Documentary Cast Updates

Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Documentary

SBB Documentary


Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Documentary
Shakespeare Behind Bars: The Documentary
by Philomath Films

Update on the Cast of The Tempest

*Fourteen of the eighteen Tempest cast have been released from prison. Two cast members died while incarcerated and one cast member died post incarceration.  Two cast members remain in prison.  One cast member is coming up for parole in 2025.  The second cast member is serving a Life Sentence Without Parole.

*Hal (Prospero) went up for parole in July, 2011 and received five more years. He went up for parole again in July, 2015 and received ten more years. In 2010, he was awarded a first place Pen Award in essay and a third place in poetry. He continues with the SBB program. His next parole hearing will be in 2025.

*Big G (Caliban) after 37 years, 11 months, and 16 days, Jerry served out his prison sentence and returned home to his mother.

*Raymond (Anthonio #3) was transferred to another prison. He is serving a Life Sentence Without Parole.

*Leonard (Anthonio #1) went up for parole in 2008 and got ten more years. He went into a deep depression, took a leave of absence from SBB, and then transferred to another prison. After fighting several bouts with cancer, Leonard died in November, 2016.

*Rick (Anthonio #2) spent 30 days in the hole before he was transferred to another prison. Seven months later, he took the shoe laces out of his tennis shoes, tied them together, and used them to hang himself in his cell.  He died in prison.

*Greg (Ceres) received parole, got married, worked as a civil engineer, published poetry online. After fighting a serious bout with cancer, Greg died a free man in June, 2017.

*Sammie (Trinculo) got into trouble with computer fraud. He was transferred to two other prisons. After serving thrity-one consecutive years in prison, he was paroled on August 1, 2014. He continues to make a positive life for himself outside the razor-wire working as a facilitator/counselor for  Goodwill Industries.  Since, 2011, Sammie has worked with Curt L. Tofteland on his one person memoir show, Othello’s Tribunal.  The production tours around the country performing at professional Shakespeare Theatres, colleges and universities, and prison and detention centers.

*DeMond (Stephano) was transferred to two other prisons. His case was taken on by the Innocence Project. He was paroled in November, 2014. His parole was revoked/reinstated and then deferred in 2017. He received parole in 2019.

*Ron (Ferdinand) after 25 consecutive years of incarceration, Ron was paroled in April, 2016. He continues to make a life for himself outside the razor-wire.

*Red (Miranda) received parole in 2008. In 2010, he returned to prison on a new conviction and parole violation. He was paroled in 2019.

*Bulldog (Ariel) served out. He continues to make a life for himself outside the razor-wire.

*Vaughn (Gonzalo) went up for parole in 2009 and got five more years. He served out in 2013.

*Charlie (Francisco) received parole.  He works in the heavy construction industry.

*Howard (Adrian) served out in 2012. He returned to the bosom of his family and works in the janitorial industry.

*Richard (Sebastian) received parole in 2009. He continues to make a life for himself outside the razor-wire.

*Harvey (King Alonso) received parole in 2003. He continues to live successfully on the outside.

*Kenneth (Ires) was transferred to another prison. He was paroled in November, 2014.

*Boris (Juno) was transferred to another prison. He works as a legal aide. He was paroled in 2022 after serving twenty-seven consecutive years in prison.

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*Warden Larry Chandler transferred to another prison as warden before retiring from the KY DOC. He served several terms on the Kentucky Parole Board and retired as Chairperson. He came out of retirement during the COVID epidemic to work as a warden in two different Kentucky prisons before retiring for a second time in September, 2022.  He continues to work as a consultant on matters related to corrections.

*Curt L. Tofteland (Founder & Producing Artistic Director) retired from Kentucky Shakespeare Festival after 20 years of service. He moved to Western Michigan where he continues to work in adult and juvenile justice. He maintains his relationship with the Shakespeare Behind Bars program in Michigan, Kentucky, and Illinois.  He writes and publishes about the transformational power of the Shakespeare Behind Bars program.

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