On February 18th, the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities presented Paul Dresher’s “A Picture Screen Stands in Solitude.” This musical composition is based on an essay written by a prisoner at the San Quentin Prison. The event included a performance of the piece, a conversation between Paul Dresher and Nigel Poor (the prison teaching artist), a second performance of the piece, and a talkback.

I was honored to be the Production Assistant on this very special event. We had a very quick two day load-in, tech, and performance – I was sorry to see this project go. It was an absolute pleasure to work on and as an artist with a focus in community engagement, this project really touched me. I’ve included a video of the performance at a different location for reference.

A Picture Screen Stands in Solitude – Paul Dresher. Text by Michael Nelson, with special thanks to Nigel Poor. Video property of Paul Dresher.