Over the past two years, Branson’s involvement in Shakespeare at San Quentin has grown. Mazzola and other faculty, as well as 12th grade students, have worked with the men, participating in several drama workshops inside the prison led by Lesley Currier, founder of Marin Shakespeare and the prison programs. These experiences have inspired some students—who used to drive past the prison every day not usually thinking about who was behind those walls—to want to learn more about the criminal justice system.
Beginning in January 2020, seniors will partner with the incarcerated men for Branson’s inaugural Shakespeare and Social Justice course. Both groups will study and rehearse the same Shakespeare play in tandem, keeping in touch via U.S. postal mail (the men aren’t allowed internet access) and meeting a few times in the prison for workshops.
“The class will be looking carefully at mass incarceration and restorative justice as a whole, especially in California,” says Giles Scott, Branson’s English department chair. He and Mazzola will teach the unique course, which includes readings from Angela Davis and Michelle Alexander.
The relationship forged between the inmates and students is powerful. “The connection has played a major role in opening my eyes to what my purpose in life is,” says Antwan Williams, who finished a 15-year sentence in October 2019. “I believe that part of that purpose is to bridge communities that may otherwise never meet.”
Chris Mazzola (raised hand), Antwan Williams (gray shirt and beard), and others perform a play inspired by Shakespeare, written by inmates at San Quentin State Prison.
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