My Big Secret: Parental Incarceration and Children’s Wellbeing

On October 17, the Embassy of Sweden and Imagination Stage will host a theater performance and panel discussion about the effects of parental incarceration on children’s wellbeing, how to reduce barriers to family connections for those in prison, and the ways that art can be used to support children of incarcerated parents – all within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The event will begin with a theater performance by the Swedish theater company Gyllene Draken, featuring excerpts from the play My Big Secret about a young girl whose father is in prison. The play, written by Lucas Svensson and directed by Michael Cocke, is based on actor Aja Rodas’s childhood experience growing up with an incarcerated parent, and the feelings of guilt and loneliness it caused. A panel discussion will follow, featuring speakers from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Gyllene Draken Sweden, Solrosen Sweden, and Imagination Stage Theatre for Change.