SIP Team

Shakespeare in Prison￨Team

We can hardly believe it, but here we are: celebrating FOURTEEN YEARS of Shakespeare in Prison!

On February 7, 2012, SIP was founded by a small ensemble at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. We’ve come a long way since that cold February day when one woman walked in and asked, “What is Shakespeare?” We’ve been figuring it out together ever since—not only with nearly 300 people in prison, but beyond the barbed wire fence with SIP alums in our post-release program.

… if you’d like to join the celebration with a (tax deductible!) 14th Birthday gift!

Leadership

Sophia Esch

Director of Shakespeare in Prison

Sophia Esch, new Director of Shakespeare in Prison, is thrilled to step into this leadership role while continuing SIP’s mission of ensemble-based, transformative theatre work. A Michigan-based theatre artist, educator, and arts manager, Sophia has worked extensively in applied theatre, community engagement, and arts administration across Southeast Michigan.

Sophia holds a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Oakland University and is currently pursuing her MFA in Theatre Management at Wayne State University. She also serves as a Graduate Research Assistant with Wayne State University’s Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre & Dance, where she designs marketing and community engagement initiatives for mainstage productions. Her work is grounded in the belief that theatre can foster empathy, healing, and meaningful pathways for personal and collective change.

Facilitators

Kyle Fisher-Grant

Facilitator

Kyle studied acting and directing at the Liverpool Institute for Kyle Fisher-Grant graduated from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in Liverpool, England, where he holds a BA (Honors) in Acting. He then moved to NYC where he directed with the Red Door Theatre and Playlab NYC. Since moving back to Michigan he has worked as an actor and director with Waterworks Theatre in Royal Oak, Shakespeare in Detroit, Shakespeare in Prison program with DPT, and started the Livonia Shakespeare in the Park. He additionally holds a Masters in Urban Education from the University of Michigan Flint, and has worked as a high school mathematics teacher in Detroit and Ypsilanti.

Mari Davis

Facilitator

Mari is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied Sociology and Ethnic Studies with a focus on law, justice, and social change. During her time at U-M, she wrote and assistant-directed a full-length musical, deepening her interest in performance and community building. She is passionate about using creativity, art, and joy as tools for profound and lasting social transformation. Looking ahead, she hopes to build a career centered on justice, restorative healing, and community-based arts!

Sam Aupperlee

Facilitator

Sam Aupperlee is an applied artist and theatre educator from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have been able to work with Shakespeare in Prison for the past two years and recently developed SiP’s new signature summer program focused on creative writing. Outside of their work with SiP, Sam is a playwright whose work has been seen on various Michigan stages, as well as the director of the General Baker Institute Theatre Troupe director.

Stefania Antonescu

Facilitator

Stefania Antonescu is a Romanian-born applied theatre practitioner, facilitator, and former actress with experience leading theatre workshops in prisons across Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where her studies focused on applied theatre and the criminal justice system. Her practice draws on forum theatre, improvisation, storytelling, and Shakespeare-based performance. Stefania has acted in Shakespeare productions and has also helped co-direct Shakespeare plays, bringing both performance experience and collaborative leadership to her work. She is passionate about using theatre as a tool for connection, raising awareness, inspiring change, and supporting meaningful community engagement.

Alumni Advisory Council

Program Support

Chuk Nowak

Official S.I.P. Photographer

Chuk Nowak is a Detroit/Ann Arbor-based photographer who considers himself “the most insider theatre outsider,” bringing a uniquely acquired visual language to promoting and documenting stage productions. Chuk is humbled to be the eyes into the process of SiP, providing a document for the rest of us of the work being done. ALL of the photos on this page are by Chuk, many more of his SIP photos can be found by clicking here, and you can see lots of his other wonderful work by clicking here!

Kyle Stefek

Kyle is currently serving in his eighth season on the development team with Detroit Public Theatre and is a former facilitator with Shakespeare in Prison. Previously, he worked with the Ann Arbor Film Festival in operations and community programs and with Millennium Media in project development. Outside of the arts, Kyle organizes community efforts to combat food insecurity and works with queer youth to develop skills around self-advocacy and healthy relationships.

Matthew Van Meter

Matthew Van Meter, an author and educator, was a part of Shakespeare in Prison from 2013-2023. He is Chair of the Academic Research Program at University Liggett School and Director of the Liggett Shakespeare Project. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic and The New Republic, and his first book, Deep Delta Justice: A Black Teen, His Lawyer, and Their Groundbreaking Battle for Civil Rights in the South, was nominated for the Chautauqua Prize in 2021.

Many, many thanks to past facilitators Elizabeth Barnes, Catherine Coffey, Alastar Dimitrie, Ciara Garrett, Assata Haki, Bethany Hedden, Gaia Klotz, Janai Lashon, Dominique Lowell, Hannah Manela, Clearie McCarthy, Molly McGuire, Emma Rodgers, Vanessa Sawson, Frannie Shephard-Bates, Maria Tejada, Jamie Weeder, Sarah Winkler, and Emily Wilson-Tobin. Your passion, hard work, and dedication have been vital as the program has grown.

Thanks to Ashley Lucas of Prison Creative Arts Project, Niels Herold of Oakland University, and Curt Tofteland of Shakespeare Behind Bars for the endless advice, support, friendship, and inspiration.

Thanks to all of the staff in the Michigan Department of Corrections for the incredible support that enables us to keep doing this work.

And, most of all, thank you to all of the people—those who are still behind bars, and those who are not—who have made this program what it is. We’ve shown up with books, ideas, and enthusiasm. All of the truly hard work has been yours.

Thank you for the opportunity to work alongside you.

But wait… There’s more!

SIP History

Wondering what we’ve been up to since our founding in February 2012? Well, lucky you—we made a timeline with all the major milestones.

Donate To SIP

Your support is crucial as we continue our work in prisons, and with SIP alumni post-release through Shakespeare Reclaimed.

Inside SIP

If you’re looking for photos, videos, the blog, and activity packs—this is the page for you!

Detroit Public Theatre is deeply grateful to these past and current Corporate, Foundation, and Government funders for their generous support of Shakespeare in Prison.