All her life, nobody wanted to hear what Christy Farlee had to say.

“I was just an addict, in trouble all the time, no good, in and out of prison,” the Lincoln woman said.

But that’s changing. Now, for what feels like the first time in Farlee’s life, “my voice has importance and can do something.”

Farlee is one of three formerly incarcerated women set to take the stage in “By a Thread,” a new dramatic play about women navigating life in prison. The show kicks off its run March 29 and 30 at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, with other venues to follow.

Written by local playwright Kim Louise, the work is the latest production by Anastasis Theatre Co., an Omaha-based nonprofit that aims to “lift unheard voices in our community.” Previous productions dramatized the lives of incarcerated men and the realities of homelessness. Like those plays, “By a Thread” was co-created and inspired by individuals who have lived the experiences being dramatized.

The result, according to those involved, is a performance that’s empowering and informative, entertaining and inspiring – both for the audience and those onstage.

“Telling the story of an individual leads to understanding of a system or structure,” said Jeremy Bouman, executive director of RISE, a Nebraska nonprofit that helps incarcerated people reenter society. “It’s important the public knows what these people go through.”

Louise did extensive research while crafting the play. She spoke with as many as 70 people, she said, including one-on-one conversations and story circles – a type of facilitated group conversation with Native American origins. Participants were allowed to share as much or as little as they wanted. Anastasis used story circles for previous productions, but it was Louise’s first time. She found it powerful.

“Once people realize they’ll actually be listened to and the focus is on them and they have the floor without interruption, it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s the first time some people have ever experienced anything like that.”

No names or verbatim stories are used in the play. Instead it’s “a quilt or mosaic of their experiences,” Louise said.

Embedding incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women into the fabric of the production – from the story to the staging – makes it more impactful for the audience, said Haley Haas, Anastasis artistic director. It also can be transformational for cast members, who build bonds and learn new skills.

Formerly incarcerated cast members include Nature Medicine Song Villegas, Demetrius Gatson and Farlee. All have thrived on the outside. Villegas and Gatson are reentry professionals, helping people like them rejoin society after a prison stay.

Farlee is a self-styled inmates’ rights and prison reform advocate.

Gatson said she is grateful to be part of an authentic portrayal that neither sugarcoats nor sensationalizes.

“I want the audience to know many of these folks are just normal people,” she said. “Some are trying to make it, some are in acts of survival, some in acts of desperation. Different things lead people into incarceration. They’re not inherently bad and everyone deserves a second chance.”

Nationally, the growth of the female prison population has outpaced the male population in recent decades, though most people who are incarcerated are still men, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit research and policy center that advocates for criminal justice reform.

“Women are the fastest growing subset of people who are incarcerated,” said RISE’s Bouman. “Most of them are moms. Similar to men, a high percentage are victims of crimes in their own life and often as children. The trauma they have … is profound.”

Nebraska’s female prison population has largely stayed flat over the past two decades, according to numbers from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. In the final three months of 2024, the average daily population at the state’s lone prison for women, located in York, was 320. Like most state-run correctional facilities, the women’s prison is beyond the capacity it was designed for. Issues extend beyond overcrowding.

Last year, an investigation by the Lincoln Journal Star and York-News Times found that even after a decade of complaints and costly fixes, female inmates continued to complain about murky, foul-smelling water in the prison. Some said the poor water was responsible for hair loss, rashes and gastrointestinal issues.

Inmates also raised concerns about general conditions in the facility, as well as how prison staff responded to and dealt with mental health episodes, the York-News Times reported.

Villegas said she hopes the play sheds light on the need for change.

“If I’m in prison I’m lacking something. But throwing me in the hole (solitary) and reminding me what a piece of sh** I am every day is not going to help me. And that truly happened in my life. I’ve been thrown away my whole life. Women tend to go in and get thrown away.”

“By a Thread” tells the story of seven women who navigate the hardship of being incarcerated. It also spotlights brighter moments, showing how the women find solidarity and strength in one another. Gatson, a former inmate, plays an older woman who serves as the surrogate mother to a newbie, played by trained actor Xena Broaden.

“I just value that we get an opportunity to tell women’s stories that will break your heart and inspire you at the same time,” said Villegas, one of the formerly incarcerated cast members. “If you walk out and don’t feel something out of that then you might be part of the problem.”

The bonds depicted on stage have carried over to real life, said Haas. The women support each other through difficult scenes, creating “a sisterhood.”

That sisterhood was evident during rehearsals earlier this month in a basement activity room at St. Paul Methodist Church in Benson.

Haas, who’s directing the play, set out sandwich fixings, snacks and beverages every night for cast and crew. The casual vibe encouraged chit-chat about their days, their jobs, their kids.

“In these raw moments we’re able to sit and converse with each other as women and share,” Villegas said. “Some of us lived it. Some have never been in there.”

Haas led warm ups to relax minds and bodies, rid inhibitions and center actors in their characters. Those with experience inside schooled the trained actors on prison life, while trained actors educated former inmates on theater ways.

“When I hear our castmates speak about their experience it’s really powerful,” said Carina DuMarce, a trained actor who plays one of the supporting roles.

For the formerly incarcerated cast members, the production can be traumatic at times. Anastasis has a therapist available as needed.

“A friend of ours passed away due to medical negligence and that’s in this play,” said Villegas. ‘It’s very emotional because I lived through these actual experiences.”

At various junctures several characters intone, in unison, a chant, striking dramatic gestures with each word, while drilling in close quarters.

“Wake, meds, work, eat slop, stop, rec, pray, jump at the sun.”

In the otherwise starkly realistic play, they embody a Greek Chorus of lament about the monotony of prison life. The inspiration for that dramatic device, Louise said, came from her many conversations with women who have been incarcerated.

“What came to me was this time out of time drudgery. It’s the same thing, it’s rote, it’s a routine, it is something that goes on without even thinking about it. … They are going through their lives, not moving, from one scheduled moment to the next scheduled moment.”

The motif repeats, builds, until a tragedy occurs and the final expressions of defeat and defiance spill out into the audience.

“Cry, scream, beg, bang, hit, cuss, whimper, puke, bleed, plead, punch, dissolve, love, have, try.”

Like all Anastasis productions, each performance will be followed by a moderated conversation with the audience, featuring cast members. Criminal justice reform, Haas said, is bound to be the main topic.

The hope is to have people from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services attend, along with state lawmakers, local officials and nonprofit leaders. Haas hopes to perform it at the York prison, though it’s unclear if prison leaders will allow it.

All involved hope the play prompts questions – and conversations. Many aspects of prison are taboo, said Farlee. “By a Thread” talks about those hushed details and paints a clear picture of what life inside is like.

“It’s not always a pretty picture but it’s a real picture,” she said. “I want people to ask questions and to give them an honest answer. … If there’s to be change, the truth has to come out.”

This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press, an independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories in Nebraska that matter. Read the article at: https://flatwaterfreepress.org/truth-has-to-come-out-new-omaha-play-puts...