OSWEGO, NY — The Marano Campus Center at SUNY Oswego held a recent screening of “Human Again,” a filmed documentation displaying the power of theater on prison inmates. The showing of the film was open to the public, and a discussion panel consisted of professors in various fields of study, such as Criminal Justice, Psychology, Creative Writing and, of course, Theater.
Professor Kristen Eichhorn, the Dean of Graduate Studies at SUNY Oswego, served as the head of the event, and has hopeful feelings on the film’s heartwarming message.
“I think it’s a really interesting topic from a lot of different perspectives, and I hope that students take away a heightened consciousness of prisons and the prison systems,” Professor Eichhorn said.
The discussion panel also included Cornell professor Bruce Levitt, the facilitator of the Phoenix Players Theater Group, which is centered within the Auburn Correctional Facility.
“These people who are incarcerated are human beings and have qualities. They are not a stereotype,” Professor Levitt said. “We start the film with a mug shot, which is the most stereotypical image of someone who’s incarcerated. And then, you get to know them through the course of the film as human beings, and so we’re hoping to push against that stereotype.”
The Phoenix Players Theater Group has continued to operate inside the correctional facility with new members since the film was produced,. For more information, visit www.phoenixplayersatauburn.