The Actors' Gang's (IM)MIGRANTS OF THE STATE Extended Through Early May

An ensemble of Prison Project alumni with over 240 years of combined incarceration who have found their way to freedom now want to share their stories with audiences.

By: Apr. 05, 2023
The Actors' Gang's (IM)MIGRANTS OF THE STATE Extended Through Early May
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The Actors' Gang has extended the engagement of (Im)migrants of the State - a unique production created by and based on the real-life experiences of formerly incarcerated actors - through May 13 by popular demand. Tickets are available at theactorsgang.com by email at boxoffice@theactorsgang.com or by phone at 310-838-4264.

Co-Director Jeremie Loncka said, "We expected a strong response from audiences because we knew the cast's lived, raw, first-hand experiences of the California prison system weren't something people were used to hearing regularly at the theater. These performers are recreating their own true stories, and at any given show you might have someone laughing at a satirized lived experience -- such as prison sentencing -- while the person sitting next to them is mortified at the new information they're learning about for the first time."

"People have shared with us that they're came to the theater for the very first time because they heard the play would contain stories that represented their lived experiences., while some regular theatergoers said that the cast's courage and vulnerability restored and inspired their belief in theater to create change."


The Actors' Gang, led by Artistic Director Tim Robbins, has an energetic and emotionally compelling way of making theater -- which has been pulsing through the California Correctional system since 2006. For seventeen years, the teaching artists of the theater's Prison Project have been creating transformational opportunities for incarcerated men and women.

An ensemble of Prison Project alumni with over 240 years of combined incarceration who have found their way to freedom now want to share their stories with audiences. To do so, they have created this entirely new work of theater and brought it to The Actors' Gang stage.

Robbins said, "We are thrilled to be able to extend this beautiful production. (Im)migrant of the State is theater at its most powerful--an ensemble sharing their humanity with vulnerability, honesty, and immense heart. On top of that, it's simply a thrilling theatrical experience. It's funny and moving, harrowing and uplifting."

He continued, "At its core, this is a story about the power of compassion and love. When you come, you may be expecting a window into life experiences vastly different from your own. When you leave, you'll understand we are all migrants on a journey seeking freedom."

Loncka, who also serves as the Director of Programs for the Prison Project, says working on this production has been an inspiration. "Being amongst an ensemble of men and women who are creating this piece with such raw honesty and commitment has been a life-altering experience," he said. "The joy and passion they bring to the theater is contagious, and I'm excited for audiences to continue to share in that joy."

"This was a dream come true for me," says Scott Tran. "The most meaningful thing was working alongside my brothers and sisters to create this play from scratch." Now they are thrilled to be able to share their work with the public and hope it has a positive impact. Montrell Harrell, another member of the ensemble, says he hopes audiences leave the show with "an understanding that sometimes people make mistakes, but they can change, and there's always light at the end of the tunnel."

These stories run the full gamut of emotions, and the creators have found a way to employ humor, joy, and hope as they face even the darkest moments. Loya sums up his feelings with gratitude and hope. "The fact that we've been given this opportunity to tell our stories and share them with the world is humbling and affirms to us all that we have redeemed our past."

About The Actors' Gang Prison Project


The Actors' Gang Prison Project is an internationally recognized rehabilitation program currently running in 14 California state prisons, 2 Reentry facilities, and Los Angeles County Probation camps and halls for juveniles. The program starts as a 7-day, 4-hour-a-day intensive theatrical arts program which transitions into an ongoing weekly peer-led class, managed by the program director and overseen by TAG Alumni Teaching Artists. Using a highly physical and emotional style of theater as a tool, the program creates a supportive space in which the participants can express their fears, choose empathy over anger, overcome gang barriers, and most importantly, prepare for life beyond bars.

After working inside California state prison for almost a decade, the Prison Project recognized the need for the reach-in rehabilitation process to continue beyond one's sentence end date and began a weekly reentry program, The Actors' Gang Reentry Project for men at Walden House/Health Right 360 in Los Angeles. This partnership provides a welcoming space for new participants and has given qualified Prison Project participants at the end of their sentence a residence where they have the opportunity to continue programming as they transition from prison to their community. In 2020, the Reentry Project expanded by partnering with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition to serve men and women returning home.

When Prison Project participants began to return home, The Actors' Gang Alumni Advocacy Project was launched in 2018. This network serves as a support system and platform for individuals who want to continue training with the company and become Teaching Artists. The Actors' Gang envisions the formerly justice-involved participants as leaders of the Prison Project, and focuses on providing an avenue for upward mobility with meaningful employment as Alumni Teaching Artists. There are currently 56 formerly incarcerated participants in the Alumni Advocacy Project, and 19 of them work as Teaching Artists.

All former participants are encouraged to advocate, not only on behalf of The Prison Project, but also for Arts in Corrections, Rehabilitation, and reform in the Justice system.

Of the original 25 men that joined TAGPP during the first year at Avenal State Prison, 18 had Life sentences. 17 of the 18 have gone before the Board of Prison Terms and have been found suitable for release and are freed. 22 of the original 25 are now home. A recent study shows 77% Employment Rate for The Actors' Gang Reentry Program participants.

This project is made possible by support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

About The Actor's Gang

The Actors' Gang was founded in 1981 by a group of punk rock theater artists looking to create a new style of relevant, entertaining theater in Los Angeles. The Actors' Gang mission is to present new, unconventional, and uncompromising plays and dynamic reinterpretations of the classics, to restore the ancient sense of the stage as a shared sacred space, to introduce theater to children, and help them find
their own creative voices, to bring the freedom of self-expression to the incarcerated.

Over the past 40 years, The Actors' Gang has performed for audiences in Los Angeles and worldwide, on five continents and in 40 U.S. States. Our groundbreaking Prison Project is currently in fourteen California prisons, serving incarcerated women, men, and children with rehabilitation programs that significantly reduce recidivism. Each year, thousands of children in Los Angeles public schools discover confidence and creativity with our Education Department through in-school immersion and after-school programs and by participating in classes that encourage acceptance, respect, and team building in fun and impactful ways.




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