Unit 5: Vocabulary from Readings 5

This list covers "Kentucky Inmates Turned Actors Explore Selves Through Shakespeare Play."
13 words 23 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. foray
    an initial attempt
    For some, the nine months they spent preparing marked their first foray into acting.
  2. convert
    change the nature, purpose, or function of something
    Their stage is converted from a chapel within the razor wire-ringed state prison near La Grange.
  3. ostracize
    expel from a community or group
    Ostracized because of his religion, Shylock tries to exact revenge upon a hateful rival who comes to him for a loan, demanding that he wager his life against the loan.
  4. discrimination
    unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
    "It deals with race. It deals with discrimination. It deals with gambling, debt, cutting people. It deals with it all,” Tim Jett, an inmate serving as assistant director, said in an interview during early rehearsal.
  5. defer
    hold back to a later time
    But Jett thought otherwise, and decided to write a letter asking Secretary of Justice and Public Safety J. Michael Brown to defer his release for 60 days so he could stay until the end of the show.
  6. sponsor
    someone who supports or champions something
    "The only thing they get for being in this is the satisfaction of completing something,” said Josh Lewis, a classification and treatment officer who is the program’s sponsor.
  7. confide
    reveal in private
    But the cast and crew eventually formed a bond that turned the gatherings into a mix of theater work and group therapy. Although many of them have trusted few people in their lives, they increasingly confided in each other.
  8. parole
    a conditional release from imprisonment
    Guenther is one of the more experienced actors in the group, having played Hamlet in a previous performance, but took a minor role this season because of a parole hearing in February.
  9. botch
    make a mess of, destroy, or ruin
    He hoped to be released after 25 years of a 45-year sentence for killing an undercover Shively police officer during a botched drug deal.
  10. instance
    an occurrence of something
    As the season progressed, inmates dug deeper into their own lives through their characters, in some instances making peace with a past they’d rather forget.
  11. recklessness
    the trait of acting without caution
    The recklessness reached critical mass on March 22, 1989, when Vaughn was involved in the death of a Louisville woman he met at a night club.
  12. critical mass
    the minimum amount required to start or maintain a venture
    The recklessness reached critical mass on March 22, 1989, when Vaughn was involved in the death of a Louisville woman he met at a night club.
  13. contemplate
    think intently and at length, as for spiritual purposes
    In prison and through Shakespeare, Vaughn said he has had time to contemplate mercy, and how it offers something to aspire toward.
Created on Tue Jan 12 09:52:26 EST 2021 (updated Wed Jan 13 13:22:03 EST 2021)

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