the prison, with inmates performing alongside JDPE dancers and WOTC singers."

For tickets: Please contact the CENtix office at (860) 832-1989.  Hours: M-Su  9am – 10:45pm

Ticket prices: CCSU students: free.  Non-CCSU students/seniors: $5.  General Admission: $10.

 

Hope to see you there.