The DUI Project
Copied from the University of Montana Website: https://grizhub.umt.edu/event/7476526
The DUI Project
Date and TimeSaturday, October 16 2021 at 7:30 PM MDT to Saturday, October 16 2021 at 9:00 PM MDT Add To Google Calendar | iCal/Outlook Location: PARTV Masquer Theatre 32 Campus Dr, MIssoula, Montana View Map
Free and open to the public, THE DUI PROJECT is a staged reading of scenes written by inmates in The Warm Springs Addiction Treatment and Change Program (WATCh) under the auspices of CCCS (Community Correctional and Counseling Services.) This pilot project was funded by the University of Montana College of Arts and Media. This type of program is new to the Department of Corrections. The idea for the project was conceived by M.F.A. student Elli Caterisano who had interned with actor/director Leah Joki in a maximum security prison in California. Ms. Caterisano proposed to start a theater/playwriting pilot project at a Pre-Release Center in Montana. Inmates at the WATCh program have multiple DUI offenses; some as many as 12. Nineteen (19) inmates participated in this 10 week program which culminates with a staged reading of their work at the Masquer Theater.
"One in three traffic deaths in the United States involves a drunk driver The US National Institute on Drug Abuse states substance misuse costs the country $700 billion a year in health care costs, crime and lost productivity. Montana is #3 in per capita DUI's, multiple years running. Montana is triple the national average in deaths and arrest rates. Alcohol is a real blight on our state" ~Jason Dietrich, WATCh Inmate participant Ms. Joki is a UM theater alum (BFA 1980, MFA 2013) and a graduate of the Juilliard Drama School. She has had a 23 year career teaching theater in 30 prisons. She is working with teaching artists Penelope Hummingbird Baquero, Curen Feliciani, Amirra Patterson and Hudson Therriault. They along with other student and community actors will be reading the inmates' work.
The reading will be followed by a Q&A session.
We are looking to have a few Missoula County DUI Task Force members in attendance at this event. I spoke with Leah Joki (a true superhero) and I am very excited about "The DUI Project" highliting this critically important issue that affects our entire community. To learn more about Leah Joki, please visit her website No Joke Theater at LeahJoki.com
I hope you get a chance to join us on Saturday, October 16th at the Theater on the University of Montana Campus.