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The Maroon Page 14 May 1997/ Rhythm of the Cage by andrew mccaskill contributing writer rue to its six minute ticket sellout, Spelman College's drama department production of Kia Corthron's Cage Rhythm was an awesome show. Seated directly in front of bars, the ex tremely intimate setting of the Maya Angelou Practice Theatre provided an up close, and at times, too personal view into the lives of some very complex women. The story centers around the rugged love-hate affair between two prison in mates, Avery (Kimberly Bailey), a woman who escapes mentally to live, and T.J. (Rowkeena Ellis), a woman who lives to physically escape. Surprisingly, in an hour and twenty minutes, Cage Rhythm manages to give a raw and gritty glimpse of the thousands of im prisoned women these characters rep resent. The outstandingly unbelievable supporting cast consists of Montana, an aged, life prisoner from Mississippi; Joy Ann, a woman lost in rhymes and in sanity; and Esperanza, a Latino AIDS victim. With less than a year to serve, Avery, a recovering heroin addict and falsely accused child abuser, gets a new cell mate. T.J., a former Black Panther and open lesbian, has been transferred to serve the remainder of her life sentence. In jail for the haphazard death of a white cop, she finds little favor with correc tions officers and spends much of her time in solitary. Avery receives equally harsh treatment from her fellow prison ers. It does not take time before the two women, although different in numerous ways, become fast friends and even faster lovers. T.J. enrolls in Montana's cosmetol ogy classes as a cover to get close to the only escape route in the facility. Mean while, much to the disbelief of everyone else, Avery has learned to master a medi tation technique that allows her to roam freely in the outside world. Who are these women? Are they kill ers, thieves, junkies, psychotics, and HIV carriers? Well...yes, but Cage Rhythm illustrates them as much more — mothers, sisters, teachers, intellects, friends, and lovers. Avery and T.J.'s interactions with prisoners, guards, and each other are so bold and crude that often the audi ence does not want to be there. Watching audience reactions is almost as in teresting as watching the actors themselves, most especially when T.J. and Avery's love-hate relation ship begins to press keenly toward love. The production is an abrasive depiction of life inside the walls of a women's prison. From the physically violent wars between the soap opera sects and the game show enthusiasts to the unfathomably high value i: of toothpaste and candy /MTU bars, it is consistently en lightening and entertaining. The audi ence sees firsthand how some women live and die, live and love, live in fear, and live in madness, but without a doubt — live in tune with the rlrythm of the cage.