HYBRID: Prison Theatre Symposium
With the release this year of the movie, Sing Sing, prison arts programs are in the national conversation. However, prison arts practitioners have been working within Oregon’s prisons for over a decade. Please join Carla Grant, Executive Director of Open Hearts and Open Minds, Patrick Walsh, Executive Artistic Director of Northwest Classical Theater Collaborative, Lavon Starr Meyers, retired Volunteer Program Representative at Oregon Department of Corrections, and Josh Underhill, a former participant in their programs. They’ll discuss their transformative experiences of working in a number of Oregon prisons as well as how theater can aid in the emotional,intellectual, and spiritual growth of incarcerated populations.
Carla Grant is the Executive Director of Open Hearts Open Minds, an Oregon nonprofit providing arts and dialogue in prison since 2007. Due to her life-long love of theatre and devising shows, she was offered an opportunity to create a performing arts program at Coffee Creek in 2014. She continues to facilitate this program. She was hired as ED in 2019. The process of finding empathy with each other and creating opportunities to share that with the world continues to be enriching, enlightening and most of all loving. Open Hearts Open Minds is a nonprofit organization elevating the creative voices of the incarcerated. We cultivate positive change in individuals and their communities through the arts, mentorship, and dialogue. Currently, OHOM offers programs in writing, music, and theater, while also mentoring those transitioning out of incarceration. These activities grow out of our core dialogue circles where participants meet regularly to share experience and insight.
Patrick Walsh is a theatre director and producer who believes in the power of language, art, and community to change lives. His work has been seen across the United States of America. He currently serves as the Executive Artistic Director of Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative Inc, an organization dedicated to making art more accessible to communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Locally, in Oregon, Patrick’s directing work has been seen at The Red Door Project, Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative, Defunkt Theatre, Portland Actors Ensemble, Post5 Theatre, Bag&Baggage Productions, the Fertile Ground Festival, and at Two Rivers Correctional Facility where Patrick volunteers through the Arts in Prison program. Work across the country includes credits at Chautauqua Theatre Company, The Guthrie Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Compass Rose Theatre, Theater Workshop of Nantucket, Steppenwolf Theatre, and the Hangar Theater. In addition, Patrick is a proud member of the 2009 Lincoln Center Directors Lab, while also being a recipient of an SDC Foundation Observership, a Chautauqua Theater Company Directing Fellowship, The Leslie O. Fulton Fellowship, and a Drama League Directing Fellowship. Patrick is also a proud founding member of Salmon Nation. https://salmonnation.net/
Lavon Starr Meyers grew up in eastern Oregon on a small Snake River island farm south of Ontario. She attended Marylhurst College and University of Portland, graduating in 1975 with a BA in Communications. She worked as a general assignment reporter, feature writer and photographer for newspapers on both sides of the state, as well as western Idaho. She married Stephen Meyers in 1980 and together they raised three likable children — Erin, Daniel and Eve. Newspaper skills dovetailed with healthcare Public Relations positions beginning in 1990. In 2000, she entered an extraordinary new universe — the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). Originally hired as the Volunteer Program Manager at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, Oregon, she moved the following year into the administration's Community Development Coordinator position. Nine years later she was hired as the Oregon DOC Volunteer Program Representative, retiring in 2019. Her entire career with the DOC involved recruiting, training and assisting residents throughout Oregon, southern Washington and western Idaho to provide significant programs for spiritual practice, personal growth and creative outlets to the Adults in Custody housed in the 14 institutions and facilities around the state. This career path provided a rare and wonderful opportunity to engage with men and women from all walks of life in a way that fed their needs to give and receive, as well as her own.
Josh Underhill serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Open Hearts Open Minds, a nonprofit organization that brings the power of the arts within the Oregon prison system. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for In Time of Need, a nonprofit organization that is developing a resource app for individuals in need of assistance or services. Additionally, he volunteers for the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. After doing a significant amount of time within the Oregon prison system, Josh has dedicated his years after in the form of service, contributing to the community and supporting organizations that have aided his personal growth and development.
A livestream will also be available at https://www.youtube.com/@LakeOLib/streams(link is external).
For more information contact Nancy Niland at nniland@lakeoswego.city or (503) 675-2538
