Man behind ‘Shakespeare’ project shares his insights

In January, I wrote a column about "Shakespeare Behind Bars," a documentary about a Kentucky program that seeks to help rehabilitate the spirits of prisoners through the world of theater. I was surprised at how well the convict actors related to their roles, and how it brought them closer to self-understanding. Last week, the man behind the project, Curt Tofteland, talked to University of Nevada, Las Vegas acting and film students. He's hoping to drum up interest nationwide.

"It's a method that turns on a light bulb for an inmate," he said. "The day they come in, we should be preparing them for the day they leave."

Tofteland noted that some prisoners' crimes are so heinous that they don't see themselves as human. "They don't know that goodness is in them," he explained. "Shakespeare's plays often have good people doing bad things."

Tofteland's talk moved me in large part, I suppose, because theater folks (and the people who write about them) are often self-absorbed. It's the nature of the beast. I imagine it would be difficult to be obsessed with self when your talents are being used to bring peace to those who feel they are beyond mercy.

Tofteland shared another aspect of his talents when he coached a small group of graduate acting students. He demonstrated the difference between reciting lines from memory, and getting the lines to help drive you toward the emotional truth. It's a tough lesson to master, but his work with two students' monologues brought tremendous improvements within minutes. He urged the students to make early rehearsals not about performance, but about exploration. The key, he said, is to make the dialogue your own, to make it spring from your soul. (More info: ShakespeareBehindBars.com.) ...

Those who know Lea Salonga only from her debut as the doomed Vietnamese rail-thin teenager Kim in "Miss Saigon" nearly two decades ago might have been surprised Friday to find the star all grown up -- complete with the beginnings of middle-age spread. Her New York Stage & Beyond concert found the Tony-winning actress in great voice. She doesn't have quite enough presence to fill out a stage on her own, but when she took charge of a song, she was in total command. ...

Our oldest community playhouse, Las Vegas Little Theatre, is looking for a few good directors. Board president Walter Niejadlik says he's eager to talk to any locals who might be interested in taking the helm of a play already scheduled on the mainstage, or in selecting their own script for a production in the smaller Black Box. Niejadlik is hoping to announce the 2009-10 season schedule in June, so if interested, I'd recommend contacting him immediately (walterniejadlik@lvlt.org).

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.