The Drama Club at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women was founded in 1996 by Kathy Randels with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) Regional Artists Project (RAP) grant. For almost thirty years, the Drama Club has been an important resource for creative expression and self-examination for hundreds of inmates, and has performed for inmate audiences totaling in the thousands. In 2000, ArtSpot Productions invited Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective to introduce African dance and culture to the Drama Club, and Kumbuka director Ausettua AmorAmenkum has continued to co-direct the Drama Club ever since. The program has proved to be a vital spiritual asset for the inmate population at LCIW.
In 2012, the Drama Club inspired the formation of a new program — comprised of formerly incarcerated members of the Drama Club — called The Graduates.
Performances