V to X

After a highly successful debut of “Seventy IV Seconds… to judgment”, GoKash OnSTAGE in residence at the Arden returns in Spring with a sobering look at privatized incarceration, “V to X”.

According to the 2010 U.S. census, for every 100 African American women age 25-54, there are approximately 83 black men living free in society. About 600,000 of these men who are “missing” from American homes are incarcerated and help fuel the burgeoning privatized prison industry. While some are serving time for violent crimes, many have fallen victim to disproportionate sentencing guidelines. Unable to afford bail, thousands more remain incarcerated for years, awaiting trial.  However, most criminal punishment results—not from a trial by a jury of your peers—but in convictions imposed through plea deals.

In this look at the U.S. justice system, writer/director Kash Goins draws inspiration from the tragic experience of N.Y. teen Kalief Browder, whose diminished mental state after three years of abusive Rikers Island incarceration without having ever gone to trial, drove him to suicide upon release in 2015.  Hailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer as “A work that erupts with tragic power and vicious humor.”, “V to X” debuted in October, 2015 and encored in February of the following year, proving to be one of the hottest theatre tickets in town.

The interactive drama that Goins has coined theatre in 3-D takes the Bob and Selma Studio Theatre stage on March 28th thru April 15th.