Lynda, Gris and Karen Pentz work together to convince Greg Cooper, a journalist, to see a new perspective on a story he wrote about recent events in the local prison. Actors include, from left: Alex Vase, Usman Humayun, Sara Leach and Jim Gustafson.
Patricia Swan-Smith has had a story in her heart and on her mind for over a decade, and she'll finally be able to not only share it with others but see it come to life on stage with the Actors' Mission's latest production, "A Reason."
The play deals with the topics of mental health, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), suicide, trauma and the role these subjects play in the American prison system. Swan-Smith wrote the story based largely on her own experiences as a journalist and mental health therapist who has worked in prisons in Georgia and Montana as well as the Wyoming women's prison.
"It was so devastating," Swan-Smith said, remembering her experiences working within prisons. "We do not do it right. And I'm hoping that someday we can start getting good mental health to inmates, as well as children, because we're messing up."
After seeing the way mental health affects so many people within the prison system, Swan-Smith has hoped to see reform and to see people get the help they need.
"We need to start treating trauma," she said. "And we need reform in the prison system, and in the mental health system. A lot of mental health stuff is shame-based ... We need to stop shaming people and trying to find people to blame. And that's the title of it - 'A Reason.' Trauma is not an excuse for why people do what they do, but it is a reason. It affects the brain and the body. And we cannot function when we're not well, and then we want to blame them and put them in jail, and we can't keep doing that."
Although Swan-Smith was a journalist for many years, she wasn't sure if journalism was the best platform to reach people with the story she wanted to tell about the need for reform. So in 2013, she decided to write a screenplay. However, selling a screenplay is "a dream," according to Swan-Smith. So for many years, her story wasn't shared.
Swan-Smith got involved with Actors' Mission after moving to the area and eventually presented her screenplay to the group.
"They said 'well why don't you turn it into a play?'" Swan-Smith explained. With encouragement from Actors' Mission, she did just that. In 2019 she reworked her script, cutting it down from 55 characters to 13 and making it ready for the stage. While Actors' Mission wanted to host the play after Swan-Smith finished the script, the production had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, three years later, it's finally coming to the stage.
"Amazing" was the word Swan-Smith used several times to describe how it's felt to see her work and a story close to her heart come to life.
"It's been absolutely amazing and I've cried over and over," she said. "The more that they get into the acting, the more it just hits my heart - 'This is so amazing!' I really don't have words."
The script being acted out on stage is exactly what Swan-Smith gave to the Actors' Mission. Brad Russell, the play's director, explained they didn't want to change anything out of deference to the author. Having her words go from the page to the stage is meaningful for Swan-Smith since the story is so close to her heart.
"They're playing what I wrote, and that is so exciting," she said. "That's why I wrote it - to get the message out about treating trauma and taking care of people before they end up in prison."
While the words are exactly what she wrote, the play has taken on new life in ways Swan-Smith couldn't have imagined.
She particularly praised Russell's direction and work on the set and staging, saying he came up with ideas she never would have that make the story even more powerful.
"It's 15 times more than I ever thought it could be," she said.
For Russell, working with a local playwright to produce her work and help her script come to life in new ways is part of what the Actors' Mission was always intended to do.
"It's solid community theater," Russell said.
For Swan-Smith, having her story finally shared is a "dream come true."
"A Reason" opened at the Broadway Theater in Rock Springs March 23 and will have performances at 7 p.m. March 24 and 26 as well as April 1 and 2 with a 2 p.m. matinee performance April 3. In keeping with Actors' Mission tradition, a complimentary meal is served one hour before each performance. The play contains adult language and themes.
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