What kind of theatre does this country need? How about a theatre with Black and Brown actors who had been convicted of serious crimes – and had spent years in prison? Actors who want a chance in a society that has no time for them? Actors who ache for change? That kind of theatre. For the last decade Richard Hoehler has taught acting at Otisville State Prison and has formed Acting Out, a company of formerly incarcerated men, studying the art of acting at HB Studio. Prison Monologs is a podcast that reveals these actors and their stories.
A bi-monthly podcast hosted by Alan Winson and Richard Hoehler, featuring members of Acting Out
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In this podcast, one of the newest members of Acting Out, Omar Ovalle, with his refreshingly wry sense of humor of talks openly about his extensive experience in a variety of professions as well as his many hobbies and creative activities. Omar also shares some of his poetry as well as a brief monologue from Waiting For Lefty on which he is currently working in class. Although Omar's wrongful incarceration was brief, it was brutal and changed the course of his life. He speaks honestly and movingly about how he is picking up the pieces and moving on with homage to the mentor who helped him remain positive and keep his hope alive.
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14 Apr 2021
George Warwick: Making it better for his child.
George Warwick, one of the newest members of ACTING OUT, takes time out from his long haul truck driving to join this week’s podcast. George is yet another member of the company who underwent a profound transformation during his long term incarceration. He learned to express himself through writing and is now stepping from the page to the stage as an actor in ACTING OUT’s next production, KID’S STUFF. In a breezy and frank interview, George talks about his life before and after prison, his reunion with his daughter, and the joys of being a grandfather. He opens with the dialogue with a no-nonsense monologue and closes with a brief poem.
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26 Feb 2021
Charles Grosso: Getting [it] Together
In this tenth podcast we meet Charlie Grosso, released last year after serving 40 years behind bars where he underwent a profound transformation of character. Charlie is now a full time student at John Jay College and an active member of Acting Out where he recently performed three roles in the December 2020 production of Inside Out. Charlie is currently employed at a homeless shelter in Albany, NY where he works hard to better the lives of America's most unfortunate. At the top of the podcast Charlie performs a brief and unflinchingly honest monologue from Clifford Odets' Rocket to the Moon and he closes with a poignant reading from Desiderata, a classic poem that inspired and sustained him during his long incarceration.
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12 Feb 2021
Labre Fulcher: Prison - "The Upside Down Kingdom"
Labre Fulcher showed up at Richard Hoehler's acting class at Otisville State prison a few weeks before he was to be released. He expressed his regret that he hadn't known of the class sooner and so did Hoehler who recognized a gifted artist when he saw one. But Labre was given an opportunity to continue the work he started when, upon his release he joined Acting Out where he performed in two online productions this past year. In this podcast Labre will present excerpts from those performances – Ben in Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost and Kevin Davis in The Dilemma, an original piece penned by Bill Blount, who created the piece while he served time at Otisville. Labre also shares his feelings about and deep connection with The Dilemma, how it mirrored his own life, imprisonment, and multiple parole hearings, and how he, like the character in the piece, underwent a powerful transformation while incarcerated – a transformation that continues to bring deep meaning to his life and the lives of others he now helps on a daily basis.
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29 Jan 2021
Luis Moran: Growth of an Actor
This podcast features Luis Moran who is the most geographically remote member of Acting Out. Luis attends class and performs in shows on roofs, water towers, and in farmacias – wherever he can get the best Wifi connection in the tiny Mexican pueblo in which he now lives (after being immediately deported upon release from a 19 year prison sentence.) His tenacity and passion for the art of acting is apparent in this interview and Luis performs two moving monologues from this year's productions, one addressed to his stepson and the other to his mother. In both he draws from his deep commitment to and concern for those he loves. Based on a reel from his work in the AO production of Fathers and Sons, a Mexican television recently expressed interest in his work as an actor.
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15 Jan 2021
Fox Valentin: Filling the hole in a mother's heart
This podcast features Gilfredo Valentin, known to everyone in the Acting Out Company as "Fox." Fox recounts his lifelong interest in acting and the extensive work he did in theatre while incarcerated. He tells of a huge "break" as an understudy in an inside production that had a profound impact on his career aspirations – how it set him on a course to pursue his dreams with confidence. Fox also talks about family – specifically his mother and his daughter – to whom he dedicates much of his work. Fox will perform the opening monologue from this summer's TALK TO ME in which he gives voice to what acting and theatre really mean to him as well as an excerpt from Acting Out's recent production INSIDE OUT where he is able to speak his truth to his mother through the lines written by another (currently incarcerated) man.
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1 Jan 2021
Sam Johnson: The Peripatetic Actor
This podcast features the ever mercurial Sam Johnson, one of the youngest members of the Acting Out company. Sam talks tough about his checkered past as well as the watershed that occurred for him behind prison walls when he grabbled hold of two opportunities – one to attend college, and the other to star in Fathers and Sons for the Otisville CF Theatre Workshop. Sam performs two monologues during the podcast. This first is an edgy comedic piece from this summer's online production of Talk to Me about a kid unlike himself having trouble acclimating to a new white neighborhood. The podcast closes with an excerpt from the recent Acting Out production of Inside Out where Sam breaks convention, drops to the ground, and performs the monologue while doing pushups on the sidewalk.
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18 Dec 2020
Jason Morales: Being thankful
Podcast Number 6 features Jason "Santo" Morales nee Jason Scott Sabater, a man of many names – and many talents. Jason discusses his difficult childhood growing up in a series of foster homes, his nine year imprisonment, and his discovery of theatre while incarcerated. Not only a gifted actor, (His "Laura" monologue from The Glass Menagerie in this summer's Acting Out production of TALK TO ME stopped audiences in their tracks) Jason is also a prolific writer and contributed three pieces to the most recent Acting Out production, INSIDE OUT. A gifted artist and dedicated family man, Jason demonstrates an amazing tenacity at juggling the many loves of his life.
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4 Dec 2020
Christopher Lee: Man of Words
Christopher Lee is the subject of this fifth podcast featuring members of Acting Out. Chris has a long history with the group – first inside Otisville State Prison where he starred in two full length productions, This is This and Fathers and Sons. Now on the outside Chris is a core member of the ensemble and often acts as spokesperson for the company. Passionate and committed, acting has transformed Chris' life in a way that even surprises him sometimes. He will perform a terse monologue from Golden Boy by Clifford Odets and an excerpt from The Box, a devastatingly honest and raw piece which will be featured in Acting Out's upcoming production of Inside Out.
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20 Nov 2020
Kawage Thomas: Learning to Listen
Kawage Thomas is featured in this segment, performing a hilarious monologue from John Patrick Shanley's Savage in Limbo, as well as another short comedic piece that will be featured in The G Building, in the upcoming Acting Out production of Inside Out. Kawage stepped onto a stage for the first time at Otisville Correctional Facility and talks about how the experience has affected him, especially when challenged in that original production (Tuf Love) with one of the occupational hazards of doing live theatre--an acting partner who "goes up." Released almost ten years ago, Kawage joined Acting Out in January 2020, and is a core member of the group.
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6 Nov 2020
Louis D. Rodriguez: Resonating with the truth
This podcast features Louis D. Rodriguez recounting how his theatre work informs all aspects of his life, including his former incarceration and his present position as member of the clergy. Louis also shares how after a devastating accident last year that left him paraplegic, he is still at it, working from his hospital bed, learning scenes and monologues and performing major roles with Acting Out. Louis will perform an excerpt from Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost and also an excerpt from Acting Out's upcoming show, Inside Out.
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23 Oct 2020
Ron Horton
In this podcast, Ron Horton, one of the original members of Acting Out, shares his experience before, during, and after his 30 year incarceration. He talks about how he discovered theatre in prison and that performing and directing delivered him through some very dark years. Also, how Ron became a triple threat after joining Hoehler's Theatre Workshop at Otisville – adding playwriting to the mix. During the podcast, Ron performed a scene from August Wilson's Fences, recently seen in the Acting Out @ HB production of Talk To Me, and an excerpt from AO's upcoming original production, Inside Out.
Contact Richard Hoehler at prisonmonologs@gmail.com (mailto:prisonmonologs@gmail.com)
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9 Oct 2020
Prison Monologs: The Beginning with Richard Hoehler
This is the first episode in "Prison Monologs" a podcast in which Alan Winson and Richard Hoehler interview members of ACTING OUT (https://www.richardhoehler.com/acting-out), Hoehler’s professional acting class for formerly incarcerated men. Each segment contains a short performances by a featured actor, as well as a look at his life before, during, and after prison demonstrating how theatre, as a performance art can alter the trajectory of a person's life in significant ways.
In this first Prison Monologs episode we talk about the inspiration for the podcast and what we hope to accomplish.
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