Noelia Antweiler (center left) strikes a dramatic pose with inmates of the Kentucky Northpoint Training Centre as part of the Voices Inside acting rehabilitation program. PHOTO: Voices Inside Courtesy
Being well rounded is one of former university student Noelia Antweiler’s many talents. She has performed in over two dozen plays, both educational and professional, played roles as diverse as the “Chicago” sex idol Velma and a mother trying to help her ADD afflicted child in “Distracted.”
And then there was that time she taught prison inmates in Kentucky how to write touching plays and feel characters’ motivations.
“In the beginning it was kind of weird, just being in prison with all these guys in orange jumpsuits,” Antweiler said. “I just remember feeling overwhelmed but also really excited.”
She found herself in the position of a teacher during an internship with the Kentucky Pioneer Playhouse, which gave her the opportunity to first perform a play in the prison and later teach a classroom of ten inmates.
“Noelia was hired as an actress at Pioneer Playhouse,” Pioneer Playhouse Managing Director Roby Henson said. “Our theater does outreach services to our community and we consider the Northpoint Prison 9 miles down the road as part of our community.”
Antweiler was initially concerned whether her presence would disturb the group dynamic of the inmates, who had been part of the “Voices Inside” outreach program for a year prior to her teaching. Her worries were unfounded.
“She totally bought into the concept of rehabilitation through creativity,” Henson said. “She helped the incarcerated polish their writing and performance skills and became the inmate’s favorite instructor last summer.
“I decided the best way to handle it was to be myself and treat them like humans,” Antweiler said. “And so, I totally fell in love [with the work] that week and proceeded to come back three or four times a week, every week, for the rest of the summer.”
Over these weeks, Antweiler and Henson worked closely with the inmates on refining their self-written plays as part of the Voices Inside mission to “increase communication skills, build self-esteem and humanize and enrich the lives of those closed off behind bars,” according to the program’s website.
The connection Antweiler developed with the inmates became one of respect and trust. Even after she left Kentucky, the inmates continued writing her letters and asking for her advice.
In one case, an inmate by the name of Ricky wrote Antweiler that the work she did with them moved many to want to live a better life.
His dedication was put to the test during an incident at the prison.
“Two days ago, while at work with a friend, while we were upstairs, another inmate attacked and attempted to kill two female officers. We were upstairs in the building, they were down-stairs, alone with the inmate,” Ricky wrote Antweiler. “By the time we were able to reach them, both had been injured and were later removed by ambulance.
“In pulling him off the female officer (a Sgt.), I ended up in one of the most brutal fights I have been in for many, many years. I broke the middle finger of my right hand and also fractured my right hand. He was a terror, Noelie [sic]. The Sgt. Said that we had saved both of their [lives]. In my humble opinion, she is correct. As I told Robby, though I would have undoubtedly came to their aid, the fact is that by being involved in the Playwriting venture where one is forced to explore himself, I was able to help save two [lives] with a noble heart and a clear mind.”
To Antweiler, who considers theater to be her “creative wild child,” it is also one of the most important things in society because it brings people together, she said.
“Theater can talk about taboo subjects in a really constructive way and can just be plain entertaining,” she said. “It really speaks to my soul and it’s where I’m happiest. And I believe in happiness – not doing things for money.”
