“With These Hands”
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Click Here to watch the video.
A note from the Director
JDPP’s work in carceral setings began at nearby York Correctional Institute in 2005. A chance meeting with Wally Lamb led to the idea of a year-long arts residency at York culminating in a performance both at the prison and later in the community. This residency, which continues today, has been the seedbed for expanded arts programming at York as well as programming in men’s prisons; in schools with youth with loved ones in prison; with those reentering the community from prison; and most recently, in male juvenile detention centers. This work has been a transformative experience for eveyone involved as the arts become a channel for expression, communication, and growth.
Today’s performance is a staged reading of a piece title, “With These Hands” that the JDPP teaching team developed with the York women last year and was performed in July 2025. It looks at hands as a catalyst for story: the wisdom of hands; hands as compasses; hands that hold on; hands that let go; hands that create; hands that express anger; hands that help others; hands that work with the earth and hands that connect communities. The York women developed most of the writing, dances, and songs you will see here today; a few are from other prison-related pieces that were added to the script. The cast includes JDPP teaching artists from the residency and women who are part of JDPP’s Stepping Out program for citizens who have returned to the community.
The personal stories presented here remind us of our collective humanity and ask us to keep the human side close as we consider the collateral effect of the prison experience. Thank you so much for joining us!
Judy Dworkin
Executive and Artistic Director, JDPP
Click Here to see the Program.