thousand kites script

8/3/2019 Thousand Kites Script

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Thousand Kites, page 1 of 22

THOUSAND KITESTHOUSAND KITESTHOUSAND KITESTHOUSAND KITES(The Play)

written by

Donna Porterfield

script contributors

Prisoners, Corrections Officers, and their respective families,and people living in communities where prisons are sited

original music by

Ron Short, Carlton Turner, and Maurice Turner

dramaturge

Dudley Cocke

This playwas developed as one part of the Holler to the HoodRoadside Theater collaboration,Thousand Kites (www.thousandkites.org), a project of Appalshop, Inc., 91 Madison Ave.,Whitesburg, KY 41858; 606.633.0108.

Holler to the Hood/Roadside Theater 2007


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PLACE AND TIME here and now

CAST

Guard adult malePrisoner adult male

Chorus 1 and 3 adult femalesChorus 2 and 4 adult malesChorus 5 male or female, under age 30, familiar with spoken wordSchedule adult female with authoritative voiceDJ plays recorded music, may sing and play a musical instrument

STAGE SETTING

Stage right Guards platform, or, when visible from the audience, a rectangular area delineatedby tape on the floor

Stage left Prisoners platform, or, when visible from the audience, a rectangular areadelineated by tape on the floor

Center stage Chorus areaUpstage left DJ music stationOffstage Microphone/PA system, with loud buzzer, through which Schedule makes

announcements; when offstage microphone/PA system is not available, see Schedulenote below

STAGING NOTES

Guard and Prisonerplace themselves on their respective platforms (or in their respective tapedboxes), which theydo not leave. Theydo not acknowledge each other or the Chorus, and speakdirectly to the audience.Chorus is free to move about the stage, but cannot enter the Guards or Prisoners space. Theyspeak directly to each other and to the audience and indirectly to Prisonerand Guard.Schedule, if visible to audience, is placed at a distance from cast and never acknowledgesaudience or cast.

OTHER NOTES

Buzzer Should be timed to interrupt the plays action.Music Options Provided in the Toolkit for Play Readings:

an audio recording of the plays pre-show music.

an audio recording of the plays songs and raps, performed by Kites performers, and songsheets of the full versions of these songs and raps.

o If the plays cast includes singers and rappers, this recording can be used to teach

them the full songs and raps, which are abbreviated in the script. If the DJ is amusician and/or singer, she/he may join in the musical performances.o If the plays cast does not include singers and rappers, the cast should read the

abbreviated versions of the songs and raps as printed in the script.o With the exception of pre-show music, playing recorded versions of the songs and

raps as a substitution for reading or performing them is not recommended, as thiswill interrupt the flow of the play.


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ACT I

Pre-show music: DJ plays the pre-recorded songs Thousand Kites and then Running Round inCircles. If DJ is a musician, his/her live playing can end the pre-show segment.

(buzzer interrupts)

SCHEDULEI am Prison Schedule. I regulate prison life.

(Without acknowledging each other, Guard & Prisoner rise from opposite sides of auditorium,

walk to stage, cross, and take their separate positions, facing audience.)

GUARDI am Guard. Not one guard, but many. I have one mouth, but speak with many voices. I havetwo ears, and I have heard many stories.

PRISONERI am Prisoner. Not one prisoner, but many. I have one mouth, but speak with many voices. Ihave two ears, and I have heard many stories.

GUARDI am tall, short, all shades of color . . .

PRISONERmale, female, vicious, (pause) kind . . .

GUARD & PRISONER (simultaneously)dont give a damn.

PRISONERI do time.

GUARDI do time in eight hour shifts.

PRISONERI do time all the time.

(Chorus members rise and stand by their seats in the auditorium as they speak.)

CHORUS 1I am the public.



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(Chorus 5 proceeds to the stage, then each Chorus member follows as they deliver their lines.)

CHORUS 1We are mothers.

CHORUS 2Fathers.

CHORUS 3Sisters.

CHORUS 4Brothers.

CHORUS 5We are the people who live in communities where 50 new prisons have been built every singleyear for the past 20 years.

CHORUS 2You gotta be kidding! Youre telling me that in the United States of America 50 new prisonshave been built every year for the past 20 years? Who would believe that?!

CHORUS 3Its a fact!

CHORUS 1We are the victims of crimes.

CHORUS 2We are the families of guards.

CHORUS 4We are the families of prisoners.

CHORUS 3Thats right.


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CHORUS 2Not us.

CHORUS 1Were good Christians we dont break the law.

CHORUS 2Nobody in my family ever gone to jail!

CHORUS 3Hey, wait a minute! My son is in prison, and hes a good man. Not everybody in prison is bad.

CHORUS 2Not everybody in prison is good! You do the crime, you do the time.

CHORUS 4

Yeah, I used to think that way, until my child landed in jail for a little bit of nothing, and all hisfriends went free as birds!

CHORUS 5Point: We live in the United States of America where one out of every 138 of us has done . . .

CHORUS ALLtime.

(buzzer)

SCHEDULESchedule

Maximum Security

State

2:00am

Pick-Up Mail From Buildings

CHORUS 1 (as mother, moving toward Guard)I cant say my son was a perfect child, but he grew up to be a good man.

CHORUS 2 (as father, moving toward Guard)He was the first one in our family to ever go to college. Said he didnt want to spend his lifeworking in the coal mines and end up broken-down like his daddy done.

CHORUS 1No sir, he wanted a state job.

CHORUS 2He wanted benefits. He wanted to be a park ranger!


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CHORUS 1Well, it turned out there werent any forest ranger jobs to be had . . .

CHORUS 2so somebody said, Why dont you come to work at the new prison. Its a government job.

CHORUS 1So he went clear to the other end of the state

CHORUS 2and took the prison training.

GUARDI started out at one of the older maximum security state prisons. We had no weapons justkeys. If the keys were taken from you, everything could be lost.

My first day on the job, I was assigned to let the inmates on the second tier pass through the gateto go eat. The Lead Officer was stationed a floor above me. He was supposed to flip open twocells at a time. Then I was supposed to unlock the tier gate, let the two prisoners pass through,lock the gate back, and wait for him to unlock the next two cells.

I took my place by the gate as I was instructed, but the Lead Officer flipped the master switchand let all of them, all 88 of them, out of their cells at once. I threw my keys under the lockedtier gate as Id been trained to do. I was now responsible for getting every single one of the 88back into their cells. Remember, I had no weapon. There are no words to describe the way Ifelt. I had never been locked in with 88 men who would just as soon see me dead. But Imaintained my post by the gate, and somehow, I dont know how, got them all back in theircells.

When it was all over, I stormed up to the Lead Officers post and grabbed hold of the rail in frontof him to keep from strangling him. I fully intended to kill the son-of-a-bitch. He just laughed,said, Looks like you didnt wet yourself, or cry like a baby. You might make it here.

(buzzer)

SCHEDULE3:35am

Prisoner Kitchen Workers In-Place

PRISONERIf you cause any kind of trouble, Ill shoot you. That was my welcome to the super-max fromthe Corrections Officer as I got off the bus. Then he yanked my eyeglasses from my face, said,These are dangerous contraband.


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I was shackled at the ankles. My hands were cuffed in front of me and chained to my waist witha belly chain. The C.O., who was wielding a shotgun, yells, This aint church, this aint school,and it aint a place to rehabilitate yourself. Its prison.

I knelt on the floor and a slot in the door, about three feet from the ground, opened. I was

ordered to stick my hands through it, and the cuffs were removed. Now strip, a voice barked.What he said next and what I had to do was so vile Ill not repeat it. I will tell you what I wasthinking: It wont be fun when the rabbit gets the gun. No sir, it wont.

CHORUS 3 (as mother of prisoner)When my son was incarcerated, he was in college, and I wanted to keep him going. My wholeattitude was, though he is in prison, prison does not have to be in him.

CHORUS 4 (as father of prisoner)But when he first went to prison, he refused to see us.

CHORUS 3He felt his life was over.

CHORUS 4That first year, I didnt think hed make it . . . I thought hed commit suicide.

CHORUS 3We are a close, religious family, and we refused absolutely refused to give-up. We keptcoming to visit him his brothers and aunts and uncles everybody.

CHORUS 4And today, five years later, hes taking correspondence classes to finish his college degree.And hes tutoring other inmates who cant read or write.

CHORUS 5A voice for the voicelessI represent the ones that yearn to be heardSo every word is a testimonyThis one is for my homieLocked up and wonderingHow can we fix this systemThat got so many locked in prisonBrothers and fathers missinWifies and mothers kissinPictures of prodigal sonsPraying for their returnLearning to live without emNever forget about emBut its hard when hes nineteen years oldNo chance for parole


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Nothing to lose so its just another night in the holeThe only way to console the fears of dying hereIs to pray and put pen to paperShow that hes trying hereTo make the most of the worst

Break the curse of this nationHooked on incarceration21st century plantationsI fly a thousand kites for my homiesWith the hope that this message and these blessings reach all my homies

And its sad that us community fail to seeThat we accept the policyThat proves democracy to be hypocrisyBuilding cages for babiesWhy try to teach them or reach them before mistakes can be made

Theres way too much money to be madeWe all just getting playedWhile the rich keep getting paidIts time we examine the reason these laws have been made

I fly a thousand kites for my homiesWith the hope that this message and these blessings reach all my homiesI fly a thousand kites for my homiesWith the hope that this message and these blessings reach . . .

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE5:00am

Insulin

Finger Sticks and Shots

CHORUS 2I raised my kids in a place out in the country, and crime just never played a role in our life. Imean it really didnt. I would leave my keys in the front door so Id know where they were!

CHORUS 3Crime? In the city, its hard to tell whos the worst the gangs or the police. Every day, I feellike my babies are being hunted like animals.


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CHORUS 1My baby sister, who I raised, is on the needle. Yesterday I had to go to court with her. Rightwhen we were ready to go up before the judge, she grabs hold of my arm, whispers, Dontworry, Im Wonder Woman. Uh huh, actually said she was Wonder Woman that nothingcould harm her. Then she whispers in my ear, I just bought two new tires for my Chevy

Cavalier. You know, to out-run the police! Dont tell.

Well, Ive known the judge most all of my life, and I was talking to him, and Im like What arewe going to do about this situation here? Shes crazy! We need to go ahead and get herincarcerated. She cant stop using. She wont.

And hes like, Its just the system. Cant rush it up. She comes from a good home . . . blah,blah, blah.

CHORUS 4Here recently in the space of a year I went to two funerals for kids in their twenties. One was

a kid who hanged himself in jail, and the other was a drug overdose. And I happened to mentionthis to a young girl that I know. I said, When I was your age, I didnt know anybody my agewho had died. And she said,

CHORUS 5I couldnt tell you the number of my friends who are either dead or in jail.

CHORUS 3Dead or in jail.

CHORUS 1Ones dead.

PRISONERI wanna be a criminal when I grow upcause criminals live good and have all the luck.I cant have a bike cause my moms too poorand my dads been gone since I was 3 or 4.And whats all the fuss about going to schoolwhen getting As and Bs dont seem too cool?Im not feelin school cause I need to get money,plus I know bout the streets so I aint no dummy.I already been to jail and it wasnt too badand after the first few days, Mom wasnt that mad.Ive seen a helluva lot to just be in my teensso Im really a man with criminal dreams.

I know the drug game will really pay offbut I gotta get a gun to prove Im not soft.Look at all this cash and I dont have a job


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And when things get slow I got the gun to rob.Im a gangsta now so I will pull the triggerbesides, who cares about another dead figger?I dont know anything about this legal stuffand I hate wearing these tight-assed cuffs.

I better take the plea cause I cant beat the case.They had too many people identify my face.Everyone that I call has a block on their phone,but how can that be when I was so well known?I got a fat old judge and they say hes meanand I never saw this in my criminal dreams.

Im in prison now and its not what I thoughtIf I wasnt getting high, I wouldve never got caught.I gotta hurt the first one who steps out of linebut if I hurt him too bad, Im gonna run up my time.

The word seems to be dont go to the holeMy life sure changed since that first day I stole.Last year a man got shot for fightingbut its not really news cause nobodys writing.If I stay up late, I can hear the screamsbut I never heard them in my criminal dreams.

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE5:30am

Pill Call

General Population in vestibule

Segregation in Pod

CHORUS 4When they took my son to the jail, he was in a wheelchair because he had just had both of hisknees replaced. He was put in a real little room where there were no beds nor nothin. He spentfour weeks on the floor. I done ok at the jail, but once I got back to the house and realized that Iprobably wouldnt live to see him come home . . .

CHORUS 1They took my baby sister on from the courtroom up to the jail. Then I tried to find out things,but I could not find out anything. So I went on home. And she called, said there were eightpeople in her cell, with no bed no pillow. As a child, she always slept with three pillows. So Igot back in the car and went to Wal Mart and bought her a pillow. I took it out to the jail, but theofficer at the desk said, No, we do not allow that.

CHORUS 4Just one pillow?


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CHORUS 5She never hurt nobody.

(buzzer)

SCHEDULE6:00amBreakfast

Segregation Food Cart Delivered

General Population According To Feeding Schedule

CHORUS 4Prison food my son says youll end up with the weirdest stuff being served to you. Not food,so much, but like condiments. Youll get OCharleys ketchup McDonalds napkins.Companies are using it as tax write-offs.

CHORUS 5I used to eat with the same guys. One of them was originally from Cambodia. We closelyinspected our food for hair, bugs, and mud. The Cambodian guy always gave me his milk. Idtell him, Why dont you drink it at least its something they cant mess with. He says, Howin the world can you drink that stuff? They treat us like animals and then feed us pet food. Isaid, What are you talking about, pet food? He says, Look at the carton of milk, man. Rightthere it says, Pet Milk.

PRISONERYou want to know what my day is like?Well it starts at five-thirty with that bright ass light.Next comes breakfast at six-thirtyThe coffees cold and the tray is dirty.

First call for showers and rec,C.O. already checking my set.I break sweat.Nothing new to them shaking my cell down.Happens all the time.Still messes with my mind.

Go out the yard for a break and come back,Now its time to hit the sack.Wake up an hour laterto some cold cuts for lunch.I think its turkey bologna,But thats just a hunch.

Then I get my read on with the tv on,Gotta see my soaps.


12/22


Damn! Victor done fired Phyllisfor sleepin with Nick.Sharons pissed,but is anyone left that shes not kissed?

Then its read, sleep, eat, stand,Inappropriate behavior with my hand.Hey, it happens,No need for the snappin!

Six-thirty mail call.Everyone stands,Many knowin its just a mirage.

At 11 I catch the news, Jay Leno,a little Jimmy Kimmell Live.

Yeah, no lie, I stay up latebut only forBlind Date.

So thats a day in the life of a convicted felon.Ive been doing time eleven years for not tellin.

Enough talk, I got to get some rest.Ill wake up tomorrow same place, same stress.Day in, day out, same plight,Same bright ass light.

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE8:30am

Prisoner Count

Standing

GUARDIf you step across the red painted line without permission, it will be considered an act ofaggression and will result in the use of firepower.

PRISONERAll of this was new to me, but you can bet I caught on fast. I guess you could say that prison is apoor mans college the school of life. You learn about surviving, because at any given timeyou can be killed.

GUARDIf you approach any person too fast, it will be considered an act of aggression and will result inthe use of firepower.


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PRISONERThe officers dont give a damn what happens to you. Theyre here for eight hours. If an inmatewas to be killed in that eight hours, they still get their pay check and go home to their families.

GUARDSome of the officers at the super-max feel like they have a lot of authority over the inmates.Some of them have never dealt with anything like this, and I think it goes to their head. And alot of the inmates, when they come in here, they come from the cities up north. Most of thecorrections officers are white and most of the inmates are black. It bothers the prisoners, youknow. They say, Youre a white person. Youre guarding me, and you know its not rightbecause Im black. They think were KKK, or something like that.

PRISONERThe first time I let a fellow inmate borrow five dollars, he didnt pay me back. So I went to anOld Head and told him about it. He asked me, did I want to lose the respect I had? So I went to

this dude, who had my five dollars, and beat the crap out of him. I did it in front of everybodycause I wanted everyone to see I was for real. I was put in the hole for ten days. When I got outof the hole, I was told that the dude that owed me the five dollars had been turn into a punk.Sure enough at chow time, the new owner of this punk comes up to me and pays me back thefive dollars. So that was the end of another lesson learned.

GUARDWhos weak and who aint matters in prison.

PRISONERThats what its all about.

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE9:00am

Outside Recreation General Population

Rotate Building Commissary

CHORUS 3When they incarcerate your child, they incarcerate the whole family. Before that happened tome, I never voted. My family never voted. We just stayed home, minded our own business.Now Ive wound up at the state capitol talking to the senators and delegates, and really, I seetheyre no better than we are. Theyre climbing a political ladder, trying to look good to thepublic out here, but theyre not concentrating on whats important.

CHORUS 4And to beat all, they must think were millionaires. The prison only gives my son two rolls oftoilet paper and a cake of soap a month! Everything else he has to buy at the prison canteen. Wehave to send him $100 a week, because they charge such ridiculous prices.


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CHORUS 3To talk to a loved one in prison, you might as well take out a bank loan. The prison charges us$2.50 to hook up each call, and 20 cents a minute.

CHORUS 4

They make a lot of money off of us, dont you know.

CHORUS 3Good Lord, do they think were millionaires?!

(Lively, upbeat)

CHORUS 4Rogues in the White House,Thieves in the hall,They all join hands,

At the Scoundrels Ball.

CHORUS 3They dance around,Day after day,When its time to pay the fiddler,Guess who pays?

CHORUS 1Found a big meth lab,In the house next door.And Wal Mart built,A Sup-er-Store.

CHORUS 2Gonna build another Super-Max,Prison they say,Everthings Super,Round here today.

CHORUS 5Rogues in the White House,Thieves in the hall,They all join hands,At the Scoundrels Ball.They dance around,Day after day,When its time to pay the fiddler,Guess who pays?


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( buzzer)

SCHEDULE11:00am

Lunch

Segregation Food Cart DeliveredMeals Fed In Pods

GUARDYoull get two people with the same offense sentenced in entirely different ways, where one willget two years and one will get 18 years no parole. Its all according to whats hot in thejudges jurisdiction. If everybodys worried about methamphetamine, then thats who gets thebig sentences bigger than murderers sometimes.

When I first started working at the super-max, all the prisoners came here to the mountains fromfar away most from the cities. But thats changing mostly because theres no funding in the

mountains for substance abuse treatment. Its not popular. So, they put em in prison.

The other day, a new inmate gave me a strange look and called me by my full name. Turned outhe was a boy I went to school with over on Caney Ridge. I never would have known him helooked as old as my daddy . . .

GUARDI dont see no faces.I dont feel no pain.Population, civilianTheyre all the same.

CHORUS 1Heard somebody call my name

GUARDBlack and white,Rich and poorThief, murderer,The boy next door.


CHORUS 5Through all this grief, despair and pain,I heard somebody call my name!


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GUARDCant talk to my fatherCant talk to my wifeTheyre living their livesWhile Im doing life.


GUARDI keep having this dream,And I awake with a shout.I get to the gate and I cant get out.


CHORUS 5Through all this grief, despair and pain,I head somebody call my name!

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE1:30pm

Prisoner Count

Standing

PRISONERI work in the library. Im one of the few who has a job. Most of these guys have to stay in theircells all day with nothing to do. Every time Im escorted to the library, they do a strip search.One of the guards obviously has issues. While hes conducting his search, he looks very closelyat all the wrong places and sweats profusely. Sometimes hes eating popcorn like its dinnerand a movie for him.

GUARDSome prisoners you never hear a peep out of. Theyre no different from you or me. And thereare those who get in trouble most every day. They end up in segregation.

PRISONERWhen I was in the hole, the guy in the next cell threw his tray on the officer. I thought to myself,this guy must be crazy! Thirty minutes goes by, then all I could hear was this guy begging theofficers not to beat him anymore. I could hear him crying like a little girl. You see, if you dosomething to one of these officers, theyre not going to fight you one on one. They are going tocome at you ten strong.


17/22


GUARDAdrenalin takes over when there is a dangerous incident with an inmate. But I must keep a coolhead, a stone face, never raise my voice, stand my ground, never ever show fear. Afterwards,when Im filling out the incident report, my hands shake so bad I have to write it over threetimes. But I never let anyone know this. Nobody. Not even my wife.

CHORUS 1 (as mother of Guard)Me and my husband and my son and daughter-in-law had always been church-going people. Wewere faithful, going to church most every night of the week. But it got to where my son didntreally care that much about going to church. When he came home from work, he spent most ofhis time on the telephone talking to the people he worked with at the prison. He pulled awayfrom his wife, his family, from everything just left us behind. That prison life became hiswhole life.

GUARDI kept a diary for the first year I worked in the prison. At the end of each days entry it said,

Thats it. I quit!

( buzzer)

SCHEDULEVisitation Dress Regulations

Visitors may wear casual dress that is reasonable and appropriate. The Department reserves theright to refuse admittance to inappropriately dressed visitors. The body must be covered. Hems,slits, or splits of dresses, skirts, shorts, etc. may not exceed four inches above mid-knee.Underwear is required. No halter tops, tank tops, or tube tops. No pocketbooks, handbags, orwallets are allowed in the visiting room. Males dressed as females will not be admitted.

GUARDFamilies and mamas in particular they see their kids like they were when they were little.The mamas dont see the things their sons do in here. During visitation, some families come upand rake me over the coals for being mean to their little boys. And then there are others who tellme to beat the crap out of their kid because last week he talked bad to them on the phone! Imserious!

CHORUS 3When we go to see my son, we leave home after I get off work and drive all night. My husbandand daughter-in-law, and her two babies, go with us. We get to the prison about 6 the nextmorning. They dont open up until 8:30, so we sit and wait. If we find out theyre in lock-downand theres no visitation that day, we just have to turn around and drive all day to get back home.

CHORUS 4I hadnt seen my son in five years because it was so far to come, and I had no way to get there.When I finally saw him, I was like, Whats the shackles all about?


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CHORUS 5Negativity is engravedIn the mind of the slaveWho walks around the prison yardsContent in his grave

He dont want to be savedBecuz hes afraid of lifeHed rather hold tightWhile his fam visit the sightAnd drop flowers offIn the form of currency

Cause currentlyHes lying six under feet

Their fears get fedAs their tears is shed

They want to see him aliveBut hes here insteadWords get saidIn ways that seem kinda scaryLetters are wrote and read

Like obituariesI miss you sonI miss you brother and friendI hold time that was spentIn good remembrance

When he call on the phoneThey speak to his ghostSometimes moms voice crackCause she miss him the mostHis kids need him the mostYeah theyre feeling the painThey only know daddyBecuz they remember his name

Its a crying shameThats why stains be on pillows

And weeping willowsMourn for his black widow

But hes subzeroAnd frozen to the factThat he needs to rise out of thisInhabitat! And get backTo life! Where good things liveIn order to get to heavenHell is what he gotta give


19/22


His bid isA far cry from homeHis state number is theTombstone!To mark where they buried his

BonesGravePrisonYards.

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE3:00pm

Insulin

Finger Sticks and Shots

CHORUS 4I never dreamed of a child of mine going to prison. I never thought about all those people inprison. And now I know to pray for them each and every one of them every day.

CHORUS 3At my sons prison, theres a mentally retarded fellow whos done eight years on 15. This mancomes from a big family lots of little brothers and sisters and they live too far away to evervisit. Each year at Christmas time we can order little packages from the prison commissary to begiven to our son for a gift, you know. This year, my son calls me and asks if we can send himsome extra money for postage. He said that he and a couple other inmates were saving their littlepackages and sending them to this retarded fellows family because those packages were theonly Christmas theyd get. So if that familys whole Christmas is coming from packages thatwere given to inmates in prison . . . well, you can just imagine.

PRISONERSparkling coils of razor-tipped ribbonAtop a metal mesh of fenceFreshly washed by rainThe glint of sun on gray metalGlistening helix with tiny teeth

It catches my eye for a momentI am trapped withinMy eye can soar to the heavensMy heart is blind to the sceneMy mind is struck with a memory

Ribbon of wire with tiny teethCarefully designed to cut cloth and flesh


20/22


Now catches sparks of sunA scintillation, a moments hesitationHelices bejeweled with diamonds

I seek the treasure in the trap

GUARDThe joy in the despair

PRISONERThe peace of a simple life

GUARDThe beauty that was not intended

PRISONER

But can be seen and kept as a gift.

GUARDA gift.

( buzzer)

SCHEDULE5:30pm

Segregation Food Cart Delivered

GUARDMy brother and me were working minimum wage jobs until we got on at the prison. Not longafter we started, I could see my brother wasnt going to stick with it.

Hed say to me, The prisoners hate us.

Id tell him, They have their own world, and we dont enter into it.

Hed say, Dont you see how these people live? Young people, old people, different colors and a lot of them in here for life? Its a sad, hopeless place to work.

So he quit and started mowing grass with a push lawn mower and a weed eater out of the back ofhis car. Says hes a whole lot poorer now, but a lot more satisfied. Me I feel like Improtecting my family and neighbors society. I dont ever want to see any of my family thevictim of a rape or murder or a child molester. Ive learned to keep a cool head, never argue, dowhatever it takes to walk away from a prisoner filled with pride and anger who is baiting me.But when this doesnt work and an attack ensues, Id rather be tried by 13 than carried by 6.

(buzzer)


21/22


PRISONERThis place aint about rehabilitation; its about fear; its about anger; its about humiliation; itsabout power whos got it and who aint.

GUARD

Its about staying strong no matter what

GUARD & PRISONERhappens.

(Chorus steps forward together.)

CHORUS 5Dont we

CHORUS 1

the Public

CHORUS 5have a say?

(buzzer)

(Prisoner, Guard, and Chorus exit to audience.)

ACT II

There is no intermission. The end of Act I provides the occasion for the cast and audience to tell

their own stories about their experiences with the criminal justice system and, as a group, to

discuss ways to reform the system.

This hour-long discussion is moderated by an individual who ensures that everyone feels free to

tell their story and draw conclusions from their own experiences. Differences of opinion are

welcomed with the instruction that mutual respect for differences must always be shown.

The last 20 minutes of the evening is reserved to discuss what actions can be taken by individuals

and by the group to address the issues that have been raised.

Whenever possible, the evening ends with everyone joining in a song led by the DJ.


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MODERATOR DISCUSSION GUIDELINE

Thank the cast for taking the time to rehearse and perform Act 1.

Thank the people/organization who are sponsoring the evening.

Mention:o that the poems, raps, and stories in the performance come from prisoners,

corrections officers, and their many loved ones.o that Thousand Kites will continue to gather stories and help convene public

conversations about the criminal justice system.o that the audience can go to the Kites website (www.thousandkites.org)

to meet others interested in the issues raised tonight to download the play script to share their own stories and experiences to read the stories of others and much more

o that the Kites website address is listed on the printed material on the tables by thedoors.

Now, begin Act 2 (the audience conversation) by saying something like, Now is thechance for each of you to tell all of us how your personal story connects to the

experiences portrayed in the play. Who would like to begin?

THE END

thousand kites script

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