Preparations for the II Jail Theater National Festival start in Colombia

Armenia, Bogota, Cucuta, Itagui, Jamundi and Monteria will be the host cities of the II Jail Theater National Festival, which will take place during the first months of 2016. Six groups will be present in this innovative initiative where art becomes an agent of change. 

The participating establishments are "Reclusión de Mujeres" from Armenia, "Reclusión de Mujeres El Buen Pastor" of Bogota, the "Complejo Carcelario y Penitenciario Metropolitano" of Cucuta, the "Establecimiento Penitenciario y Carcelario de Reclusión Especial y Pabellón Justica y Paz" of Itagui, the "Complejo Carcelario y Penitenciario" of Jamunií, and the "Establecimiento Penitenciario de Mediana Seguridad y Carcelario" of Monteria, which jointly have a population of inmates that reaches 14,000 individuals.  

The II Jail Theater National Festival seeks to multiply the successful experience of the first edition, held in 2014. This unprecedented project in Colombia is lead by the Fundación Teatro Interno, now in alliance with CAF, Development Bank of Latin America and its Social Innovation initiative, with the objective of bringing the practice of theater to the service of reconciliation, betting on personal transformation and social reinsertion of the imprisoned population.  

With the support of the Ministry of Justice and Law, and the Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario -INPEC (National Penitentiary and Jail Institute), the six theater groups created within the penitentiary centers will stage a repertoire of classical and contemporary universal works that will show the best talents, making presentations inside and outside the jails. The shows will be evaluated by a jury which will choose a winner to be presented at the "XV Ibero-American Theater Festival of Bogota" in March, 2016. 

As part of the process, participants will receive intensive training in acting, wardrobe, and scenography, with the support of a team of high level professionals, with daily activities that include body work, and voice and scene management, among others. From now until February, a theater piece will be staged for each penitentiary region, where Lisímaco Núñez, Nancy García, Miguel Gambín, Ricardo España and Jaime Torres will act as stage directors, and Victoria Hernández as artistic director. The general direction and production of the festival is in charge of actress Johana Bahamón.   

The selected repertoire for the festival is made up by "Yo soy Antígona" by Sofocles, in the version of  Victoria Hernández; "Los Bandidos" by Friedrich Schiller; "La Orgía" by Enrique Buenaventura; "La Ópera de los tres centavos" by Bertolt Brecht; "Nuestra Natasha" by Alejandro Casona and "Orfeo desciende" by Tennessee Williams.