Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, in partnership with the Program in Community-Engaged Scholarship, presents Performing the Peace, 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 U.S. The events are organized by Lecturer in Theater Chesney Snow. On March 22 at 5 p.m., a 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, will be screened. A Q&A will follow the screening with the filmmaker and representatives of the police department and theater company. 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. The event will also include a performance by The Fortune Society and musician A.J. Khaw. Both events are in the Drapkin Studio in the Lewis Arts complex at Princeton and are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. The studio is fully accessible. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date.
Members of Playback Memphis in performance. Photo credit: Courtesy of Playback Memphis
Playback Memphis practices a unique form of improvisational theater, encouraging the sharing and witness of stories to foster community wellbeing, social healing, and flourishing culture. They use 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. The group carries out its mission to bridge difficult divides and build human connections through several core programs: public Memphis Matters shows, private Community Matters workshops and performances for nonprofits and other institutions, a professional performance ensemble, a Be the Peace! anti-bullying program for students, and Cultural Humility Training, based on the group’s groundbreaking Performing the Peace program for police and justice-impacted individuals.
In 2015, Playback Memphis started Performing the Peace. Building on the success of the open dialogue created between participants to build an authentic and positive relationship between them, Playback Memphis has been delivering Cultural Humility Training to the Memphis Police Department since 2017.
Emmy-nominated filmmaker Melissa Anderson Sweazy made a documentary film about Playback Memphis’ Performing the Peace project, interviewing members of the theater group, the Memphis Police Department, and the community. Following the screening on March 22, Snow will moderate a conversation with the filmmaker and participants in the film including Playback Memphis members Terric Edwards and Giovanna “Gio” López with Playback Memphis founder Virginia Murphy, and police department officers Joy Knowlton and Chris Street.
At the performance on March 23, members of Playback Memphis will present work based on their Playback theater process. They will be joined by participants of The Fortune Society’s Creative Arts program where Snow has partnered with The Town Hall New York to produce a devised theater program. This program utilizes the arts to advance the Society’s mission to support successful reentry from incarceration and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities. Also performing will be Philadelphia-based musician A.J. Khaw.
While visiting Princeton, members of Playback Memphis and other guests will engage with students in Snow’s spring course, “The Craft of Teaching—Community Focused Pedagogy for Artists and Performers.” In this class students are learning how to apply their creative skills and artistry to different educational settings. Using the example of prisons, specialized schools and community-based organizations, Snow, a teaching artist who works in these settings, has been guiding students through the craft of teaching artistry. The course includes an examination of the history of teaching artistry and how it fits into the structures of today’s educational systems and society, as well as understanding best practices in the development of teaching artist pedagogy and classroom management.
Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about this event, the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the more than 100 public performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts, lectures, and special events presented by the Lewis Center each year, most of them free.
