"Violence is Bearded"

"Does everybody have their tickets?" A joke from the Lake County Jail Programs Manager. In front of me, a few inmates hold up their right arms to show their ID bracelets. More jokes.

An hour earlier I was told I had to leave my scarf in a locker before officially entering the jail. "So none of the inmates can hang you," is what I'm pretty sure I heard from the other side of the glass.

...also a joke.

Here's a funny bit that any fan of Arrested Development might understand: "No touching!"

That's actually a rule. In the elevator on our way up to the pod where Sisters Rising is to be performed we are reminded by the warden, "I know you may want to hug someone, but don't. You can shake their hands, but please do not hug them." Under her breath Sisters Rising actress Gloria murmurs, "Girl, I ain't touchin' nobody. I been here before." She looks at me and we both realize our eyes are brimming before the show has even started.

It's comedy that gets us through the day. "Feelin' Beautiful All Over," a short piece written and performed by the previously incarcerated women of Sisters Rising explodes with humor from the moment the show starts, creating a nice cushion for the heavy stuff to ride upon. A cleverly blocked game of double dutch turns into a hit and run quip about daddy's belt before the women laugh it off and pick the ropes back up. They are little girls again, sharing those first feelings of wooing, of dancing, of kissing the boys they dreamed of having families with, wanting to become a teacher. Innocent monologues that subtly and brilliantly expose how that youth was corrupted by domestic violence, drug use, prostitution, rape, shootings and suicide.

Bobby performs with a balled up tissue in her right hand. She tells a prostitute's story of being raped and strangled. Awoken by the feeling of ants crawling into her mouth, standing up and seeing her ripped panties falling to the ground. Begging for help. "And to this day, I'll never know what that man did to me."

After the show an inmate stands up and asks, "How long did it take for you to be able to talk about it?" I have never set foot in a jail before this day but I lean in to get an answer about finding that inner strength. Not as an inmate, but as a woman. Just another woman sitting among a sea of blue uniforms, sighing our "amens" when the points hit home.

The women of Sisters Rising have been together for 6 years now, and today was the first day they have ever performed inside a correctional facility. One actress has a story about how upon leaving jail a fellow inmate warned her, "you'll be back."

"Yes I will, but next time I'm coming in through the front door."

They exited through the front door as well. Five strong sisters, clowning around, posing for a photo on the sidewalk underneath the Lake County Jail sign.

Get it, Girl.

tory.