Plays in Prison

San Francisco’s Juvenile Hall is a county detention facility with a capacity of more than 100 inmates. Its maximum-security unit can accommodate 20, and it’s usually full. The kids there face felony charges for crimes including assault, rape, attempted murder and murder.

On a recent Saturday evening, many of these same teen offenders from the maximum-security unit took center stage. Actually, their words did. The eight teens watched as professional actors read their plays in front of an audience. The performance was put on by Each One Reach One, a Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to bringing mentor-based arts and academic programs into juvenile detention facilities. KALW’S Angela Kilduff had a front row seat.

Angela Kilduff is a summer reporting fellow from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.