Event

The Intersections Project

Freddie Gray. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. It's been a year of tragedy and outrage. Can we actually change what happens when youth and police intersect? Richmond, California, says yes. In April, 2013, a group of drama students from Leadership Public Schools spent an entire day with community organizers and officers from the youth services division of the Richmond Police Department, playing games, doing theater exercises, and dialoguing to explore one another's perspectives and stories. A week later, students interviewed officers and community organizers on campus, and transcribed the interviews, using them as the basis for an original play. Approximately 75% of the play consists of verbatim interviews. The play spans street corners and classrooms, asking difficult questions and breaking down stereotypes on both sides. We're calling it The Intersections Project.

But The Intersections Project is more than just a play. Our performance on June 5th will offer opportunities for community and police to play, interact and solve problems. It is part of an ongoing dialogue between youth and police in Richmond, which will continue into the summer and next year as we seek to provide opportunities and alternatives to incarceration for all Richmond youth, even those sometimes labeled as "lost causes," and to ensure that all police officers have the perspective, empathy, and training to truly fulfill their stated commitment to community policing.

Schedule

6pm - Making-of-the-Play Exhibition (watch footage from the student / police theater workshop, listen to interviews with police officers, and ask students / officers about the workshop and the process of making the play).

6:30 - Act 1: Stories from the Streets

7:30 - Intermission

7:45 - Act 2: Stories from the Schools

8:30 - 9:00 Community Dialogue and Talk-Back