You’ll be blown away by the authentic, local storytelling of “Human Again”. The film follows the Phoenix Player Theatre Group at Auburn Correctional maximum-security prison as they work toward a public performance of an original play that incorporates Shakespearean influences and the artists’ own lived experiences. The documentary is emotional, raw and inspirational. It’s a powerful testimony to the human potential wasted, often unjustly, and sometimes wrongfully, in those facilities.

Following the screening is a panel discussion about the themes addressed in the movie. The discussion will be facilitated by Michael Rhynes, co-facilitator of the ReEntry Theatre Program and co-founder & co-creator of Phoenix Players Theatre Group. Rhynes helped found the group in 2009 at Auburn Correctional Facility while serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. He was recently exonerated in 2023 after 39 years of wrongful imprisonment. For Rhynes and the now-freed members of Phoenix Players Theatre Group and the ReEntry Theatre Program, theatre was, and still is, an outlet for them and others to reconnect with their humanity.

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMAnSZzVYPA