Hamilton native Jonathan Shailor said the prisoners he taught at Racine Correctional Institution in Wisconsin were in some ways like any group of college students he teaches.
But in one particular way, they were unlike any other class he has ever taught.
"There was a deep sense of need always from the men -- even if they had trouble focusing, or trouble getting along -- they deeply needed me to come to class," said Shailor, 54. "It was a real escape for them, in a good way."
Shailor, a professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, said he used drama exercises in the class "to help men resolve conflict in their lives."
Between 15 and 20 prisoners, whose offenses ranged from drug charges and parole violations to homicide and sexual assault, attended twice a week.
In 2004, the class evolved into a production of a single play by Shakespeare, "King Lear."
It was a project Shailor had been considering after he re-discovered his love of Shakespeare by appearing in a production of "The Tempest" with his brother Christopher's company in Topsfield, The Sleepy Lion Theatre.
In addition, he spoke to a woman, Agnes Wilcox, who had done a Shakespeare production with prisoners in Missouri and encouraged him to try it.
For nine months, Shailor's class at Racine was involved in all aspects of production, in addition to studying the play and learning their parts.
They eventually held eight performances in the prison gym, which were attended by 100 prisoners each night and 50 members of the public, including prisoners' family members.
Shailor chose "King Lear" for the men because he "personally found it so enthralling," and also because it made a natural point of departure for addressing conflict.
"One of the things it's about is family conflict," he said. "This family's falling apart."
Lessons learned from the process of putting on the play, in addition to discussing its messages, also made the experience a valuable vehicle for instruction.
"I think it gave the men the opportunity to be their better selves," Shailor said. "They could express a range of their humanity, exercise imagination, build self-confidence. It allowed them to work with others on a creative project where they were responsible -- and accountable."
Where most actors find the payoff to performing is an audience's reaction, for Shailor's students at Racine there were bigger stakes involved.
Participating in the Shakespeare project, Shailor believes, provided inmates with the social, problem-solving and team-building skills they will need to get a handle on the job market.
"There's a big emphasis in corrections on re-entry," he said. "Getting that first job is rough" for former convicts, he said.
After performing "Lear," the project continued for three more years with productions of "Othello," "The Tempest" and "Julius Caesar."
The prisoners ranged in age from 19 to 60, and came from a wide mix of ethnic and educational backgrounds. Some of them participated in all four productions while they were incarcerated at medium-security Racine.
They kept journals as part of the class, and Shailor drew on their entries in writing a book about the project.
The prisoners' journals reflect on "the meaning of the text, which character they felt they were most like, and they question characters' choices," Shailor said. It's his second book on the topic of theater and corrections.
A prisoner who appeared in all four of the Shakespeare plays at Racine, Megale Taylor, attended one of Shailor's book appearances to describe the boost in self-confidence he gained from the experience.
"Now he's out of prison taking college classes," Shailor said. "You could say he's succeeded and doing well."
Shailor is establishing a website connected to his book on the Shakespeare project, which will be published later this year.