PORTLAND, Ore. — In what the director called a first for Oregon, a professional theater company is touring prisons across the state, performing “An Iliad” for inmate audiences.
The show is funded through a collaboration between the Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative, which produces classical theater throughout Portland, and Open Hearts Open Minds, which brings arts programs to Oregon prisons.
General audiences will also get a chance to see the play at two public performances in Portland.
“An Iliad” is a modern retelling of Homer’s “The Iliad” with updated language and the occasional reference to contemporary cities and wars. At first glance, the play may seem an unusual choice for an audience of inmates, many of whom have never seen live classical theater.
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But go beyond the ancient gods and usual names, and “An Iliad” is fundamentally a story about coming to terms with anger.
"This play deals with a cycle of rage and violence," said director and producer Patrick Walsh. "Touring this play, especially to these audiences, I'm interested in that conversation and what that means for people who feel like they are stuck in an endless cycle, how can they break that in themselves and how can we as a society join together to break that in our communities."
The constraints of performing inside a prison call for a small, two-person cast, simple props and, essentially no set. Every item brought inside must be cataloged in and counted out. Performers wear their red visitor badges even during the show.
Paul Susi plays "The Poet," who gives an impassioned telling of the story of the Trojan War. He's joined by Anna Fritz, who composed and performs original cello music for the play.
The music she creates is haunting and beautiful - capturing both the thunder of war and the soft mourning of death. When Fritz, a Portland folksinger, finally shares her voice with the audience, it's an ethereal sound, as if from the Muses themselves.
Walsh has previously directed plays at Two Rivers Correctional Facility, where inmates form the cast. Last year, he brought in actors, including Susi, to perform "Three Sisters" at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. This is the first time, however, that a professional show is touring different prisons.
"There was one gentleman at (Oregon State Prison) who came up to me and introduced himself and said he had taken a Shakespeare class but he had never gotten to see a play before," Walsh said.
After each show, the audience has a chance to ask questions and share thoughts with the performers. During the Oct. 9 performance at the cafeteria of Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, inmates praised the show. One man sad he’s never heard a cello played live before. A veteran said Susi’s anguish captured the feelings of war.
Until a week before the Columbia River performance, Fritz said she had never set foot inside a prison.
"I knew intellectually that the folks that I was going to encounter inside, they are us, we are all the same," Fritz said. "I knew that intellectually, but then to actually have the experience of connecting with people, really opening their hearts, I am being changed by it."
There will be two public performances of “An Iliad” in Portland: 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at St. David of Wales Church, 2800 S.E. Harrison St.; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov 4, at BodyVox, 1201 N.W. 17th Ave. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative website, nwctc.org.
