A music/theater piece about the 1971 Attica Prison revolt performed by formerly incarcerated actors and musicians.
Presented by Columbia World Projects, in partnership with the Center for Justice and the Center for Contemporary and Critical Thought.
Echoes of Attica, a music/theater piece about the 1971 Attica Prison revolt, will be performed by formerly incarcerated actors and musicians, to raise awareness about its relevance to the current outbreak of state violence against communities of color.
“Attica in 1971 is a picture of what can happen to you,” said Carlos Roche, an 80 year old survivor of the Attica Prison massacre. “It’s not just the past. It’s the present. It’s the future. It’s all of us.” Roche will be introducing the play, as well as taking part in a post-performance discussion.
The play is based on court transcripts, declassified FBI files, and interviews with men who survived the assault, during which 29 incarcerated men were shot to death by state police in what the New York State Official Commission on Attica called "The bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the civil war."
Echoes of Attica includes original songs written and performed by rap poet and activist BL Shirelle, and the Gospel singer Simply Naomi. Also featured in the performance is Dario Peña, who played the title role in Macbeth when he was serving time in Sing Sing Correctional Facility, and studying theater with Ron Jenkins, the author of “Echoes of Attica” and a senior fellow at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music. The cast also features Eddie Torres who spent ten years working with men on death row and is appearing Off-Broadway in the Playwrights Horizon production of “Downstate.”
