Atlanta playwright Lee Osorio brings ‘Prisontown’ into living rooms

“It really got my brain thinking about what has happened to this town where I grew up. My brother went down there quite often, sending me pictures of this dead town square and the grocery store right across from the home that we lived in, now completely abandoned,” he said. “I was trying to understand the reality of Lumpkin now.”

Osorio is the writer and sole performer in “Prisontown,” a one-act, semi-autobiographical play about a writer who works to uncover the harsh conditions inside the Lumpkin detention center. The 70-minute show, which opened Jan. 23 and ends April 5, has 44 performances under Out of Hand Theater’s Shows in Homes program, which hosts theatrical works about social justice in intimate spaces.

Ahead of the season, the Shows in Homes program shares an interest form on its website for people and organizations to host performances. Dates are selected based on the host’s availability. The first eight shows attracted 20-50 people in the audience.

“Prisontown” includes perspectives from inmates, employees and residents. Each performance is followed by discussions with social justice organizations El Refugio, American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta.

“The audience is my partner, so there’s no separation or dark theater audience members can hide in,” Osorio said. “The play is about witnessing, seeing people and sitting with them with no distractions. You’re looking at me, I’m looking at you, and we’re going on this journey together.”

Credit: Naya West

Credit: Naya West

Atlanta residents Marti Breen and Cal Crutchfield hosted “Prisontown” at their home in Morningside on Feb. 8, the same night as the Super Bowl. She said the play and post-discussion were engaging and thought-provoking.

“We were all blown away by how Lee weaved the stories of those held at Stewart with visitors, advocates, wardens and guards,” Breen said.

Clare Schexnyder had Osorio’s play in her Lenox Place home on Jan. 31. She said “Prisontown” is a call to action.

“It’s a great, creative way to talk with your neighbors about hard stuff. I’ve witnessed friendships made and advocacy efforts start between people who met in my living room,” Schexnyder said.

Osorio spent a year commuting from Atlanta to Lumpkin to conduct interviews at the detention center. He worked with El Refugio, a nonprofit organization that provides support to families of detained immigrants, to get access to the detention center.

Osorio, who’s gay and Venezuelan, took another year to write the play. He workshopped it at Alliance Theatre in 2019.

He wanted to show how prisons affect more than inmates.

“It exposes how we’re all trapped in a system. You see how it can corrode someone’s humanity, and my job as an artist is to try, understand and get us to see. Once you see it, then you can start to solve the problem,” Osorio said.

Osorio eliminated five characters from the script after his peers suggested he pull from his life experiences. “I kept getting feedback about making it more personal,” he said.

In 2024, “Prisontown” made its world premiere at Savannah Rep and was featured at the Eugene O’Neill Festival the following year.

Credit: Malcolm Tully

Credit: Malcolm Tully

Osorio, who appeared on television shows “The Resident,” “Your Honor” and “Found,” said he prefers participating in socially conscious theater.

“As an actor, I don’t always get to decide which stories I get to tell with my body and energy. I started writing because I got tired of doing projects that I felt weren’t changing the world, comforting the comfortable rather than challenging the comfortable,” he said.

“Prisontown” arrives at a time of increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and continued cuts to arts funding.

“Telling stories has always been rooted in trying to point toward a better, just world that has more love than hate, witnessing and walking with people. We have to keep talking about these things, because the minute we try to stick our heads in the sand, that’s when all this stuff bubbles up even more ferociously.”

Osorio’s next play, “Our Confederate Dead,” explores some of his family members’ support of President Donald Trump. It has its first reading at Alliance Theatre in May.

IF YOU GO

“Prisontown.” Through April 5. $23-$33. Check website for location, dates and times. outofhandtheater.com.