###Members of the population at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility,Oregon’s only women’s prison,performed the ancient Greek tragedy ‘Electra‘

“Electra,” a story of grief,rage and revenge,was the first play they read together as a theater class inside Coffee creek Correctional Facility. 

When the standing ovation came from an audience of neighbors,politicians,law students,friends and family at the story’s end,the actors were moved. 

“I would say the most challenging part for me in the beginning was tapping into the emotion,” said Nistasha Tate, who performed as Electra. “That was the most tough part for me in the beginning … it was like riding a bike for the first time.”

the Coffee Creek Theater Company performed “Electra” four times, twice for invited community members and twice for the population inside the prison. 

“I did theater in high school, and I wanted to bring a little bit of that from my past life that was good into the future with me,” said Fahlynn nix, who played Electra’s stepfather and also worked as the assistant stage manager. 

“Electra,” written by ancient Greek poet Sophocles and adapted by Anne Carson, is the story of King Agamemnon’s daughter, distraught after her mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus murder her father following the Trojan war. 

The cast said they felt the most pressure and excitement in performing for the Coffee Creek population inside the facility’s chapel. 

“It was great. It was the best one out of all four of them. And ther was a huge audience, lots of laughing and lots of smiling. It was a really great vibe.We had a good time,” said Tate. 

###‘A tool for rehabilitation’

This isn’t the first time Electra’s director Patrick Walsh has worked inside Oregon prisons. He’s previously directed shows at Two Rivers Correctional Facility in Umatilla, adapting classical works like “Hamlet” and “The Tempest.” His company,the Northwest Classical Theater Collaborative,has toured plays in federal prisons,jails,homeless shelters and low-income assisted living facilities. 

“It really opened my eyes to what theater can be and what it can do,” said Walsh. “Allowing performance to be a tool for rehabilitation and that oftentimes people who have the least access to art are the people who need it the most, right? These guys grew in leaps and bounds, as humans and as artists, in the time that I knew them.” 

Walsh was asked to start a theater program at Coffee Creek after one of the touring shows performed for the population.  

“They were looking for an avenue, a way to atone for what they had done (and)a way to communicate about that appropriately. And I’m not saying that a theater class is the answer for every single person who currently is housed in the oregon Department of Corrections, but, for those 20 guys (at Two Rivers) theater was that avenue and that ability to atone for what they had done and trying to figure out where they fit in the world,” said Walsh. “For some of them,

Theater Behind Bars: Finding Community and Healing Through Performance at Coffee Creek Prison

A unique theater program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Washington state is offering inmates a powerful outlet for self-expression, community building, and personal growth. Through the performance of classical plays, the women incarcerated at Coffee Creek are discovering new facets of themselves and finding a sense of connection ofen absent in their lives.

From Life Skills to Stage Production

The program began when instructor Sarah Walsh started the initiative as a life skills class. The women collectively explored plays such as “Electra,” “measure for Measure” by William Shakespeare, and “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder. The experience has proven transformative, despite the inherent challenges of staging a production within a correctional facility.

The Unique Challenges of Prison Theater

Lyndsay Hogland, the assistant director and stage manager, highlighted the logistical and emotional hurdles. “I come from a much more standard theatrical background… being in a prison is a unique setting,” she explained. A significant constraint is the limited opportunity for collaboration. Inmates are unable to rehearse or discuss the play outside of scheduled class time, hindering the typical community-building aspects of theater.”The theater is what happens in the room, but it’s also the community that it builds outside of the room,” Hogland noted.

‘Brought Color into a Black and White World’

Walsh emphasizes the egalitarian nature of theater, it’s ability to transcend boundaries and connect with audiences regardless of background.the universal themes found in classical literature, like those penned by Shakespeare, resonate deeply with the inmates.

Both Nix and Tate, participants in the program, affirmed the unexpected sense of community that blossomed within the theater class.

“I love to take advantage of opportunities that I wouldn’t have normally had a chance to partake in, and so theater was one of them,” said Tate. “It brought an aspect to this place that we don’t have. it brought color into a black and white world. So it was just an amazing opportunity. And I just wanted to see what acting would be like, and I got so much more than that.”

Innovative Production Elements

The production of “Electra” incorporated several unique elements. The hair and makeup design was skillfully executed by students from the prison’s cosmetology school. Furthermore, the role of Electra was shared by two actresses, a intentional artistic choice to represent the character’s fractured mental state and the complexities of grief.

“That idea came from our director, Patrick, and he thought it would be a proper portrayal of her: how broken she was in grief… so it just really showed her fractured mental state and it was really fun to play,” Tate explained. “we kind of took cues off of each other, like body language, and we really bonded.This is my first time ever doing theater, and so I’ve never played a role before, so I don’t no what it would be like to play a role by myself.”

Looking Ahead

The women of coffee Creek are eager to collaborate on future productions, with a comedy being considered as their next endeavor. Walsh and Hogland are also committed to returning to continue the program.

“It was really fun. I think I’m already kind of a spicy person – respectful, but I say what’s on my mind. And so playing this character… was fun as it made it like I got to amplify that,” Tate shared.

Ultimately, the experience fostered profound self-revelation. “I have a greater sense of compassion and kindness towards others that I didn’t have before,” said Nix.