H. Candace Gorman served on the Board of Directors and as president of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois; the Board of Directors for the Federal Bar Association in the Northern District of Illinois; the Merit Selection Panel for United States Magistrates; the Task Force Planning Committee for the Illinois Supreme Court’s Study of Gender Bias in the Courtroom; and was also the legislative chair and commissioner on the Chicago Commission on Women. Attorney Gorman handles both individual and class action lawsuits for Plaintiffs under the various civil rights and human rights statutes and anti-discrimination laws. Gorman is currently handling habeas corpus petitions for two detainees who are being held at Guantanamo bay and has visited her clients at the prison more than twenty times. Attorney Gorman lectures and writes on the subjects of human rights, civil rights and about her experience in representing Guantanamo detainees.

This post-show discussion immediately followed the performance of The Island, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s current mainstage show. Athol Fugard’s daring drama is set in an unnamed prison based on the one where Nelson Mandela was held. John and Winston are cellmates who spend their days doing back-breaking labor, and their nights rehearsing Sophocles’ Antigone to present to their fellow inmates. When John learns his sentence is being reduced, the men’s friendship is tested. Fugard plays the parallels between Antigone’s fight against political and patriarchal boundaries off of the imprisoned men’s fight for their dignity. The Island is a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.

Recorded Friday, February 19, 2010 at The Greenhouse Theater.