Once a Felon, Always a Felon

Devised by Madi Delk, with Spencer Olson

The play is an amalgamation of interviews I conducted while working with incarcerated men at Stateville and Cook County Jail. Once a Felon, Always a Felon is voices from the inside telling the ears on the outside about the injustices of our criminal system. The topics of conversation centered on the systematic racism and sexism of our criminal system, while profiting off of the violent treatment of anyone in the system.

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Personal History:

This journey began when I enrolled in the Inside/Out program at DePaul - where we went inside Stateville Correctional Center every Friday to have class with the inmates.

I formed such a strong bond with the guys that halfway through the quarter, I was hired to be Teaching Assistant for the full year of classes. I co-created curriculum and facilitated classroom activities for the Restorative Justice class and Healing Narratives class inside Stateville Correctional Center and Cook County Jail.

Production History:

May 2017: Produced at The Theatre School at DePaul University as a staged reading.

October 2017: I was a speaker at DePaul University's 2017 Social Enterprise Pitch Competition at the DePaul Art Museum.

November 2017: I hosted a community round table event in response to the cycles of recidivism and re-entry in the United States at The Theatre School at DePaul University.