PRODUCTIONS
Beyond Prison Walls
Beyond Prison Walls brings plays written in prison to college campuses
This unique collaboration is a co-production between Playwrights Project and San Diego State University School of Theatre, Film and Television. Scripts are written by participants in Playwrights Project’s Out of the Yard program and performed and directed by SDSU students, in partnership with related departments on campus and lived experience advisors from Playwrights Project’s programs.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Each year, SDSU theatre students direct and perform six short plays written by playwrights in Playwrights Project’s Out of the Yard program inside the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and Centinela State Prison.
The production is presented as a staged reading at SDSU’s Prebys Stage. Playwright Project’s alumni guide the play selection process, advise on the production process, and serve as panelists on post-performance talk backs with the audience. SDSU’s Project Rebound students also act as rehearsal advisors and panelists.
The production celebrates the work of writers from underserved communities by spotlighting their creations for public audiences, giving writers an opportunity to share their insights and impact audiences beyond their prison walls.
Beyond Prison Walls also gives SDSU theatre students meaningful opportunities to work on new plays, recognize our shared humanity, and learn about community members whose backgrounds are different from their own. SDSU students attend the performances, along with the families and support networks of the writers.
Panel discussions follow each performance, involving the writers (when possible), the production team, lived experience advisors, and professionals involved with the community served (such as correctional and mental health staff).
The production and talkbacks humanize the carceral experience, recognize writers for their strengths and growth, and educate those unfamiliar with the writers’ experiences, drawing connections to our shared humanity.
SELECTION PROCESS
Playwrights Project currently conducts two cycles of playwriting programs on two yards at Centinela and four yards at Donovan. One play from each yard is selected for production each year. Content of the plays varies based on the interests of the writers. Lived experience advisors select plays based on common themes across the writing and curate a balanced variety of content. Plays may address the experience of incarceration, but more frequently, the plays touch on broader social issues, personal relationships, aspirations, and universal topics like forgiveness, purpose, and understanding. Some plays simply provide an opportunity for writers and their communities to laugh together—an important and often undervalued need.
COMPONENTS
- The production runs for one week, presented at SDSU’s Prebys Stage
- Each performance includes all 5-6 10-minute plays, or group plays
- Performance runs approximately 1-hour
- A talkback follows each performance, involving a panel of writers (when possible), lived experience experts, production team members and experts in the field
HISTORY
Beyond Prison Walls 2025 marks the 14th year of this collaboration and the 11th year of presenting plays from prisons. The first three years featured writing by former foster youth in our Telling Stories program. Playwrights Project’s Executive Director Cecelia Kouma and SDSU Theatre Professor Peter Cirino have co-produced the program since in 2012, when they founded it with SDSU Theatre Professor Randy Reinholz and Olivia Espinosa, a Playwrights Project artist and SDSU alumna. The original concept for the program was initiated at California State University San Marcos with Cecelia and Playwrights Project artist Kaja Dunn, working with CSUSM Associate Theatre Professor Judy Bauerlein and Jim Mickelson, Director of Ace Scholars, a program supporting CSUSM students who had been impacted by the foster care system.
An audience member at Beyond Prison Walls