Skylight LIVE Presents RELEASED, NOT FREE Through May 30

Skylight Theatre Company in partnership with Housing Works presents ten unique voices of experience. In California alone, thousands of inmates are released from jails and prisons every year. Over half will return within three years. Determined, these ten share their stories while working hard to stay on the road to redemption.

Michael Kearns, who began developing this specific form of docudrama theatre in 1986 with the world premiere of AIDS/US at the Skylight Theatre, has created this event. Produced by Skylight Theatre Company through their Skylight LIVE series, Released, Not Free is available ON DEMAND though May 30, 2021 at https://skylighttheatre.org/event/skylight-live/

Kearns collaborated with Housing Works, Van Ness Recovery House, and M.E.N.T.O.R.S. Inc., connecting individuals from throughout the city of Los Angeles and engaging them in a series of writing workshops, to further explore their stories.

Released, Not Free participants include Gordon, Dorothy, Matt, Kim, Sol, Alicia, Juan, Luis, Delila, and Curtis who share their stories on the road back to freedom.

There will be a live Q&A that follows the each performance. It will be moderated by Michael Kearns, include a discussion with some of the writers (Alicia and Gordon), Celina Alvarez; Executive Director of Housing Works, and Kathy Watt; Executive Director of Van Ness House.

On demand viewing of the performance and the Q&A will be available through May 30th.

"Housing Works believes in the power of art and values our ongoing relationship with the likeminded Skylight Theatre Company," explains Celina Alvarez. "It allows us to present intimate stories like this one. Stories told by people who have been behind bars and are released to another form of prison. This is powerful communication."

Skylight Theatre Company began their 2021 season of Skylight LIVE on Saturday, April 24th with a video presentation of Robin Gerber's THE SHOT starring Sharon Lawrence. This story revealed the well-kept secrets of American icon Katharine Graham who, before becoming the publisher of The Washington Post, endured the physical and emotional abuse of Phil Graham, the husband she loved and admired. The company is known for developing and producing new plays with new perspectives. Early in 2020, Skylight produced Penelope Lowder's West Adams ("A brilliant debut that bodes well for the rest of the season." - LA Times Critics' Choice). West Adams was the first of three-original works planned for the season and written by Skylight's resident playwrights, developed in SkyLab, their professional playwright's group under the direction of the Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Tony Award nominated playwright, Lee Blessing. Skylight received two 2020 Ovation Awards for their World Premiere production of BRONCO BILLY - THE MUSICAL (Book, and Music & Lyrics for an Original Musical) and a 2020 Scenie Award for Best World Premiere Musical. In 2019 Center Theatre Group remounted their multiple award-winning production of ROTTERDAM at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of Block Party. The production won the 2018 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production, and awards for Writing and Lead Actress. It also received top honors at the 2018 Stage Raw Awards, winning Production of the Year and Leading Actress awards. Recognized as a "powerhouse of new play development" by Dramatist Magazine and as "a leader in play development" by the L.A. Times, in just the last three years two plays originating at Skylight have been performed Off Broadway, The Wrong Man and Church & State; the later has had 50+ productions in 31 states; Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (a co-production with Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble) received the prestigious Steinberg American Theatre Critics Association Citation. Skylight's resident writers have enjoyed productions nationwide, received the esteemed USA Ford Fellowship in Theater and Performance (Sigrid Gilmer), and a Humanitas/CTG Playwriting Prize (Louisa Hill - Lord of the Underworld's Home for Unwed Mothers).

Housing Works' mission is to create housing and service options that model, with respect and dignity, sustainable, environmentally friendly, affordable communities for people of limited resources. They offer evidence-based housing services to the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, assisting them to locate permanent supportive housing and housing retention services. In order to address trauma and promote personal development, they also offer Writing Works, a reflection, writing and spoken word performance program that helps people process and share their experiences for community awareness, understanding and education, as well as Empowerment Works, which enables formerly chronically homeless people to become reintegrated into their community through employment and volunteerism. Housing Works is one of Los Angeles' most effective housing agencies, serving more than 600 individuals, many with a history of engagement with the correctional justice system and re-entry. http://housingworksca.org.

Minimum donation of $15 benefits Housing Works and Skylight Theatre Company. "Released, Not Free" is made possible by a grant through the LA California Arts Council - Reentry through the Arts Grant. Reserve at Reserve at https://skylighttheatre.org/event/skylight-live/

Run-time is approximately 28 minutes + 20 minutes Q&A after the performance.

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