Prison Monologs

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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