Theatrical Prison

What makes this field site a good field site in studying this culture?
The prisoners are openly willing to show someone else into their world. They are willing to show off all of the hardwork that they are doing. It is also a confined place so you can see the same people week after week. You can see how the same people interact with each other


What observations does the author make that is useful in talking about this subculture?
That the prisoners are really in touch with the characters that they are portraying. It's like everyone of the prisoners have some type of deep connection with their charcter. Also he tells how the prisoners put so much of their emotion into the play. He shows that they are truly happy to be doing what they are doing, and not just doing this project to have some free time out of their cell.


What are the norms and values of this subculture?
A value that I really saw was that the inmates gave their work their all. They made sure that everytime there was a rehearsal that they gave 150 % in everything. They wanted to show to the others that they just weren't sitting around wasting time and doing nothing.


What interview techniques work well to help understand this subculture?
I liked how the interviewer talked more than about the what they were doing. He was asking them personal questions to really get a good understanding about how they felt being a part of the subculture. He also asked them good questions like what motivates them to do their best. He really asked questions that made you get to know the people instead of just telling about the play.