Prison Performing Arts

What makes this a good field site?
This is a good feild site because the author actually went to the prison and could observe what goes on into putting a play together with prisoners. This is also a good site because the prisoners could relate the different characters of the play to other people who werr in prison. The prison also had a mixture of races so the listener can get different points of view.

What observations does the author make that gives us a better understanding?
Straight from the beginning the author starts by describing the prison from when he first walked in. He describes what the prisoners are doing and even what tattoos they have. Also by listening to the actual prisoners recite the play it informs the reader just how diffcult it is to put a play like this together because the prisoners can barely pronounce the words. He also decribes that every prisoner must be stripe searched before entering the room and he also describes how the room looked and felt like. He said that it was extremely hot.

What interview techniques work to help us understand the subculture?

Not only interviewing the prisoners but also interviewing director and the assistant director give you a better understanding of exactly what the subculture entitles. Each of the prisoners interviewed gave you their personal feelings about the play and it helped me to understand more about prisoners performing this play. Big Hutch described how he felt in a way which the listener could relate to. He made the whole interview worth wild. The author is constently referring to what the outside world views prison as. Like when he talks about gays and straight people in prison.

What are the norms and values of the subculture?
All the people that play the same person form together as a group and are often found hanging around each other. One of the norms that I also caught was that even though the prisoners are performing a play there are still levels of hiearchy as referred to by Derek "Big Hutch" Hutchinson. The prisoners value what they do because they are able to relate the play to real life situations. One prisoner describes how the director lady made them feel human even when they had to bend over butt naked and have someone look up their butt.