Pedro “Jungo/Pete-Roc” Rosario (Playwright) is a first-generation Puerto Rican, born in the South Bronx, New York City. He has been incarcerated for 33 years, since the age of 18, after being wrongfully convicted of conspiracy and murder charges and sentenced to life in prison. During his incarceration, he has become a father, playwright, poet, actor, and songwriter. While incarcerated at Green Haven State Prison, he joined the Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program. He was the lead writer for the heart-wrenching play “Café of the Heart,” where he brilliantly performed the role of Boxed-in Joe, an elderly man suffering a mental health breakdown. Pedro uses his talents as an artist to expose the racial injustices of the criminal legal system and uplift the value of redemption and transformation. He is working on his fourth play, No Heaven in Green.

Leia Squillace (Director) is a director, producer, cultural organizer, and artivist (artist + activist). Currently, she serves as the Director of Artistic Impact for the Tony-Award winning Broadway Advocacy Coalition, as well as a lecturer at Columbia Law School and an Artist Ambassador for the New York Civil Liberties Union. Previously, Leia served as the Director of Strategic Arts Engagement for The Confined Arts, a program of Columbia University’s Center for Justice that showcases creative voices of artists impacted by incarceration. Leia has designed and managed programming for Roundabout Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Prison Creative Arts Project, and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. She holds a Bachelor of Theater Arts from the University of Michigan and is a proud student at CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies.

Alex Branton (IRA/SANTANA) is thrilled to be part of this important new work. Credits include Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical 1st National Tour (replacement for Rob McClure), Bad News Bears: The Musical (workshop), Water for Elephants (workshop). BFA: Carnegie Mellon University.

Kenyatta Emmanuel Hughes (CHOCOLATE/ANGELA) is a singer and songwriter, an artist, and activist who has shared his music from Sing Sing to the Carnegie Hall, offering a full live concert the same day of his release after serving 24 1⁄2 years in prison. Kenyatta collaborated with a range of stakeholders in and out of carceral spaces to impact the world artistically and socially, forming initiatives such as Voices From Within, which serves the children of incarcerated parents. He is an example of and tireless advocate for the wealth of potential awaiting discovery in the nation’s carceral spaces. His offering of music and message is consistent from his 2014 TEDx talk, through his presentation at the 2022 International Wellbeing Summit, exploring the beauty of life, love, and the human condition, reminding us of all that we hold in common.

Kenyatta Emmanuel is a Galaxy Leaders Fellow and Emeritus Artist in Residence for the Initiative for a Just Society at Columbia University School of Law, as well as a teaching artist with Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections program. He has just released his second single, What is Left.

Joe Grifasi (JOHN MACKENZIE) has appeared in over fifty feature films including The Deer Hunter, Presumed Innocent, Matewan,The Naked Gun, Batman Forever and Natural Born Killers. Among his many Broadway and off-Broadway credits are The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dinner at Eight, Filumena and The Boys Next Door (Drama Desk Award). His television credits include New Amsterdam, Evil, Law and Order, Lodge 49, The Bronx is Burning (as Yogi Berra) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Peter A. Gomez (FREEDOM/SHARKEY) is a versatile artist—a writer, actor, poet, storyteller, songwriter; and public speaker. Raised in Washington Heights, New York, Peter’s talent was nurtured from a young age. Despite early stage success, he faced challenges in adolescence, leading to entanglement in street life and legal troubles. During his incarceration, Peter found a renewed passion for the arts in 2017 through the Rehabilitation through the Arts program where he participated in productions such as RTA’s original production, Cafe of the Heart, and Suzi Lori Park’s Father Come Home From the Wars. Since his release in February Peter uses his artistic talents for social change, advocating for social justice, mental health, and climate change. He featured in Compagnia Colombari’s production Whitman on the Walls, and King Lear at Yale’s University Theatre and off broadway La MaMa ETC. While sharing his voice through artistic platforms, Peter demonstrates the transformative power of the arts and the resilience of the human spirit. 

Sean Dino Johnson (SPADIE) is an award-winning American actor, voiceover artist, and community leader. His credits include a featured role in A24’s Oscar-nominated narrative feature film Sing Sing (2024), the lead in the short film Behind These Walls (2022), and appearances in Unlocked: The Power of Arts in Prison (2021) and in Mel Brooks’ musical comedy The Producers (2005). Johnson is currently in rehearsals for American Classic, an eight-episode comedy series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Kevin Kline. Johnson is a gifted speaker and facilitator with a passionate commitment to social justice and the power of the arts. Johnson’s contributions to ensemble acting have been recognized with the 2024 Golden Space Needle Award for Excellence in Ensemble Acting and was honored with a special tribute at the 34th Gotham Awards for his advocacy work and impactful role in Sing Sing.

 

 

 

Jose A. Perez (CHITO/SMITH) MPS is a distinguished poet, actor, servant leader, and father whose life and work are deeply shaped by his transformative journey. Raised in New York City’s foster care system, group homes, and juvenile institutions, Jose spent two decades incarcerated during his adolescence and early adulthood. Throughout his incarceration, he cultivated a passion for acting, poetry, and professional service dog training, all while earning academic credentials, including an AA from Bard College, a BS from Nyack College through HudsonLink, and an Masters in Professional Studies from the New York Theological Seminary.

Currently, Jose serves as a Program Strategist for the Children’s Defense Fund-NY, championing the rights of youth affected by the child welfare and youth justice systems. He also contributes his expertise as a member of the District Attorney of NYC’s Reentry Council Board. A celebrated spoken word artist and actor, Jose has performed on some of New York City’s most prestigious stages, including the Bushwick Starr Theater, The Shed, and The Public Theater. His poetry has resonated at renowned venues such as The Shrine, Riverbank State Park, the Everson Museum of Modern Art, Open Jar Studios on Broadway, and Syracuse University. He has led workshops with Professor Patrick W. Berry’s Project Mend and performed in I am/Yo Soy: A Museum de Memorias, a bilingual play for young audiences.

Jose is an RTA (Rehabilitation Through the Arts) alumni, and serves as the Correctional Facility Coordinator for the Compagnia de Colombari, bringing theatrical and poetry productions into New York State prisons. He is also the co-founder of I Wish I Knew How, an arts workshop for formerly incarcerated artists, developed in collaboration with Ellpetha and Camilo at the One Whales Tale Theater Company. Jose’s poetry collection, ‘Till Ink Meets Paper: Poems for Guendalina…My Mommy, was released in 2024, and available on Amazon.

Jay Romero (HERNANDEZ/GHOSTS OF JOHN MACKENZIE) is a first-generation Salvadoran-American actor from Long Island, New York. His recent stage credits include La Viuda (The Widow) with The Dog Team Theatre Project at Atlantic Stage 2; The Desire of the Astronaut at Pregones/PRTT; Bertha, The Sewing Machine Girl; Indians; and The Pot Boiler at Metropolitan Playhouse; as well as The Magic School Bus national tour with TheatreworksUSA. Jay holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Special thanks to Working Theater and Broadway Advocacy Coalition. http://www.jay-romero.com/

 

 

Garrett Turner (Stage Directions) is a Jesus-loving free Black man who believes in the power of both joy and righteous indignation as tools for liberation. Broadway: Thoughts Of A Colored Man. Tour: TINA(First National). Off-Broadway: Bayano(National Black Theatre),Pay The Writer (SignatureTheatre). Regional: Primary Trust(Syracuse Stage),The Royale(Theatrical Outfit),Chad Deity(Asolo Rep),Looking glass Alice(Baltimore Center Stage), Half Time(Paper Mill Playhouse).TV: Law & Order SVU,Madam Secretary. Emory/RCSSD Grad. Marshall Scholar. Psalm 115:1@garrettmturne

Sherry Wang (Stage Manager) (she/her) is a stage manager based in New York City and currently pursuing her MFA in Stage Management at Columbia University. She has stage-managed and occasionally production-managed a variety of theatrical productions and corporate events across the U.S. and abroad, with recent credits including Cankersore Paradise, My Way, The Orangery,Passion Play, and more. Drawn to the deeply human, collaborative, and community-driven nature of theatre, she finds purpose in helping bring a shared vision to life

Anton Volovsek (Set Designer) (he/him) is a scenic designer, artist, and theater maker currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Recent design credits: Off Broadway: Bowl EP (Vineyard) Regional: Our Town, Life is a Dream, Everything That Never Happened, Akeelah and the Bee (Baltimore Center Stage), Little Shop of Horrors (People’s Light) Curse of the Starving Class (PTP, Williamstown Theatre Festival), Mr. Burns (Brown/Trinity), Off-off Broadway: Hype Man (The Flea Theatre), Princess Phooey (TADA! Youth Theater). Collegiate: Real Housewives of the Restoration, King Charles III (NYU Grad Acting and Design), Spring Awakening, Jesus Christ Superstar (Montclair State University), Indecent (Central Michigan University), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (City College of New York). MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. BFA from the University of Michigan. Go Blue! You can find more of his work at www.antonedward.com.

Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) is a grassroots advocacy campaign created and led by formerly incarcerated people. They work to end the racist law-and-order policies that have more than doubled the number of elders behind bars over the past 20 years, to expand the use of parole, compassionate release, clemency, and to end life imprisonment. By advocating to free incarcerated elders—women and men who have served decades in prison for crimes including those of violence; who have taken responsibility, transformed their lives, developed profound skills and abilities, and who pose little if any public safety risk—we strike at the system of endless punishment that fuels mass incarceration and damages Black and other communities of color. Learn more here.

Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) helps people in prison develop critical life skills through the arts, modeling an approach to the justice system based on human dignity rather than punishment. Launched at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 1996, RTA is a world leader in arts-in-prison programming. RTA teaches communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and other critical life skills through a unique mix of art forms. RTA works with professional teaching artists to lead year-round workshops in theater, dance, music, creative writing, and visual arts.

RTA’s ongoing success is dramatic: less than 3% of RTA participants return to prison within three years, compared to the national recidivism rate of over 60%. RTA members often pursue higher education after participating in the program. RTA members and facility staff have recognized a positive change in prison culture as a result of the program. Upon release, hundreds of RTA alumni are giving back to their communities, becoming social workers, advocates, academics and entrepreneurs.

To learn more about their work, ask questions, or provide support, please contact us.