VOICES INSIDE: SENTENCED TO A LIFE WITHOUT MUSIC to Open at 154 Theatre
The festival features work by PEN Prison Writing Award winners and a cast including Diego Aguirre and Liam McGowan.
Nylon Fusion Theatre Company, in collaboration with Pioneer Playhouse, will present Voices Inside: Sentenced To A Life Without Music, an evening of powerful, provocative theatre created by incarcerated writers, September 16-20, 2026, at 154 Theatre, 154 Christopher Street in New York City.
At the heart of this year's festival is a special performance of Sentenced To A Life Without Music by William Smitherman, featuring Andrew Phillips, one of the Voices Inside playwrights who has recently been released from incarceration. Phillips will return to the stage as the lead in a work born from the Voices Inside program, bringing an extraordinary new dimension to the festival's mission of giving incarcerated writers a voice beyond prison walls.
Ivette Dumeng, Artistic Director of Nylon Fusion Theatre Company, serves as festival producer.
Now in its 17th year, Voices Inside is a pioneering outreach program of Pioneer Playhouse that uses writing and theatre to foster self-expression, communication, empathy, and personal transformation among incarcerated individuals.
This year's festival features the work of PEN Prison Writing Award winners Jeanne A. Bossier, Alex Friedmann, and Matthew Mendoza, alongside plays by David Ferguson, Jesse Mosley Jr., Vuall Uvall, and William Smitherman.
The result is an evening of theatre that moves beyond the statistics and headlines surrounding incarceration to reveal the people, humor, imagination, conflict, and humanity behind them.
The festival brings these works to life through a team of acclaimed theatre artists, including directors Jesse Anholt, Michelle Cuizon, Ivette Dumeng, Lori Kee, Melissa Skirboll, Maria Mukuka, and Francisco Solorzano of BareFoot Theatre Company.
The company features Andrew Phillips, Diego Aguirre (Dexter:Resurrection, On The 5:31) Liam McGowan (The Outcast Makes a Comeback), Markeith McCain (Human Affairs, Dope King) , Gil Ron (LABirinth Theater Company Member), Jonny Maldonado (Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, God Friended Me), Eric Svendsen (Extinction, Leviticus) , Alex Ferrill (Member of Nylon Fusion) , Richie Feliciano (The Pitt, Room 16), James Kennedy, Zoe Wilson (Max's The Girls on the Bus, My Dinner with Schwartzey), Sadi Bimwala (Star Wars: An Idiot's Array), and Randall Rodriguez (Devil You Didn't Know, The Warriors) and more.
The creative team includes Sound Designer Andy Evan Cohen, Lighting Designer Lucky Pearto, Set Designer Bryan Hamilton, and Stage Manager Callie Stribling.
ABOUT VOICES INSIDE:
For 17 years, Voices Inside has provided incarcerated writers with a platform to develop their voices through writing and theatre. Many participants have received national recognition, including the prestigious PEN America Prison Writing Awards, while others have gone on to build successful lives and careers following their release. Run by Robby Henson, the program demonstrates the transformative potential of the arts-using creativity not simply as an outlet, but as a tool for connection, rehabilitation, and change.
This year's New York presentation offers audiences the rare opportunity to see these writers' words performed professionally-and, in the case of Andrew Phillips, to witness a playwright return to the stage and perform in a work connected directly to his own journey.
ABOUT NYLON FUSION THEATRE COMPANY
Nylon Fusion Theatre Company is a dynamic artistic collective born from the creative energy of New York and London. The company champions both established and emerging voices, producing thought-provoking theatre that examines pressing political, social, and cultural issues. Nylon Fusion creates a platform for diverse perspectives that engage, challenge, and inspire audiences. Founded in 2007.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Voices Inside: Sentenced To A Life Without Music
September 16-20, 2026
154 Theatre
154 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
Performances:
September 16-19 at 7:30 PM
September 20 at 2:00 PM
Tickets: $29
Tickets & Information: nylonfusion.org
Running time is approximately 100 minutes, including intermission.
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