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"In Shakespeare [in Prison], no one is invisible. We all matter: we matter to each other. We’re more than our crimes. We’re more than our sentences. We’re people."
- SIP ensemble member 
Since 2013, Matthew has worked with hundreds of incarcerated people--men, women, and teenagers--as a co-facilitator and the Assistant Director of Shakespeare in Prison. He is also compiling and editing Richard III--In Prison, the first critical edition of Shakespeare written entirely by incarcerated people.
Shakespeare in Prison empowers incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people to reconnect to their own humanity and the humanity of others. The members of our ensemble work together to create a safe environment for personal growth and connection, both while in prison and after release. They build the confidence and self-esteem needed to positively impact their communities. And they disrupt conventional notions of who "owns" Shakespeare, theatre, and the arts.
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"Shakespeare gets to the deep root of humanity—the core of what it means to be human—and we get so caught up in the other stuff that we forget how to be human."
- SIP ensemble member Shakespeare in Prison is the signature community program of Detroit Public Theatre. Since its 2012 founding at Michigan’s only women’s prison, SIP has worked directly with more than 300 people, including incarcerated men and youth in treatment and detention facilities. More than 1,500 incarcerated people have participated as audience members.
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