Theater Director - Jenna Worsham

So I’m note sure if this actually fits the criteria for this blog-post, but its pretty badass and I wanted to share this young woman’s work with you:

One of my dear friends and colleagues, Jenna Worsham is a theater director. She discovered her passion for directing as an undergraduate at Washington & Lee University. Post graduation, Jenna moved to New York to pursue a career in theater and has since found herself devoted to the male-dominated craft of stage directing. She has directed on full-productions, workshops, and development projects, as assisted numerous on and off Broadway. However, some of her greatest successes thus far have been her social advocacy projects.

In April and May of last year, Jenna reinvented Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. This project took formally incarcerated women and placed them on stage next to actresses and activists calling attention and support to women involved in the criminal justice system through Ensler's work. The first performance was sight specific and took place at Taconic Correctional Facility as part of V-Day. The second performance took place at Cherry Lane Theater in the West Village and was a benefit for the Women’s Prison Association.

Most recently, Jenna has continued working with these women, however this time instead of telling stories already written, she help develop a project based on the lives of formally incarcerated women. Titled Here to be Seen: Women and Justice the project was developed over several months. It took the stories of seven women who had lived through years of incarceration and paired them with seven playwrights. After conversation guided by Jenna the writers were then challenged to tell theatrical accounts about the realities of these women’s incarcerations, daily lives, and struggles, not just at prisoners, but as women. Once again in November 2015, these women took the stage along side actors and activist, but this time at the Brooklyn DA’s office. They performed scenes and monologues and read little known statistics to create a true image of these women.

Footage of last week's collection of stories of formerly incarcerated women.
Posted by Johnny Perez on Saturday, November 21, 2015

This type of work is refreshing and important. Not only did it grab attention of the local and state government, but also it gave women with otherwise unheard and stereotyped voices a forum to be heard and seen. In the Q & A after the event it was clear that this work had made an impact. A few of the women admitted that because of this workshop they now feel the can move forward because their voices matter. Audience members stood in shock admitting there assumptions about women in prison and asking how this work will be perceived beyond the walls of the DA.

Personally, even I was surprise the extend I drew conclusions about formal incarcerated women without understanding them. We tend to forget the mothers, and daughters, and wives and lovers with interests and passions and jokes to tell. We don’t recognize the struggles the face as a result of their incarceration or the struggles they faced that got them there. Personal, I was very black and white on the matter without truly thinking about it. Speaking with Jenna about this project, she hopes to carry it forward beyond just Brooklyn. I told her about my experience, and guilt that came along with it and learned her experience was similar. However, she believes that’s why her work is important – it provides women with a forum to explore, feel and united. Jenna and her collaborators believe this work should make you uncomfortable and that this is the only way change will happen.