After celebrating numerous successful performances in Chicago, Milwaukee, and throughout California, “Barred from Life” will play at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street in Mountain View, on Thursday, October 27, 2005 at 7:30 pm. Created and performed by Santa Clara University Assistant Professor in Dance David J. Popalisky, in collaboration with Cookie Ridolfi, Director of the Northern California Innocence Project, this innovative performance-work illuminates the human experience of individuals convicted for crimes they did not commit. This show premieres a cameo video performance by Danny Glover who, motivated by his concern for wrongful conviction and his awareness of this show, contributed his immense talent to this production.
Earlier this year, "Barred from Life" toured to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Loyola University Chicago, and Santa Cruz, California. The Santa Cruz performance generated a feature article by Rita Felciano, “Righting a Wrong- Dance that Takes Social Issues to Heart," in the September issue of Dance Magazine in the “Teach-Learn Connection” section.
“Barred from Life” was conceived in the spring of 2002 in a parking lot conversation between Ridolfi and Popalisky after dropping their boys at school. “While I knew, vaguely, of Cookie’s work on behalf of the wrongfully convicted,” said Popalisky, “our talk unveiled the need to expose this issue to greater public awareness. It suddenly struck us that a performance work could powerfully illuminate the tragic human consequences of wrongful conviction.”
In the summer of 2003, Popalisky conducted numerous interviews in the Chicago and San Francisco Bay areas with exonerated individuals who had spent years in prison, some on death row. “I needed to hear the exonerated men’s stories first hand,” said Popalisky, “but more importantly, to sense their presence as men, most of whom are about my age, who had survived a special kind of hell.” Based on these interviews, Popalisky created “Barred from Life” to address the complexity of wrongful conviction through a combination of media including dance movement, video imagery, excerpts from interviews with exonerees, and an original score by True Rosaschi.
“Barred from Life” occurs within a confined set, symbolic of a prison cell that embodies the restricted physical experience of these men. With the dance functioning as visceral glue for the story, the score and video represent the varying mental states of the wrongfully accused throughout the various stages of their ordeal. Excerpts from the exoneree’s interviews connect audiences with the voices, faces, and eloquence of these men and their astounding stories.
“David’s performance is an emotional commentary on an immensely important social issue – he melds poetry, media, and dance to portray the experiences of people forced into the nightmare of arrest and conviction for crimes they didn’t commit,” said Ridolfi. “I’m awed by David’s remarkable artistry. ‘Barred from Life’ is a powerful new story of the pain, despair and resilience of wrongful conviction.”
On March 31, 2004 “Barred from Life” premiered at Santa Clara University to enthusiastic acclaim. Shortly after its premiere, the performance was presented at the American Association of Law Schools – Clinical Legal Education national conference in San Diego, which awarded “Barred from Life” a CLEA CREATIVITY AWARD for its approach to confronting important legal and humanitarian issues and for exemplifying inter-disciplinary collaboration. In July 2004, Popalisky conducted an interview with recently released exoneree John Stoll whose compelling story has been integrated into the performance.
Exonerees Delbert Tibbs of Chicago, Illinois, a death row survivor, and John Stoll of Barnsdall, Oklahoma, along with other exonerees are scheduled to join Popalisky and Ridolfi in a post-performance discussion. The talk will focus on the flaws in the justice system that continue to ensnare the innocent, interrogation and prosecution procedural reforms, and the role of artistic expression in enhancing public awareness of wrongful convictions. Tibbs, Stoll, Popalisky and Ridolfi will also be speaking throughout the week with various high school and university classes in the Santa Clara area.
David Popalisky received an MFA in Choreography from Mills College and an MA in Theatre Arts/Dance Emphasis from San Jose State University. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Dance Program forSanta Clara University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and teaches Choreography, Modern Dance technique classes, Dance History, and Performance and Culture.
Cookie Ridolfi directs the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara University School of Law, where she is a tenured member of the law faculty. Ridolfi is co-chair of the Innocence Network, an international collective of innocence projects assisting prisoners with claims of factual innocence. She was recently appointed to serve on the California Senate Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice.
The Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts performance is being presented as a benefit for the Northern California Innocence Project. The NCIP, a part of the National Innocence Network, works within an educational framework to exonerate indigent California prisoners who have been wrongly convicted. The performance is free and seating is available on a first come first served basis. Contributions to support the work of the Northern California Innocence Project and to support the exonerees participating in this performance would be gratefully accepted. Please call 408-554-1945 to make a donation. “Barred from Life” was made possible by the support of the Bannan Center, a Hackworth Faculty grant, a University Research grant, the Center of Performing Arts, and the Northern California Innocence Project, all of Santa Clara University. For more information visit "Barred from Life" on the Web http://itrs.scu.edu/bfl.
