All the World’s a Stage
The nine-month production process begins annually in August, with the women making sets, props, costumes and programs in addition to learning lines. Frequent rehearsals culminate with April performances, such as 2012’s “Othello” and 2015’s “Macbeth.” Last spring’s performance of “As You Like It” was the bookend to an earlier MU student production of the same play.
Miller tries to limit participation to 25 DCC women per production, but this year the popular program drew 36 participants. Contrast that to the approximately eight women who took part the first year.
“It was really quite difficult to establish the program,” Miller says. “But then it started to catch on fire. The women watch their friends do something they never thought they would do. The courage and confidence they develop is a miracle. I’m lucky to see these miracles happen.”
Designed to help inmates gain confidence and skills that prepare them for successful reintegration, the program’s benefits go far beyond that. For example, Miller says it cost Illinois nearly $22 million to run DCC in 2014, based on an average annual cost per inmate of $28,944.
“We’re just starting to get data, and our preliminary results are looking pretty positive,” says Miller, who was recognized as 2015 Volunteer of the Year by the Illinois Department of Corrections. “If Shakespeare Corrected can help people not re-offend, and it appears that it does, the program contributes to real cost savings.”
The emotional benefits are huge, too, says Dana Anderson ’14 of Chicago. Anderson, who served as a student assistant director during the program’s second year, returns each spring to work with the cast and crew for several months to direct each production. Last year, she directed five performances over four days.
