Neil Marshall stands under the fluorescent lights of the gymnasium at Long Creek Youth Development Center. The 18-year-old resident of the prison for juvenile offenders is on a makeshift stage consisting of four standing dividers that act as a backdrop. The only stage prop is a stack of covered gym mats.

Marshall holds in one hand a Shakespearean script he helped adapt for the stage at Long Creek. He wears a pair of jeans and a red button-down shirt, a welcome change from the tan pants and gray shirts residents of Long Creek are required to wear every day.

“This is the story of how a great man can be brought down by an evil man,” Marshall begins. “This is a play about lies and how they can truly mess you up. A play about making the wrong choices, believing the wrong people.” Marshall motions with his free hand as he speaks. He briefly looks up at the small audience sitting on bleachers along one wall.

“It’s a play that makes you think about how much courage it takes to know yourself enough to know right from wrong.”

When Marshall helped write the narrator’s part for this adaptation of “Othello” it was important to him to contrast the original language of Shakespeare with the language of his generation. So the narrator’s part is spoken with modern slang, while the rest of the production still uses the original language of Shakespeare. During his narration Marshall even lends a rhythm to it that is reminiscent of the hip-hop music he listens to.

“Kids will get the story because it’s in our language,” Marshall said, “but, they’ll still get a bit of the Shakespeare out of it.”

The opportunity for these teenagers to participate in theater at Long Creek is made possible by the Winter Harbor Theatre Company, which Artistic Director Caitlin Shetterly formed a few years ago when she arrived in Portland from New York City.

Shetterly secures funding from the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Humanities Council to give the teenage residents access to acting, something they wouldn’t otherwise have. Shetterly calls these teenagers “America’s forgotten children” and said they are amazing.

“All their pores and senses are open,” she said. “They see stuff in these plays I’ve never seen. They open my eyes.” Plus, memorizing Shakespeare gives the teenagers a real sense of pride, she said.

This performance of “Othello,” which took place July 28, is not the first production Shetterly has done at Long Creek and many of the residents, including Marshall and 19-year-old Abdurahim Sharif, have been involved in past productions at the facility.

“Any preconceptions you have about juvenile offenders go right out the window,” said Tim Collins, assistant director at Winter Harbor Theatre Company. “You give them positive encouragement, you listen to them, you believe in them, you support them and they rise to the challenge.”

But, for the teenagers involved it’s much easier. “It’s all fun and games to us,” Marshall said. “It helps us get away from the units.”

Every day the residents are told when to get up, when to eat, when to sleep. Being able to take a break from their daily schedule has been a relief. But, Sharif, who played Othello, said acting isn’t a new thing for them.

“Everything is acting here because you have to go through your daily routine without expressing yourself,” Sharif said. “Well, you can, but you’d be punished for it.”

Sharif said acting in “Othello” felt good because he was able to act like himself.

“There are so many distractions here and such a tough environment: guards, doors and badges,” Collins said. To be able to get out of their units, express themselves and wear something other than their drab uniforms gives them a sense of freedom and helps them feel comfortable in their new roles on the stage. Sharif got to rid himself of those generic tan and grays and sported clothes that he otherwise would have worn on the street.

“It’s a stairway to heaven,” Sharif said. “Tan and grays, tan and grays, that’s all we see.”

Marshall said being able to wear our normal clothes “gives us a little more courage to do this.”

Some of the other teenagers in Long Creek gave the guys involved in the theater program a hard time, Marshall said, but those were the same kids who came down to watch the performance and got to laugh.

“Instead of sitting in front of the TV they got to come laugh at the kid in the skirt,” Marshall said. “And you know what they say about laughter.”

The “kid in the skirt” was a source of much laughter during the production. The male juvenile who played the role of Desiree strode across the stage in white high heels and a shiny black shirt that covered overly large false female mammary glands. A wink to the audience at one point sent the other residents of Long Creek into hysterics.

The 17-year-old who played the part of Iago had never acted before he had been in Long Creek, but he said if he stays out of trouble he might like to try it once he gets out.

“It’s the most fun I’ve had sober in a long time,” he said. “When I’m walking down the halls I’m just another resident of Long Creek, but on stage you’re somebody else for that moment and everybody looks at you as somebody different.”

Shetterly said she does have plans to secure funding for another production in Long Creek. The teenagers involved in “Othello” were already excited about writing their own play to produce.

“I’ll be the first one there,” the juvenile who played Iago said. “This is a phat program.”

Eighteen-year-old Neil Marshall (left) and 19-year-old Abdurahim Sharif are residents of Long Creek Youth Development Center and participated in last week’s production of Othello. The theater program in Long Creek is made possible by private funding secured by the Winter Harbor Theatre Company.