The Graduates

Issue No. 21 • Spring 2020

The Graduates is a three-year-old performance ensemble company comprised of former members of the 20-year-old The Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) Drama Club. The women use their personal experiences with the criminal justice system to create performances that: reach out to young at-risk women; give a window into incarceration’s affects on individual lives; encourage those who have the power to shift current policies to do so.  The ensemble’s performances are directed by Ausettua Amor Amenkum (Big Queen of the Washita Nation and Artistic Director of Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective) and Kathy Randels, (Artistic Director of ArtSpot Productions and founder of The LCIW Drama Club).