‘Midnight Express’ Author Back in Jail--But It’s Just an Act This Time

Billy Hayes is doing a role-reversal in Carol Kaplan’s new play “Sitting Man” at the Pacific Theatre Ensemble in Culver City.

The author of the autobiographical novel “Midnight Express,” about his experiences as a prisoner in Turkey, Hayes is playing the role of prison interrogator this time.

“(The play takes place) in prison but (this time) I’m on the other side of the table,” said the 45-year-old Los Angeles resident.

Hayes describes the play as an intense psychological drama that asks a lot of moral questions. It chronicles an intimate relationship between two men, the prisoner and interrogator, and how the psychological, emotional and physical barriers constantly shift between them.

“The role fell in my lap. . . . I read the play and loved it,” he said. “I knew that it was the right piece and it says something.”

Hayes has been affiliated with other stage works that deal with prison life. He directed William Inge’s “The Last Pad” in Los Angeles and the all-female version of Rick Cluchey’s “The Cage” in New York, and also appeared in the Los Angeles production of that play at the Odyssey Theatre.

In 1969, Hayes’ life took an unusual twist when he quit school at Marquette University so he could “experience life” and write about it. Arrested in Istanbul the next year for possession of two kilos of hashish, he was given a 30-year sentence. After serving five years, he managed to escape and returned to the United States, where he wrote a book about his prison experience that was subsequently made into a feature film.

For the next two years, the New York native did interviews for magazines, newspapers, radio and television stations to promote the book and film across the United States and Europe. It was this promotional work that led Hayes to an acting career.

“(The prison time) was a weird transition into life, and (I) became a mini-celebrity for something that I wasn’t proud of,” he said. “Acting became a therapy and a focus for me.”

Hayes said he plans to do more writing projects in the future, including work on the sequel to “Midnight Express,” which is in development.

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Ilona Katz has been elected chairwoman and Al Quinn vice chairman of the Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees for 1993.

Katz, who is serving her fifth term on the board, served 10 years on the board of directors of the California Community College Trustees, including a year as president.

Quinn, a longtime community activist, is serving his first term as an officer.

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Ginny Mancini has been named president of the Royce Center Circle, the support group of the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts.

Mancini, a Los Angeles native and wife of musician Henry Mancini, is a board member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and vice president of the Los Angeles Symphonic Jazz Orchestra. She is also a trustee of the UCLA Foundation and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

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The South Bay Contemporary Museum of Art honored Maxine Junge, who is chairwoman of the Loyola Marymount University marital, family therapy and clinical art therapy department.

Junge, a Westchester resident, was recognized at the Healing Arts Benefit Dinner on Feb. 9 held at the Torrance Marriott Hotel.

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Attorney Mark Meyerson has been elected chairman of the board of the Southern California chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

Meyerson, associate counsel at 20th Century Fox Film Corp. in Beverly Hills, is a longtime supporter of the foundation. He has been involved in fund-raising activities for the chapter, most recently serving as chairman and executive producer of the Southern California Telethon.