what it's about!

 Circus Circus

  Why do we have so many non-violent marijuana offenders in our prison systems today? Why are these non-violent prisoners getting more time than most violent prisoners? What good is it to immerse these non-violent offenders into a prison system that is built not to rehabilitate, but to honestly just forget. Prison is like a circus!  

Doesn’t make sense to me and that’s why the play Circus Circus was created. This play was created to not just throw facts into your face like; total marijuana arrests in 2010 (853,839) were +45% higher than those in 1995 (588,964). The year that the percentage growth in marijuana arrests peaked - 2003 - began a five-year upward trend largely driven by arrests for marijuana possession. There are no statistics throughout the dialogue such as; only 49 percent of sentenced state inmates were held for violent offenses. Perhaps the single greatest force behind the growth of the prison population has been the national "war on drugs." The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased twelvefold since 1980. In 2000, 22 percent of those in federal and state prisons were convicted on drug charges. There is no statistics like that, just a story. 

    Circus Circus is a play that explores a character as he gets arrested for marijuana and his journey through the prison system. He has never caused any harm to anyone, always was there to help anyone who needed it, and was a true pot connoisseur. He has his dream but no money to pursue his dream, so he started doing the only thing he thought would help him get closer. Selling weed, and with any business, he started on a small scale and got bigger. He never wanted to get as deep as he did although the only thing was he was good at it. You will follow along with a guy as he is immersed into a world filled with chaos, degradation, violence, and loss. Not only is he hurting as he sees his life slip away day after day being locked behind prison walls, but his family is at a loss. His loved ones appear on television screens that are scattered throughout the theater. The pain on the mother as she gets her little 10-15 minutes of conversation with her son on the phone and his girlfriend as she patiently waits to see the man she loves once again. They correspond through letters; because that’s the only way they can speak. So, you get to see how important mail call is to a man who is away from the world waiting for a letter from the world he used to know.  You will see a side that normally is never seen. Appearing on the television screens are visual mind bending images and other characters that move the play along. 

There is one difference between this prison play and others… This is a play that takes place at Circus Circus State Penitentiary and there can’t be a circus without a ring leader. Except this ring leader is our warden and the prisoners are his show.  Watch as our Warden Gordon manipulates his show into a spectacle and grand performance, because he is quick to put his performers in the hole if they dare to disobey! 

Circus Circus is the first project Loyalty Productions has created.  This play was written by Eric Welch and Brian Walker. The story came to life from a very close individual who has had to experience the life behind concrete walls because of an arrest of marijuana. The purpose of the play is to have people leaving wondering what can be done. There is no answer for what should be done, just a story.