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RTA mounts two productions per year, one in the fall and the other in the spring, directed by volunteer theatre professionals with an inmate co- or assistant director.The repertoire is equally split between established, published plays from the professional theatre and original works penned by the inmates themselves; a panel of senior members of the program votes on the various play suggestions and selects the two plays to be performed. This steering committee is made up of between five and seven trusted participants who have demonstrated their commitment to RTA and who function as something of a congress of associate directors. They help choose not only the repertory but also the inmates who will be allowed to join. Of course, Vockins and the various outside directors have considerable input and ultimate veto power, but RTA was specifically designed to put as much of the responsibility for running the program as possible in the hands of the participants. Many of the other at-liberty artists who work with Rehabilitation Through the Arts are professional and semiprofessional theatre practitioners from the area’s community theatres. At present, a drama therapist and a stable of volunteer professional theatre artists mentor the participants. These counselors work with the inmates throughout the course of their sentence and even follow through upon their release.
According to the program’s website, Rehabilitation Through the Arts’ mission is:
As is evident from this mission statement, as well as from the program’s name, RTA views prison as a dehumanizing experience and expressly sets out to combat these conditions by providing an environment where free expression, creativity, and personal validation are given ample free play.
What is unique about Rehabilitation Through the Arts is the amount of responsibility given to the participants. The inmates are not simply put on stage as actors, but often will work as stage managers and even codirectors.