The End of Isolation Tour Documentary Film follows the mesmerizing journey of nine theater activists–three of whom are formerly incarcerated, all fresh out of a global pandemic–as they adapt to unpredictable life on the road–the unsettling setbacks imposed by extreme weather, the highs and lows of collective living and the demands of pop-up theater. When the journey gets rough they all have to dig deep and try to re-focus on why they embarked on this journey in the first place. Will they succeed? Is it worth it? Will their legislative theater have the impact they desire–to uplift communities on the frontlines of ending the torture of solitary confinement and challenging our country’s reliance on prisons, police, and punishment? Or will it be a “beautiful failure,” as their co-organizer and bus driver Rob Connell fears?

Developed with support from The Pulitzer Center and currently in post-production, the completed full-length film will trace parallel journeys for justice–with the content on the play, on the bus, and in the lives of local organizers often mirroring and intertwining with one another. This will include short, in-depth chapters that highlight the work of formerly-incarcerated organizers around the country and go deeper into the trials and tribulations on the bus — from taking a critical look at the impacts of white leadership to fighting over dishes.  Drawing from 150 hours of interviews, our intention is to delve deeper into the conversation about what prisons were designed to do and show the incredible impact our art and activism have had on audience members (90% of those that filled out our survey would vote in favor of legislation limiting solitary confinement and reducing incarceration.) “You succeeded in opening my mind,” said Beverly Lewis, “If someone in one of the most unlikely and unimaginably horrific circumstances can become an agent of transformative change, I too can accomplish profound things!”