BEDAGGERED to Receive Reading November 16th Directed by Benjamin Viertel

The new play BEDAGGERED by Lynn Clay Byrne (The Sextant) will have industry readings on Friday, November 16th at 11:00AM and 3:00PM at Ripley Grier Studios.

BEDAGGERED is an ensemble play featuring individual stories of young incarcerated men and the women who visit them. Set in the visitation room of an upstate New York county jail, these intimate and contemporary accounts of incarceration reveal how lives and relationships are indelibly affected by the prison environment.

Directed by Benjamin Viertel, (Loserville; Little Shop of Horrors), BEDAGGERED features Amara James Aja (Twelfth Night), Henry Ayres-Brown (Miss Saigon), Dria Brown (Hamlet/Saint Joan), Darryl Campbell, Karla Garcia, Laakan McHardy(MacBeth), Grace Rao (Troilus and Cressida), Malik Reed (The Bacchae of Euripides), Lex Smith, Sean Stokes (Grave Mysteries), Steven Robertson ("Elementary"), and Monica Wyche (My Old Man).

Darryl, Karla and Lex appear in these readings as members of the organization The Fortune Society. The Fortune Society began in Nov 1967, literally on the stage of an off Broadway theatre, following a performance of John Herbert's prison drama, Fortune and Men's Eyes. It initially was providing advocacy for a muted population, men and women coming out of prison. As the voices of the formerly incarcerated were being heard, it evolved into a service organization, though still being advocates for the encaged and the formerly incarcerated. In its 51 years, The Fortune Society has grown to be one of the most effective programs in the country for re-entry, providing education, career opportunities, family services as well as an alternative to incarceration which currently has over 200 participants who utilize Fortune services each day rather than being Imprisoned.

In 2017, over 7000 men and women utilized Fortune services and more than half of the 300 staff members are formerly incarcerated.

"It was very important to me to write a play that shows what really goes on behind the prison gates," said playwright Lynn Clay Byrne. "My son was incarcerated multiple times and I spent time in the Visit Room of the county jail. The Visit Room, by definition, is the incubator of hope, but it is fraught with missed opportunities, missteps and miscommunication. When someone goes to prison, it not only affects them, but also their friends, loved ones, and the entire social fabric. I feel so lucky to have members of The Fortune Society in these readings as they bring authenticity, dramaturgy, talent and first hand experience of overcoming one's situation."

BEDAGGERED has sound design by Frederick Kennedy, casting by Michael Cassara,and is general managed by DTE Management.

Seating is limited; please contact DTE Management Services (generalmanagement@davenporttheatrical.com) for availability and information.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi