Shows
Hudson Mohawk Magazine"Acting Out: How A Prison Theatre Workshop Broke Free"When Richard Hoehler first walked through the doors of a medium security prison in upstate New York, he assumed it would be a one-time thing. As a busy freelance writer, actor and teacher he had nonetheless agreed to drive upstate to teach an acting class for inmates pro bono.
This led Hoehler to an incredibly popular series of acting and writing workshops and mounting seven full productions with prison inmates--men whom society has written off and locked away as irredeemable.
Fifteen years later his book “Acting Out: How A Prison Theatre Workshop Broke Free” accounts journey working with the men, thro...2025-03-1010 min
Prison MonologsOmar Ovalle on Poetry & Iaido & Legos & ActingIn this podcast, one of the newest members of Acting Out, Omar Ovalle, with his refreshingly wry sense of humor of talks openly about his extensive experience in a variety of professions as well as his many hobbies and creative activities. Omar also shares some of his poetry as well as a brief monologue from Waiting For Lefty on which he is currently working in class. Although Omar's wrongful incarceration was brief, it was brutal and changed the course of his life. He speaks honestly and movingly about how he is picking up the pieces and moving on with homage...2021-04-3038 min
Prison MonologsGeorge Warwick: Making it better for his child.George Warwick, one of the newest members of ACTING OUT, takes time out from his long haul truck driving to join this week’s podcast. George is yet another member of the company who underwent a profound transformation during his long term incarceration. He learned to express himself through writing and is now stepping from the page to the stage as an actor in ACTING OUT’s next production, KID’S STUFF. In a breezy and frank interview, George talks about his life before and after prison, his reunion with his daughter, and the joys of being a grandfather. He opens...2021-04-1442 min
Prison MonologsCharles Grosso: Getting [it] TogetherIn this tenth podcast we meet Charlie Grosso, released last year after serving 40 years behind bars where he underwent a profound transformation of character. Charlie is now a full time student at John Jay College and an active member of Acting Out where he recently performed three roles in the December 2020 production of Inside Out. Charlie is currently employed at a homeless shelter in Albany, NY where he works hard to better the lives of America's most unfortunate. At the top of the podcast Charlie performs a brief and unflinchingly honest monologue from Clifford Odets' Rocket to the Moon and...2021-02-2637 min
Prison MonologsLabre Fulcher: Prison - "The Upside Down Kingdom"Labre Fulcher showed up at Richard Hoehler's acting class at Otisville State prison a few weeks before he was to be released. He expressed his regret that he hadn't known of the class sooner and so did Hoehler who recognized a gifted artist when he saw one. But Labre was given an opportunity to continue the work he started when, upon his release he joined Acting Out where he performed in two online productions this past year. In this podcast Labre will present excerpts from those performances – Ben in Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost and Kevin Davis in The Dilemma, an or...2021-02-1240 min
Prison MonologsLuis Moran: Growth of an ActorThis podcast features Luis Moran who is the most geographically remote member of Acting Out. Luis attends class and performs in shows on roofs, water towers, and in farmacias – wherever he can get the best Wifi connection in the tiny Mexican pueblo in which he now lives (after being immediately deported upon release from a 19 year prison sentence.) His tenacity and passion for the art of acting is apparent in this interview and Luis performs two moving monologues from this year's productions, one addressed to his stepson and the other to his mother. In both he draws from his deep co...2021-01-2925 min
Prison MonologsFox Valentin: Filling the hole in a mother's heartThis podcast features Gilfredo Valentin, known to everyone in the Acting Out Company as "Fox." Fox recounts his lifelong interest in acting and the extensive work he did in theatre while incarcerated. He tells of a huge "break" as an understudy in an inside production that had a profound impact on his career aspirations – how it set him on a course to pursue his dreams with confidence. Fox also talks about family – specifically his mother and his daughter – to whom he dedicates much of his work. Fox will perform the opening monologue from this summer's TALK TO ME in which he giv...2021-01-1539 min
Prison MonologsSam Johnson: The Peripatetic ActorThis podcast features the ever mercurial Sam Johnson, one of the youngest members of the Acting Out company. Sam talks tough about his checkered past as well as the watershed that occurred for him behind prison walls when he grabbled hold of two opportunities – one to attend college, and the other to star in Fathers and Sons for the Otisville CF Theatre Workshop. Sam performs two monologues during the podcast. This first is an edgy comedic piece from this summer's online production of Talk to Me about a kid unlike himself having trouble acclimating to a new white neighborhood. The po...2021-01-0138 min
Prison MonologsJason Morales: Being thankfulPodcast Number 6 features Jason "Santo" Morales nee Jason Scott Sabater, a man of many names – and many talents. Jason discusses his difficult childhood growing up in a series of foster homes, his nine year imprisonment, and his discovery of theatre while incarcerated. Not only a gifted actor, (His "Laura" monologue from The Glass Menagerie in this summer's Acting Out production of TALK TO ME stopped audiences in their tracks) Jason is also a prolific writer and contributed three pieces to the most recent Acting Out production, INSIDE OUT. A gifted artist and dedicated family man, Jason demonstrates an amazing tenacity at...2020-12-1844 min
Prison MonologsChristopher Lee: Man of WordsChristopher Lee is the subject of this fifth podcast featuring members of Acting Out. Chris has a long history with the group – first inside Otisville State Prison where he starred in two full length productions, This is This and Fathers and Sons. Now on the outside Chris is a core member of the ensemble and often acts as spokesperson for the company. Passionate and committed, acting has transformed Chris' life in a way that even surprises him sometimes. He will perform a terse monologue from Golden Boy by Clifford Odets and an excerpt from The Box, a devastatingly honest and ra...2020-12-0442 min
Prison MonologsKawage Thomas: Learning to ListenKawage Thomas is featured in this segment, performing a hilarious monologue from John Patrick Shanley's Savage in Limbo, as well as another short comedic piece that will be featured in The G Building, in the upcoming Acting Out production of Inside Out. Kawage stepped onto a stage for the first time at Otisville Correctional Facility and talks about how the experience has affected him, especially when challenged in that original production (Tuf Love) with one of the occupational hazards of doing live theatre--an acting partner who "goes up." Released almost ten years ago, Kawage joined Acting Out in January 2020, and...2020-11-2042 min
Prison MonologsLouis D. Rodriguez: Resonating with the truthThis podcast features Louis D. Rodriguez recounting how his theatre work informs all aspects of his life, including his former incarceration and his present position as member of the clergy. Louis also shares how after a devastating accident last year that left him paraplegic, he is still at it, working from his hospital bed, learning scenes and monologues and performing major roles with Acting Out. Louis will perform an excerpt from Clifford Odets' Paradise Lost and also an excerpt from Acting Out's upcoming show, Inside Out. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.2020-11-0641 min
Prison MonologsRon HortonIn this podcast, Ron Horton, one of the original members of Acting Out, shares his experience before, during, and after his 30 year incarceration. He talks about how he discovered theatre in prison and that performing and directing delivered him through some very dark years. Also, how Ron became a triple threat after joining Hoehler's Theatre Workshop at Otisville – adding playwriting to the mix. During the podcast, Ron performed a scene from August Wilson's Fences, recently seen in the Acting Out @ HB production of Talk To Me, and an excerpt from AO's upcoming original production, Inside Out.Contact Ri...2020-10-2341 min
Prison MonologsPrison Monologs: The Beginning with Richard HoehlerThis is the first episode in "Prison Monologs" a podcast in which Alan Winson and Richard Hoehler interview members of ACTING OUT, Hoehler’s professional acting class for formerly incarcerated men. Each segment contains a short performances by a featured actor, as well as a look at his life before, during, and after prison demonstrating how theatre, as a performance art can alter the trajectory of a person's life in significant ways.In this first Prison Monologs episode we talk about the inspiration for the podcast and what we hope to accomplish. See ac...2020-10-0944 min
Bar Crawl RadioFrom Prison to College: Second ChancesBar Crawl Radio hosts, Rebecca McKean and Alan Winson spoke with two young men, recently released from Otisville Medium Security Prison—Sam Johnson and Christopher Lee -- and with Professor Richard Hoehler from John Jay College who teaches in the Prison to College Pipeline – an educational program founded by English Professor Baz Dreisinger and administered by the college's Prisoner Re-entry Institute [PRI].Contact: barcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2020-04-241h 07