Search About Newsletters Donate
Donate today. Double your impact.

Through December 31, Marshall Project board member Abby Pucker is matching all donations, dollar for dollar, up to $75,000. Double your donation and receive a special thank-you gift by making your gift today.

Julia Steele Allen in “Mariposa and the Saint.”
News

Watch a Video From “Mariposa and the Saint,” a New Play About Solitary Confinement

The work is based on years of letters between Julia Steele Allen and Sara Fonseca.

Activist and performance artist Julia Steele Allen met Sara Fonseca in a California prison and corresponded with her for years while Fonseca— who goes by the nickname “Mariposa” — was living in solitary confinement. Their letters became “Mariposa and the Saint,” a play now on national tour.

The play has been performed dozens of times and is scheduled to be shown soon in Texas, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Policy-makers have also taken notice: In November, Allen performed the piece at the 2015 Ninth Circuit Corrections Summit, a conference of federal judges, wardens and prison officials. The show has performances scheduled at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, considered the birthplace of solitary, and in front of elected officials and staffers in the New York State Legislature.

This is the first time video of the play has been made public.

Fonseca was sentenced to 15 months in solitary confinement after she was found in possession of tweezers, considered a weapon by prison officials. She then served additional time in solitary — more than two years all together. Fonseca is still incarcerated and is now in a psych unit.

Through Mariposa’s story, the play advocates for an end to solitary confinement. It has inspired hundreds of petition signatures, letters to elected officials, and calls to wardens. Audience members are also encouraged to write to Mariposa with pre-addressed postcards handed out at the end of the show, and Allen said she now receives one or two postcards a day.

“When we started working on it, it was really just about helping her keep her sanity,” Allen said. “I don’t think we ever imagined it would get to this place.”

An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled the name of the play's main subject. It is Sara Fonseca, not Fonesca.

This is not a paywall.

We’ll never put our work behind a paywall, and we’ll never put a limit on the number of articles you can read. Our ability to take on big, groundbreaking investigations — the kind that can lead to real impact — doesn’t depend on advertisers or corporate owners. It depends on people like you. Our independence is our strength, and your donation makes us stronger.

When you donate by December 31, your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar, by Marshall Project board member Abby Pucker. As a special thank-you gift, we'll also send you one of our exclusive Marshall Project tote bags.

Donate