Sing Sing Correctional Facility is 40 miles and a world away from New York City. For nearly 200 years, it has been a solemn monument to the principle that harsh discipline discourages former prisoners from returning to a life of crime.
This is a flawed theory. A national study by the Department of Justice found that 60% of former prisoners are back behind bars within three years.
This is what gives the movie “Sing Sing” such resonance.
Before he got into acting, Clarence Macklin, better known as Divine Eye, was a violent, knife-wielding, drug-dealing inmate at Sing Sing. Now he's appearing as a version of himself in a critically acclaimed film about a prison theater program. The film stars Hollywood veteran Colman Domingo. In fact, 85% of the film's cast is said to be in jail these days.
Macklin said, “I love this movie.” “I love the reaction, the acceptance and the way people receive it.”
“Well, this will be a big change for you,” I said. “You were always the outlaw, and now you're the star.”
“Yes, it's a big change. It's a beautiful thing.”
On a recent evening in November, we visited Sing Sing Prison with Macklin and John Whitfield, the man he credits for his transformation. Whitfield, known as Divine G, was an award-winning writer in prison and a founding member of Sing Sing's theater program. “I probably would still be in and out of prison, my life would never have changed, if it weren't for this brother and his perseverance in getting me into the program,” Macklin said.
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According to Whitfield, it took some effort to get Macklin into the RTA program (i.e., rehabilitation through the arts): “But eventually he came. And he came and he experimented, and as soon as he got on that stage and He was bitten by a bug, I couldn't get him to shut up!”
The two deities, who have been out of Sing Sing for a dozen years now, returned as guests to meet members of the current RTA class and some citizen volunteers.
Perhaps nowhere in the world are actual gods more famous and widely admired than here.
The actors stood in a circle for warm-up exercises, and the diviners immediately jumped in. “It's definitely about communication, about maintaining eye contact,” Macklin said. “And we use that special practice so that when we're on stage, we try not to cross everyone else's lines, so you have to pay attention.”
The chant “Chicken…Fried…Rice” picked up by each participant went faster and faster in the circle until they started laughing. One man offered, “It helps you remember where you came from, because all we had was chicken fried rice!”
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The laughter may be particularly disturbing to the victims of their crimes, or the families of those victims. What (to be more specific) benefits do these RTA programs provide to society?
Here's an answer: The staggering number of former prisoners who return to prison three years or less after release—that 60% recidivism rate—is only 3% for those who seek rehabilitation through an arts program. Stayed together.
Divine G joined RTA at a time when success was still in question: “Some people were looking at us as if we had four heads. Are you nuts? Going on stage? Talking about 'to be or not to be'? We didn't force feed it that fast. You know we have to do it slowly.”
None of this would have been possible without outside volunteers. Nearly 20 years ago, Brent Buell volunteered long hours at Sing Sing to direct the play that is at the center of the film. “Little by little, getting into character, [that] The first step into empathy, and I saw people eventually saying to each other, 'How do you think your character feels?'”
Buell recalls what roles his actors wanted to play: “People said they wanted something to do with Robin Hood. They wanted something to do with Egyptians. They wanted something to do with the Old West. They wanted something to do with Freddy Krueger. Wanted something. They wanted something with the Gladiators.”
They wanted a comedy that didn't exist. So, Buell wrote it for her over a long weekend, and called it “Breakin' the Mummy's Code”.
Buell recalls a particular pivotal moment: “In the play, it's the black plague, and people are dying. And the Egyptian priest Elotin Komen says that the bodies were beginning to rot. And one of the men unwittingly A very loud sound came out.”
In other words, he farted. “And people started laughing. Okay, then everyone Was making, you know, rotten sounds and things. And they were all allowed to be funny. And that was really a turning point in how the whole team started to feel like this was a comedy, and we could actually enjoy it.”
I said, “Either way, I don't think it will reassure America that we have the solution to our penal problems.”
“What will reassure them is that when they meet and are able to talk to men, develop trust, respect, empathy — those men are different people than they are,” Buell said.
He taped the original production so the men could share it with their families.
brent buell
It was 2005, and Brian Fisher, who was superintendent of Sing Sing at the time, recalls that some of his employees were a little skeptical: “All those people were working there? But as time went on, the employees started to see them. And more importantly, other criminals in the prison accept them. They become people whom others want to follow and this changes the atmosphere and reduces the tension in the prison.
Now retired, Fischer became New York State Prison Commissioner. “I think that over time, the fact that we were able to have it in other prisons, the fact that it was now acceptable – theater, art, music. [are] “Now it's acceptable in prisons that didn't want it until now.”
Prison life generally does not encourage display of emotions. RTA made it permissible. Demetrius Sampson told us, “I've been gone so long that I've forgotten what freedom feels like. But when I came to RTA, I felt free again. I let go of all the regrets, worries, and messes.” Left at the door. And I was able to come in and portray a character struggling with the problems of that independent person.”
Tim Walker, a lifer, describes playing Macbeth 13 years ago as a life-changing experience. “'Come fate and inspire me to the statement.' That's Macbeth. That's the effect that RTA has had on me. It was the first time I touched a stage – someone was convicted of murder, I changed my life.
“The public sees us as the problem, and the RTA sees us as the solution,” Michael said.
Clarence Macklin said, “I came here as an inspiration, to be an inspiration to you, and I was inspired by you. Your humanity is monumental. You boys are giants here.”
Nothing more or less than a promise that they could be something else than what they were.
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The story is produced by Deirdre Cohen. Editor: Ed Givnish.