Arts & Entertainment

A new life

The Graduates, a group of formerly incarcerated women, perform at CAC |

by Will Coviello

IVY MATHIS WAS SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE AT THE LOUISIANA CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTE FOR

WOMEN when she met Ausettua AmorAmenkum in the prison’s drama club. AmorAmenkum and ArtSpot Productions founder Kathy Randels have been going to LCIW for more than 20 years, engaging women in the drama club to tell their stories through monologues, dance, movement and more.

“After so many years of dancing and performing with the drama club, Ausettua told me, ‘You’re gonna dance your way clean up out of prison,’ ” Mathis says. “For me, those were words that I believed, but it was hard to believe that when you are in a hopeless situation — because in Louisiana, life means life, and that means until you die.”

It wasn’t easy or quick. Mathis went to prison at the age of 17 for second degree murder for a shooting in 1992 in Monroe, Louisiana. She served more than 26 years before she was released following a 2017 Supreme Court decision about the unconstitutionality of life sentences for juvenile offenders. For the past two years, she’s been an organizer in the Baton Rouge chapter of Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), a nonprofit group that works to restore civil rights to formerly incarcerated people.

In prison, Mathis earned a GED, joined Toastmasters International, a public speaking group, worked with the drama group and took other leadership roles. When she was released, she joined The Graduates, a group of formerly incarcerated women who continued the work of the drama club. Using the devices of theater, they tell their personal stories and call attention to women still in prison, their treatment and what it’s like to re-enter what they call the free world.

The Graduates participated in a residency at the Contemporary Arts Center last year, and they have two presentations this week. “Life” is built around a quilt with panels sewn by Mardi Gras Indians that featured the names of 107 women serving life sentences when it was made in 2017. It’s at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8. “Sacred Journey” features members of The Graduates and other formerly incarcerated women telling their stories. It’s at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9.

Mathis’ name was on the quilt, along with several women who were later released. She was the youngest woman serving a life sentence in Louisiana when she entered jail. She says she grew up in prison, and she credits many of the women who reached out to help her. One of them was Gloria Williams, better known as Mama Glo, who was released in January 2022 following 52 years of a life sentence. Williams now lives in Houston with family. Terms of her parole required her to leave Louisiana, but she will participate in the “Life” program on Friday via Zoom.

In prison, Williams mentored many women and helped them recognize and address unresolved trauma. She and other women who had served long terms helped guide Mathis.

“They told me how to protect myself, about what to get involved in, what not to get involved in, people to stay away from.” Mathis says. “They became like mother figures to me.”

The drama group was one of the outlets Mathis pursued.

“We danced and did productions inside the prison,” says AmorAmenkum, who is a Mardi Gras Indian queen and the leader of Kumbuka African Dance & Drum Collective. “But the work was so much bigger than that. It’s a perfect example of how art can be used for education, revelation, revolution, evolution and healing. Most of those pieces were based on their personal experiences — this is sacred.”

The Graduates drew interest in work that developed around “The Life Quilt” project. They performed in New York at the Ford Foundation and elsewhere just before the pandemic shutdowns. It’s also been presented at Tulane University. Other Graduates members performing in “Life” include Taece Defillo, Carry Emerson and Fox Rich.

“That performance in New York was me dancing and telling my story,” Mathis says. “Sometimes I tell a story through song. I always start with when I went to prison, how long I served, when I came home — what those experiences were and how I ended up walking into my purpose and where I am today.”

When Mathis was released, she could not go live with her mother, because her mother lived in public housing, which prohibits residence by some felons. She was fortunate to get help finding a job and her first apartment. Now, she is a homeowner, and she brought her mother to live with her. Mathis recently was appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards to the state Council on the Children of Incarcerated Parents and Caregivers.

But as the “Sacred Journey” program will address, returning to the free world isn’t easy.

“A lot of times, when we come home, there are no outlets for us to heal,” Mathis says. “Or even cope with the challenges of the strange norms of society — and wanting to not feel so alienated. But being among a group of women who understood each other, learned about each other, their experiences, supporting each other, being able to vent and grow together — it was one of the most beautiful experiences I have had since I came home. Wherever they are at in their life, they’re going to talk about it. I am an open book.” For information on The Graduates shows, visit cacno.org. For information on The Graduates, visit graduatesrising.org.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE GRADUATES

Zydeco & Seafood Extravaganza

FAUBOURG BREWERY HOSTS TWO

DAYS OF LIVE MUSIC AND FOOD on the great lawn of its home in New Orleans East. The music lineup features Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours, Curley Taylor, RJ & Kreole Smoove and more. Food vendors include NOLA Crawfish King, Peewee’s Crabcakes, Buggin’ Out Boils and more. There also are games and outdoor beer stands around the grounds. Music is from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10. Visit faubourgbrewery.com for details.

The Mavericks

FOR THREE DECADES, THE MAVERICKS

WRANGLED THEIR OWN BRAND of country and rock by way of Miami, led by Cuban-American crooner Raul Malo. The band released its first album in Spanish just after the pandemic began. The Mavericks are back in the saddle again, performing at Civic Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday, April 8. Find tickets via civicnola.com.

PHOTO BY DAVID MCCLISTER

Super Sunday Downtown

MARDI GRAS INDIANS GATHER TO

SHOW OFF THIS YEAR’S SUITS on Bayou St. John for Super Sunday Downtown on Sunday, April 10. The Indians will march down Orleans Avenue to North Broad Street and St. Bernard Avenue. The event starts at 1 p.m.

Bon Iver

IN EARLY 2020, BON IVER HAD

PLANNED A SMALL TOUR of a collaborative performance with TU Dance, including a stop in New Orleans. But after sexual harassment allegations against TU Dance’s co-founder came to light, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon quickly