Irondale to Welcome NYPD, Civilians for TO PROTECT, SERVE AND UNDERSTAND Workshop

Irondale, Brooklyn's leading theatrical think-tank and Off-Broadway theatre ensemble, calls on civilians and New York City Police officers for round three of the highly acclaimed To Protect, Serve and Understand workshop, to take place Tuesday evenings, now through April 25. Culminating performances, which are free and open to the public, will run May 5-6.

This cutting-edge training and engagement program, launched winter 2015, utilizes improvisation techniques to bridge the gap between the police and public. The program brings attention to the interpretation of experiences while gaining an understanding of the role each person plays in a situation, and more broadly, the communities in which they live.

"This unique partnership between Irondale and the NYPD provides an opportunity for participants to share deeply personal experiences and examine their assumptions and beliefs ," said Susan Herman, Deputy Commissioner, Collaborative Policing for the NYPD. "We've found Irondale's philosophy and training techniques effective in facilitating meaningful connections between the police and the community we serve. Past participants ---both officers and community members---have found it to be transformative. "

The To Protect, Serve and Understand workshop format facilitates real, raw and unfiltered dialogue. At times participants take on the "role" of the other, to tell stories from a completely different perspective than their own. The workshops-which start with a dinner and discussion, followed by group theater games and other actor-training techniques-teach a unique approach to problem solving with specific rules, a common focus, and non-judgmental evaluation criteria. Participants present an original performance at the end of the workshop series, telling their own stories as well as the stories of others through improvisations and monologues.

"As a society, we must be prepared to see and understand situations from another's viewpoint-that's what acting is," explains Terry Greiss, Executive Director of Irondale. "It is with profound understanding, and a certain level of emotional transference, that changes can be facilitated. It may be a huge breakthrough, or it may be a realization that is imperceptible to some. It is about making permanent change-and while that will take time, we know this program model is working."

The program follows a model that Irondale has used for 34 years in its youth programs and to develop the Ensemble's main-stage theatrical works. To date, 12 police officers and 12 civilians have participated in the program over the initial two rounds. Performances have seen audiences at capacity, with more than 700 attending the performances.

WORKSHOP AND PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

To Protect, Serve and Understand workshops run weekly from February 28-April 25, 6:30-9:30 p.m., on Tuesday nights.

Public performances will take place May 5 and 6 at 7:00 p.m. All performances are FREE to the public.

Irondale is located at 85 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn, New York. The theater is accessible by Subway: C to Lafayette; B, D, M, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street; and G to Fulton Street.

Irondale is a theater located in the heart of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District. It is a theatre ensemble, a performance think-tank and a laboratory for collaborative theatre making. Irondale's unique and transformational theatre space has gained much attention as a place for both established and emerging artists to premiere major projects and showcase developing work. The Irondale Ensemble Project was founded in 1983 by Jim Niesen, Terry Greiss and Barbara Mackenzie-Wood and is one of the longest established permanent ensemble theaters in the country. The ensemble has created over 60 Off-Broadway productions ranging from intimate chamber productions of Shakespeare to original, epic, company-devised works. Irondale's learning programs for students and community provide high quality, cutting edge workshops and residencies designed to encourage and develop the artist in each individual and to make the skills derived from participating in making theatre a valuable contribution to successful, daily living.

The New York City Police Department, the largest police agency in the country, is dedicated to enhancing the City's quality of life by working in partnership with the community to enforce the law, preserve peace, reduce fear, and maintain order. The Department is committed to accomplishing its mission to protect all New Yorkers by treating every person with courtesy, professionalism, and respect, and enforcing the law impartially.

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