Lecturer in Theater & Music Theater Chesney Snow in partnership with the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES) presents two events that highlight the power of theater to bring together police officers and members of communities that have historically been impacted negatively by policing practices in the United States. Cosponsored by the Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI).
Performing the Peace Screening
On March 22 Snow will screen the film by acclaimed Emmy-nominated filmmaker Melissa Anderson Sweazy, Performing the Peace, which documents the collaboration among Memphis-based theater company Playback Memphis, the Memphis Police Department, and Lifeline to Success, a non-profit that helps people reestablish their lives after release from incarceration. A Q&A will follow the screening with the filmmaker and representatives of the police department, theater company, and others.
Performance by Playback Memphis
On March 23, Playback Memphis will present an example of their live performance work, which trains and employs professional artists and facilitators in a listening and story sharing practice with people in a variety of settings to co-create and catalyze community well-being, social healing, and flourishing culture.
Tickets & Details
Both events are free and open to the public; no tickets or registration required.
Directions
Get directions to the Drapkin Studio, located on the second floor of the Wallace Dance Building at the Lewis Arts complex.
Accessibility
The Drapkin Studio is an accessible venue with an assistive listening system. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
About the Guest Artists
Terric Edwards is a 2016 graduate of Performing the Peace, an innovative program that brought together cohorts of Memphis police officers and those who have had contact with the criminal justice system to learn the art form of Playback theater as a tool for breaking down barriers of distrust, building authentic relationships, and learning whole-hearted leadership skills like active listening and empathy. Discovering his own performance and storytelling skills as well as his love for Playback theater, Terric continued to work as an apprentice ensemble member with Playback Memphis from 2016-2021. Currently, Terric is in the second year of a Fellowship with Playback Memphis and is also performing as a professional ensemble member while working full time at Graceland. He’s a proud father and husband and passionate about sharing his journey in recovery to inspire individuals and systems to grow, heal, and flourish.
Photo courtesy Robert Gardner
Robert Gardner is an NAACP Community Award-winning community advocate, a certified communications and critical thinking facilitator, and the founder and CEO of STP Trucking. STP boasts a fleet of 5 trucks, 7 figure revenues, and contracts with Kroger and Buffalo Wild Wings, among others. A successful MBE Certified business owner, he is also a philanthropist committed to making a difference. Whether it is stepping in to drive a load, addressing a group of CEOs, or training and developing his team, Gardner’s guiding principal remains steadfast: “Striving Towards Perfection.”
A.J. Khaw is a Philadelphia-based musician who has performed in Uganda, South Africa, China, Mexico and throughout the United States. He is a pianist, organist, composer, accompanist, and educator; his passion is collaborating with musicians, dancers, visual artists, and other storytellers to enact social change and uplift voices who have gone unheard.
Recent performances include the Immersive Elocution of Literature exhibition and Spelman College’s Embodied Cognition in the Audre Lorde Archive collaboration at Princeton University. He performed in Battle Champs at the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop showcase in Times Square. He was Music Director for Diedre Murray’s score in Soil Beneath: An Empirical Decay (2020), an off-Broadway production by Chesney Snow at Primary Stages. A.J. co-composed the score for Snow’s choreopoem, The Unwritten Law. He has performed in the show since its 2017 debut and was Music Director for a development workshop at Two River Theater in 2021. He has collaborated with Playback Memphis, playwright Dennis Moritz, soprano Gian-Carla Tisera (Luminosa Project), singer/songwriter Lucas Kane Hall, and alt-Americana artist Dylan Charles. He performed in the Brooklyn bands We are Warriors and Hollow Engine. In addition, A.J. played with several Latin pop groups and started two jazz combos in Miami, Sonido Batido and Rana Prieta Latin Jazz Project, which incorporated Latin and Caribbean influences. He produced Sonido Batido’s album Journey of the Refugee with pieces based on social justice themes. In Atlanta he founded the jazz/funk quartet Jazznomad, performed in various classical chamber ensembles, and served as house pianist at Churchill Grounds Jazz Club. A.J. is an accompanist at Princeton University and faculty member at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Joy Knowlton is a graduate of Tennessee State University (2002) where she received her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She went on to join the Memphis Police Department immediately after completing her education at TSU. Extremely motivated in her career, Joy is especially driven towards community policing. Joy was selected as a participant on a national television show, Policewomen of Memphis, where she allowed cameras into her work and personal life. This opportunity, unbeknown to Joy, made her a role model to many individuals seeking a career in law enforcement. Joy has always made it her duty to volunteer and participate in many programs offered by the Memphis Police Department including Playback Memphis’ Performing the Peace program. She has also served as a Basic Recruit Instructor for many years. Recently promoted to a Memphis Police Department Sergeant, Joy enjoys mentoring officers and instructing at the Training Academy in addition to her work assignment as a Special Victims Unit Investigator. Joy’s goal as a public servant is to not only serve her community but to be an advocate for other officers, as well.
Giovanna “Gio” López is a native Peruvian, and a Costa Rican and Memphian by heart. Gio has studied theater and has been practicing this profession for 20 years. In 2006, she founded the Bilingual Theatre group Cazateatro in Memphis, where she also had a weekly radio show on Radio Ambiente, a local Hispanic radio station. Gio was a co-founder of the Latino Cultural Center of Memphis, and for five consecutive years she directed the Vagina Monologues in Spanish. She has a passion for social justice and has worked for eight years at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center as the Training Director, where she facilitated hundreds of training sessions and as a board member of both Workers Interfaith Network and Comunidades Unidas en una Voz. Gio has been a professional ensemble member of Playback Memphis since 2010 and now serves as the Director of Training and Applied Playback at Playback Memphis.
Virginia Murphy holds a master’s in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in drama therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. After 10 years of studying and performing Playback theatre, she founded Playback Memphis, a vibrant non-profit whose mission is to bring stories to life in a safe space to unlock healing, transformation and joy. Virginia is also a certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher through the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a skilled facilitator delivering dynamic training in cultural humility, strengths based mindfulness, and emotional intelligence in leadership.
Chris Street is a combat military veteran who served 20 years in both the United States Army as well as the Naval Reserves. Outside of his military experience, he has always called Memphis, Tennessee, home. He currently serves the citizens of Memphis as a well known and decorated Memphis Police Department (MPD) officer in his 23rd year of service. Recognizing it’s human nature to possess implicit bias and preconceived opinions and ideas, Chris’ passion is to break down stereotypes and bridge the cultural gaps within his hometown. Chris draws inspiration from his family, whom he credits for his passion to make a positive impact on the MPD, community, and hopefully the entire nation.
Melissa Anderson Sweazy is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and documentary filmmaker based in Memphis, Tennessee. Her commercial work for corporate clients have won her Emmy nominations and multiple Addy Award wins. Her documentary films vary deeply by subject matter but are connected by passionate, heart-centered subjects. Inspired by lessons learned while writing and filming the narrative short film, John’s Farm, she delivered a TedX-Memphis talk entitled “If You Love Them Let Them Go: A Hypocrite’s Guide to Free Range Parenting.” She is the creator and co-host of You Can See Me in the Dark, a true ghost story podcast heard on every continent except Antarctica. If you have an Antarctican ghost story, she would love for you to get in touch.
