In a maximum-security prison in New York state, a group of inmates sit in a circle and close their eyes, invited by their acting teacher, Brent, to think of their “perfect spot”. Sean “Dino” Johnson recalls working in the sun mowing the lawn, and then lying down in the freshly cut grass, the smell of it, and his dog coming over to lick his face. Camillo “Carmine” LoVacco describes a picnic he took with his late wife in June 1972, where they sat beside the lake in Prospect Park drinking Manhattan Specials and he told her he loved her for the first time. Once each prisoner has said his piece, Brent says: “I think you guys are becoming actors.”
It is a funny, knowing line. In reality, these men already are actors. Save for Brent, a scrawny man with great gravity (Paul Raci), and two others, the leading cast of Sing Sing are former inmates, alumni of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) programme, playing themselves. The scene is a re-creation of an improv exercise undertaken on the inside.
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