ASHLAND – Robby Henson has seen the transformative power of art in dark places.
He regularly sits in a circle with inmates at Northpoint Training Center, a medium security prison near Danville, Kentucky, and asks them to write about where they come from, what they like and dislike, and ultimately, who they are.
The prisoners write their own stories, which are wrought with pain and emotion, and then they cast other inmates and act out their plays.
“They realize that they’re connected to the human race and it’s not just about them,” Henson said. “I think if you’re coming from a really challenging background it’s like, ‘I’m struggling to survive and can only think about this.’ Through the theater experience we’re trying to say, ‘You’re connected to humanity.'”
What: Screening of “I Come From”
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19
Where: Ashland University’s Hawkins Conrad Student Center Auditorium
Cost: Free and open to the public
Henson is visiting Ashland Univeristy Monday as part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Symposium Against Indifference. He spent time with students in acting, screenwriting, criminology and video classes throughout the day. His main event is a screening his documentary, “I Come From,” followed by a question-and-answer session about the film and his Voices Inside program.
The screening is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19 in Ashland University’s Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium and is open to the public.
“This film he’s showing tonight is just amazing and fits so well with our symposium theme, which is ‘Building Bridges Through Dialogue.’ Robby is building bridges in the prison system in Kentucky, and it’s changing lives,” said Sean Parker, assistant professor of theater.
The documentary shows the stories of several inmates but focuses on one named Andrew Phillips, who Henson said is a superior artist and whose work from the program has been shown in New York.
Henson said inmates gravitate toward artistic expression, in part because it allows an expression of individuality they cannot get elsewhere in their lives behind bars.
“You have to line up to eat or line up to get your mail. It’s, ‘What’s your number? What’s your number? What’s your number?’ That’s how you’re identified,” Henson said. “We’re the opposite of that. We’re promoting, ‘You’re an individual. Your story is unique. We want to hear your story.’ They immediately latch onto this in a positive way.”
Parker and his wife, Kathleen Thompson Parker, have both worked with Henson in the prison and at Pioneer Playhouse, an outdoor theater in Danville.
Thompson Parker emphasized the Voices Inside program lowers recidivism rates in participants.
That’s one of the reasons Henson feels the outreach is so important, despite the fact that it can be somewhat controversial.
“We actually feel that those incarcerated behind razor wire are part of our community,” Henson said. “About 95 percent of the inmates we work with are getting out some day.
“We have had a couple of people say, ‘You know that person you’re so proud of did awful things to my family.’ I totally understand that. But you know, that person is going to get out of prison. Do you want to put him in prison and beat him with a stick every day? What is he going to be like when he comes out?”
