thebroadwayblog.com: Brooklyn theatrical think tank ensemble Irondale, with participation from the New York Police Department, will host a two-part zoomcast discussion with past To Protect, Serve and Understand participants, September 24 and October 1, to continue their mission of social change, activism and humanity.
5 comments:
I feel like it would be naive to believe something like this would work. I have little faith in the empathizing qualities of the police. I do not think a theatre workshop will wipe away their deep rooted power complex and racist ideology in one go. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Atlanta’s police chief, who walked around in the crowded streets listening to protesters express the dire need for change, told them she understood and heard them, and then proceeded to condemn and tear gas them the next day. This may be overly cynical, but I truly do not think the police will listen AND change until they are knocked down a peg. Until they are on the same level as civilians, unable to wield such power which results in the countless unpunished murders of Black people, they will not take the time to listen. Once governments stop enabling this behavior, then maybe something like this could work better. And to some degree, maybe the officers in this program are participating with genuine desire to better themselves and practice anti-racist behavior, which is good, but one individual officer cannot change an entire corrupt organization.
I believe I share many of the same sentiments that Samantha does. Since May, protests against police brutality have broken out across the country and police reform has begun to take up a much larger space in the public's view of social issues than it has in the recent past. However, protests, public outcry, and (unfortunately) this theatrical program can only do so much when it comes to fundamentally changing both the policing system of the country as a whole and the psychology of individual officers. That being said, I am hopeful that the past few months will create a useful precedent for the topics that are discussed in this program. If the officers are not moved by it, then at the very least the 8th running of this program can bring the issue more prominently into the general theatre community or the NYC public eye.
Look, the way we deal with law enforcement and racism in this country is simply not working. The world is looking at a reckoning and that's mostly because we haven't done this right- and possibly this program may get us there. I've always been a firm believer that theater, the work that we do, has a firm grasp on politics and has the ability to actually make a change- but every last detail counts at this point. If people want to use theater as a tool to teach the American public and police officers about systemic racism- they need to hone in on viable and true information. Theater isn't entertainment in this case, its purely educational- and we as theater makers need to know that. I think that pieces and projects like this are especially hard to convey in our current climate but they're an important part of the healing process for the country.
To echo what the prior comments have said, I have little faith in these workshops. Theater can be extremely powerful, but I don’t know how much tangible impact a series of independent workshops can actually have on ending police brutality. I’m sure the intentions are admirable, but something about this doesn't sit right with me. I obviously have never attended one of these workshops, so I can’t say for sure, but I’m a little worried about the content they are providing.
I just don’t know that it is the place of an independent theater troupe to educate the NYPD. Yes, obviously they need to change. But is this group of self elected individuals the ones to tackle it? The workshops were described as discussion based, but I’m not sure what discussion could do to serve this cause. As much as it is portrayed to be, it's not a two sided issue. Human rights shouldn't be up for discussion. I don’t know how to end police brutality, but at best these workshops seem largely performative, and at worst, maybe harmful.
What an inspiring story of a Brooklyn theatrical think-tank ensemble engaging in zoom cast discussions with the NYPD, at a time where tension between the police and the people they are meant to protect has never been higher across the city. After a series of violent incidents between police officers and peaceful protesters this summer, this theatre group is continuing its constructive conversations between civilians and members of the NYPD. What I appreciate the most out of this zoom discussion is that it gives an opportunity for both groups to dive into each other’s experiences and perspectives. It proves to show that small theatrical work like this is at the forefront of healing our communities and fostering more compassion for those we villainize, which applies to both sides in these discussions. The founder of the workshop said, “change can only happen when we truly hear each other and understand each other.” This resonated with me because although we will be hearing each other through our computers, it will hopefully understand each other in a different light.
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