IN Series Concludes PASSION PLAYS Festival With For Women Serving Time

Their third production in as many weeks, IN Series’ For Women Serving Time is an excellent meditation on women in prison. It belongs in this group of Passion plays because a Passion itself is suffering and prison is certainly suffering, so they relate in that way. But even more than that, and beyond the Passion theme of the festival, this opera speaks to any woman who has been pushed to their limit and feels unwanted, trapped, or isolated.
Performed at Dupont Underground, as with the other works in the festival, set designer Josh Sticklin created the world of a prison using metal scaffolding. This ended up becoming as much a part of the music as the other instruments, with the women sometimes pounding on the ceiling or making noise with chairs. They even played what looked like the game “musical chairs” at one point as part of the staging. It was a privilege to hear the composer of the piece, Adrienne Torf, on the piano, too, and one hopes she enjoyed the experience from her vantage point at least as much as the audience did. Torf is clearly an extremely creative composer, from the instrumentation to the way she used four-part harmony after Judy Yannini’s escape attempt, for example, to make the audience feel how prison is never quiet, to the use of breathing and whispering as vocal effects, including at the end, with a final, audible and dramatic exhale before the blackout.
The chairs also served to set the scene of group therapy sessions. Among the discussions the women have, one of the most poignant was the one about the difference in education being available to prisoners in men’s prisons versus women’s. It spoke to their desire for survival. Despite their circumstances, the women are trying to better themselves by taking courses, going to therapy, and talking.
Carly Ozard as the warden of the prison was the bedrock of the show. She returns several times to the same line: “Tonight’s show is for women serving time, but time does not serve them.” The audience understands this from the beginning, and by the end its meaning gets clarified further. Ultimately, it seems to mean that the women are trying to make the most of their time in prison, but it ends up being a Sisyphean effort.
Ozard’s muscal-theatre-esque vocal delivery was great, as were her reactions throughout the show. She was moved by what she hears of the women’s stories and their humanity, such as in her beautiful duet with Melissa Wimbish. Wimbish’s presence onstage in general conveys strength, but in this show, and especially in this moment, she showed tremendous vulnerability as her character sang about her drug addiction and her children. She also had a haunting bit about spending time in isolation.
In truth the entire cast was incredible. They were so cohesive and some of the best voices I’ve yet heard together. There were several moments where they got to sing in harmony, and it left me wanting more, such as when they sang “You are beautiful,” eliciting a feeling of positivity despite the women’s trials and tribulations. Elizabeth Mondragon and Shana Oshiro were radiant as always, and I loved the clarity of both tone and diction in Louisa Waycott’s voice. Judy Yannini got what amounted to an epic aria moment in the aforementioned escape attempt scene. Not only did she get to stand on the warden’s desk, but she got to throw papers everywhere ala Magda Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul.
Of the three works presented in this festival, this one ended up being my favorite. With memorable music, top-notch singing and acting, effective staging and lighting and set design, For Women Serving Time is a gem of a one-act opera. Props to Artistic Director Timothy Nelson for his tireless work planning and preparing this season and especially this triple-threat treat of a festival, the composer for creating something great, and the performers for executing her score so flawlessly. I look forward to seeing this entire cast in more productions around the area.
Maggie Ramsey
For Women Serving Time
Music by Adrienne Torf
Text by Fatemeh Keshavarz
Cast and Production Staff:
Elizabeth Mondragon; Shana Oshiro; Carly Ozard; Louisa Waycott; Melissa Wimbish; Judy Yannini
Piano – Adrienne Torf; Percussion – Michael Barranco; Trumpet – Josh Carr; Flute – Carrie Rose; Cello – Maxfield Wollam-Fisher
Director – Timothy Nelson; Musical Director – Adrienne Torf; Lighting Designer – Trinity Joseph; Costume Designer – Rakell Foye; Set Designer – Josh Sticklin; Stage Manager & Lightboard Operator – Mikayla Talbert
Dupont Underground, Washington, D.C., March 22, 2026
Top image: Carly Ozard
All photos by Bayou Elom

Facts Only

IN Series produced For Women Serving Time as part of a Passion play festival.
The opera was performed at Dupont Underground in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2026.
The production was directed by Timothy Nelson, with music composed by Adrienne Torf.
The cast included Elizabeth Mondragon, Shana Oshiro, Carly Ozard, Louisa Waycott, Melissa Wimbish, and Judy Yannini.
The set design by Josh Sticklin used metal scaffolding to create a prison environment.
The scaffolding was incorporated into the music, with performers using it percussively.
Adrienne Torf performed on piano during the production.
The opera explores themes of suffering, isolation, and systemic inequality in women’s prisons.
Carly Ozard played the warden and delivered the recurring line, “Tonight’s show is for women serving time, but time does not serve them.”
Melissa Wimbish’s character sang about drug addiction and her children.
Judy Yannini’s character had an escape attempt scene featuring a vocal aria.
The production was praised for its music, performances, staging, and lighting.
The festival included three works, with For Women Serving Time being the reviewer’s favorite.

Executive Summary

For Women Serving Time, presented by IN Series at Dupont Underground in Washington, D.C., is a one-act opera exploring the experiences of incarcerated women. Part of a festival of Passion plays, the production uses music and staging to depict the suffering and resilience of women in prison. The set design, featuring metal scaffolding, doubles as a percussive instrument, integrating the physical environment into the performance. Composer Adrienne Torf’s score incorporates unconventional vocal effects, such as breathing and whispering, to evoke the oppressive atmosphere of prison life. The narrative highlights themes of isolation, systemic inequality—particularly in educational access—and the futile struggle for self-improvement within a punitive system. Standout performances include Carly Ozard as the warden, whose recurring line underscores the Sisyphean nature of the women’s efforts, and Melissa Wimbish, whose vulnerable portrayal of addiction and maternal loss resonates deeply. The ensemble’s cohesive singing and acting, combined with effective staging and lighting, make this production a standout in the festival. The creative team, led by Artistic Director Timothy Nelson, delivers a compelling and emotionally charged work that challenges audiences to reflect on the human cost of incarceration.

Full Take

This opera’s strength lies in its ability to humanize incarcerated women while critiquing systemic failures, a narrative that aligns with broader movements for prison reform. The production’s use of the physical set as an instrument—rather than mere scenery—reinforces the inescapability of the prison environment, a clever artistic choice that deepens the audience’s immersion. The recurring line about time not serving the women is a powerful distillation of the Sisyphean struggle faced by incarcerated individuals, particularly women who often lack access to educational and rehabilitative resources. The emotional weight of the performance is undeniable, but it’s worth asking whether the opera risks reinforcing a singular narrative of victimhood without sufficient exploration of agency or resistance within the system. The focus on suffering, while important, could benefit from counterpoints that highlight resilience or collective action among incarcerated women.
The production’s framing as part of a Passion play festival is intriguing, as it draws parallels between religious suffering and systemic oppression. This could be seen as a way to elevate the women’s stories to a universal, almost sacred, level of significance. However, it also raises questions about whether such a comparison might inadvertently dilute the specificity of their experiences or imply a passive acceptance of suffering rather than a call for structural change.
Patterns detected: none
Root cause: The narrative is driven by a paradigm that views incarceration as inherently dehumanizing, particularly for women, and seeks to expose the emotional and systemic toll of prison life. It assumes that audiences will respond empathetically to stories of suffering, which may or may not translate into broader advocacy for reform.
Implications: For audiences, this opera could foster greater empathy for incarcerated women and spark conversations about prison conditions and reform. However, without additional context or calls to action, it may also leave viewers feeling helpless rather than empowered to engage with the issue.
Bridge questions: How might this narrative shift if it included stories of women who have successfully reintegrated into society post-incarceration? What role does art play in advocating for systemic change versus simply bearing witness to injustice? Would a more explicit critique of the prison-industrial complex strengthen or detract from the emotional impact of the performance?
Counterstrike scan: A bad actor seeking to manipulate this narrative might amplify the emotional suffering to provoke outrage without offering constructive solutions, or they might frame the opera as an indictment of all criminal justice systems without nuance. However, the actual content does not match this pattern; it presents a thoughtful, artistically driven exploration of a complex issue without resorting to manipulation or oversimplification.