UIS Speaker Series presents a screening and discussion of "Shakespeare Behind Bars"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents “Shakespeare Behind Bars”, a documentary film by Curt Tofteland about the creative process and power of art to heal and redeem. A discussion will follow the screening.

WHEN: Monday, November 7, 2016, at 7 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Studio Theatre, Lower Level of the Public Affairs Center

DETAILS: The film documents Shakespeare’s final play, “The Tempest”, as told from the ultimate venue of confinement – prison. The result is an extraordinary story about the power of art to heal and redeem, in a place where the very act of participation is human triumph and a means of personal liberation.

“Shakespeare Behind Bars” depicts inmates who cast themselves in roles reflecting their personal history and fate. Their individual stories, including information about their heinous crimes, are interwoven with the plot of “The Tempest” as the inmates delve deeply into the characters they portray while confronting their personal demons.

Curt Tofteland brings 38 years of professional theatre experience to his current role as a freelance theatre artist – director, actor, producer, playwright, writer, teacher, program developer and prison arts practitioner. Tofteland is the founder of the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Behind Bars program, now in its 21st year of continuous operation.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.