Baltimore Center Stage is teaming up with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services to introduce the Juvenile Justice Theater program. The program, which kicked off in October 2024 and ran through April 2025 at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, aims to help incarcerated youth share their stories through various creative activities. Teaching artists engaged with the young men at the detention center on a weekly basis, using improv games, story prompts, and reflection questions to encourage them to express themselves.
The lead teaching artist, Erin Margaret Pettigrew, emphasized the importance of allowing the young men to speak for themselves. She mentioned, “Not really sure why this matters, but oftentimes we will be in a place where people will speak for us, on behalf of us or assume things about us. But there is nothing more true and more honest than when somebody is able to speak about who they are from their own agency with confidence and clarity.” The program was initiated by the Center Stage Artistic Director Stevie Walker-Webb, who wanted to extend arts education to youth who may not have the opportunity to visit the theater in person. Another lead teaching artist, Hope Jamila Hayson, highlighted the primary goal of helping the young men in detention to let loose and have fun. She said, “Maybe it’s just me, but one goal at the very core is to have fun. These young men are in a situation where they have to hold that youthfulness inside and not let it out. Theater is supposed to be fun and actually open that up.”
