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Dressed in all black with their faces painted white in typical mime costume, about a dozen residents and staff participated in the original play, What’s Going On, inside the ATC. The short play, set to Marvin Gaye’s classic song of the same name, showcased the perils of drugs and the so-called “fast life” and the importance of faith and family.

“We wanted to show how the kids get out on the streets; where it all starts,” said Tony Sellers, a resident who served as stage manager and emcee for the event. “We need to stop looking at the point of being here and start focusing on why we’re here and not letting that happen again.”

The play was written and directed by Sherry Davis, an employee at the ATC. She wanted to provide the residents with a creative outlet and a chance to have fun.

“We’ve been working on this for a little over three weeks and it’s been a really positive experience,” said Davis, who also appeared on stage as a woman at a bar, who turned out to be another character's mother. “They are all really creative and just looking for a way to express it.”

The only actor to speak during the performance was resident Jermaine Martin, who performed a song by rapper Ludacris at the beginning and then one he wrote himself at the end of the show. Both songs dealt with coming of age in a city under challenging circumstances and striving to do what’s right despite occasional mistakes.

“When I was out, I was doing music,” Martin said. “It’s been a blessing working on this play because most of these guys are my roommates and we’re like family. We want the younger generation to know what’s going on. They need to know that things can change and they don’t have to go down the same road we went down.”

North Lawndale ATC Office Administrator Dee White-Smith, who has worked with Safer for 18 years, also participated in the performance as the wife of resident Michael Holliman. She noted that the show was a great way to bring some of the guys out of their comfort zones.

“A lot of the guys were pretty withdrawn at the beginning, but they started showing their softer side as we kept practicing,” she said. “The mask of toughness disappeared and it really helped to increase their morale. They were at practice everyday and they actually wanted to do more practice. They wanted to make sure the show would go well.”

The performers agreed that it was important for them to show a different side so people wouldn’t define them by the mistakes that they have made. Resident Ronald Robinson, who played a drug dealer in the performance, echoed White-Smith’s sentiments.

“We wanted to show that even though we’re still incarcerated, there’s a different side to us,” Robinson said. “We can get together and do positive things. This is something good and it gives us a head start as we change our lives around so that we can come home better than we were when we left.”

-- David Dexter

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