See you in October, 2020 for our next
WHoS Prison Theatre Production!
Thank you to everyone who supported this year's project.
October 2019
The Emerald City Project
Created and performed by the men of William Head Institution and SNAFU
Directed by Kathleen Greenfield
A New Play inspired by the characters in The Wizard of Oz
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.” - Scarecrow
“What makes a king out of a slave? Courage.” - Lion
“Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.” - The Wizard
It is 2019, and we enter a run-down Kansas Avenue on the tipping point of Renoviction. Through the shades of grey we get glimpses of the technicolor hopes and memories of this neighborhood’s long-standing inhabitants. We meet Toto coming home after a long time away, a curmudgeonly Tin Man, and Scarecrow, who is afraid of his own potential. Auntie Em runs a cafe on Kansas Ave, which serves as a neutral zone for the Lions and Flying Monkeys. In this dramatic comedy with live music and hip-hop, we uncover what home means to a community trying to find balance on unsteady ground.
“One of the best performances I have seen. It took terrific heart and courage for these men to get up onstage, do something new, and share a piece of themselves with the audience. I would go again in a heartbeat.”
- The Charlebois Post
PUBLIC PERFORMANCES |
TICKETS |
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Fri Oct 4 @ 7:30PM
Sat Oct 5 @ 7:30PM Fri Oct 11 @ 7:30PM Sat Oct 12 @ 7:30PM Fri Oct 18 @ 7:30PM Sat Oct 19 @ 7:30PM Thu Oct 24 @ 7:30PM Fri Oct 25 @ 7:30PM Sat Oct 26*Matinee @ 1:30PM Sat Oct 26 @ 7:30PM Fri Nov 1 @ 7:30PM Sat Nov 2* Matinee @ 1:30PM Sat Nov 2 @ 7:30PM YOU MUST ARRIVE EARLY to go through prison security. ABSOLUTELY NO LATECOMERS. All Evening Shows:
Gates Open at 6:15pm Gates Close at 7:15pm Show Begins at 7:30pm Absolutely no late-comers *Sat Matinees Gates Open at 12:15pm Gates Close at 1:15pm Show Begins at 1:30pm |
PERFORMED ATWilliam Head Institution
(6000 William Head Rd, a 35 min drive from Victoria)
TRAVEL REMINDERS: The Prison is a 35 minute drive from downtown Victoria. Please plan to arrive between 6:30 and 7:00PM. |
Now I’m finally here to see the streets again
I was on the wrong path back then,
Now it’s time to see who really is my friend
There’s no place like home."
CREDITS
This play was co-devised, performed, produced, co-composed, costume and makeup designed, and constructed
by the men of William Head on Stage Prison Theatre Company
Director: Kathleen Greenfield
Production Stage Manager: Carolyn Moon
‘Outside’ Performers: Kate Rubin, Jeni Luther, Sam Redmond
Writing & Dramaturgy : Kathleen Greenfield and Kate Rubin
Set Design & Painting: Carole Klemm
Lighting Design and Ceiling Installation: Poe Limkul
Choreography: Ingrid Hansen
Movement coach: John Aitken
Guest Artist: Anne Cirillo, Emma Zabloski
Administrative support from the staff of William Head Institution
This play was co-devised, performed, produced, co-composed, costume and makeup designed, and constructed
by the men of William Head on Stage Prison Theatre Company
Director: Kathleen Greenfield
Production Stage Manager: Carolyn Moon
‘Outside’ Performers: Kate Rubin, Jeni Luther, Sam Redmond
Writing & Dramaturgy : Kathleen Greenfield and Kate Rubin
Set Design & Painting: Carole Klemm
Lighting Design and Ceiling Installation: Poe Limkul
Choreography: Ingrid Hansen
Movement coach: John Aitken
Guest Artist: Anne Cirillo, Emma Zabloski
Administrative support from the staff of William Head Institution
SNAFU artists have worked with WHoS over a period of 13 years working with the men, including Animal Farm (2008), CHALK (2010), Gormonghast (2011), The Hobbit (2012), Fractured Fables: The Prison Puppet Project (2013), Time Waits for No One (2014), HERE: A Captive Odyssey (2015), and Sleeping Giants (2016). They are joined by a group of outside theatre artists in the community to support the company with mentorship in music, dance, set, lighting, sound and costume design.
ABOUT THE COMPANY - William Head on Stage (W.H.o.S.
William Head on Stage (or WHoS) is Canada’s longest-running prison theatre program. Since 1981, the inmates have staged a play each fall and invited the general public. Anyone 19 or older can buy a ticket, go through prison security, enter the prison gymnasium and experience the show performed by the prisoners.
“WHoS is a safe place where we don’t have to wear a mask or project an image,” says one prisoner participant. “Going through prison...there are many messages we get put into our heads that you are inhuman...The process slowly chips away at you. I didn’t realize how deep it went until I was exposed to the community. Oh yes, this is what it is like to be treated like a person…we need normal human contact without an agenda.”
“WHoS is a safe place where we don’t have to wear a mask or project an image,” says one prisoner participant. “Going through prison...there are many messages we get put into our heads that you are inhuman...The process slowly chips away at you. I didn’t realize how deep it went until I was exposed to the community. Oh yes, this is what it is like to be treated like a person…we need normal human contact without an agenda.”
Questions?
Contact whonstage@gmail.com
Contact whonstage@gmail.com
“W.H.o.S. is a testament to
the power of theatre to change lives.”
- The Globe and Mail
“W.H.o.S. is a testament to
the power of theatre to change lives.”
- The Globe and Mail
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A heartfelt thank-you to our supporters,
