The Important Podcast - Ep 5 From Prisoner to Actor to Helping At Risk Youth - Dameion Brown

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, you will meet Dameion Brown. At age 24, Dameion went to prison. He was expected to get out in 5-7 years. It took 23 years. Near the end of his time in prison, Dameion took a Shakespearian acting class that would set him on the path of becoming an actor. After leaving prison, Dameion would play the lead role in Marin Shakespeare’s Othello and win several awards as a professional actor in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to working as an actor on stage and on screen, Dameion’s mission is to “drain prisons of the lifeblood that feeds them.” A leader in the community, Dameion helps children at two juvenile prison facilities in Stockton California. In this episode you will hear Dameion’s story and the lessons he’s learned along the way: from his arrival at San Quentin prison to the present where he is a professional actor, storyteller, teacher and mentor who serves others.In this Episode, You Will LearnDameion’s lesson from his first day at San Quentin PrisonHow survival depends upon paying attention and being present in prisonPrison group dynamicsHow Dameion was reluctant to commit to the Shakespeare class in prison, but would end up seeing it throughWhat it’s like to learn to act in Shakespeare plays in prisonHow Dameion went from prisoner to being a professional actorHow Dameion relates to the character OthelloDameion’s favorite play by ShakespeareDameion’s philosophy of loving fully with an open heartDameion’s mission to “drain prisons of the lifeblood that feeds them” and how he works with children in juvenile prisons in Stockton CaliforniaLinks and ResourcesKALW local public radio interview - insights on Prison Shakespeare Programs from Dameion BrownArtist in Residence 2019 Dameion BrownCommon Wealth Club Speech - Dameion Brown - July 2019The Box by Sarah ShourdUbuntu TheaterOthelloMerchant of VeniceMidsummer Night’s DreamStan RothNick ThurstonLisa Keating PhotographyN.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility (aka ‘Chad’)Prison Population by Gender - 92.9% men and 7.1% womenThe Prison System Compared to the US Population - ...the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. A higher percentage of the population is involved in the criminal justice system in the USA than any other developed country.Support the show