Chicago police use improv to reach out to kids Acting classes can help soothe inner-city tension
Kevin Davis
USA Today. Arlington, Va.: Aug 25, 2000. pg. 07.A
Copyright USA Today Information Network Aug 25, 2000
The Nation
CHICAGO — After a long day on the streets, Officer Ruby Turner put away her gun, badge and uniform and went to a place where she could act silly all night.
She shuffled around in a circle making chugging noises, flung herself to the floor, spoke gibberish and pretended to play catch with a crying baby.
It was all part of an improvisational acting class Turner is taking with some neighborhood kids in a first-of-its-kind program intended to improve relations between police and youngsters.
The goal is to bring down walls and help them see each other in a different light. It's also an extension of the community policing concept which encourages police and residents to build closer relationships to help reduce crime and improve neighborhoods.
Tensions between police and kids can get high in the inner city, especially during summer when more youths are out on the streets and gang violence rises with the heat. This year, at least 29 youths 17 and under have been murdered in Chicago. Some were cut down by stray bullets from gang crossfire.
Joe Cox is a community police officer in the city's 23rd District, where one of the improv classes is held every week. He says the police outreach to youths is not just talk. Chicago's Police Superintendent Terry Hillard demands it.
"One of his top priorities is improving the relationship between young people and the police because it's been a very antagonistic one," says Cox, who has taken improv classes and encourages other officers to do so. "What develops is a misunderstanding and callousness in the outlook of both police and young people."
Chicago is known as the city that helped popularize improv with its world-renowned Second City theater company.
Larry Outlaw, 10, who lives in a neighborhood infested with gangs and crime, finds refuge in the program and gets a chance to express himself. "I like that you get to make up characters and say stuff," Outlaw says. "It's fun."
While Outlaw appears a bit shy, when it came to playing improv games, he seemed a natural, making dramatic gestures, throwing out lines and earning laughs with his facial expressions.
The program was designed by Sharon Evans, artistic director of the city's Live Bait Theater. Evans has worked with police officers in the past through a writing program she created to help them express themselves.
"I think the officers want more meaning in their lives than just busting people," she says.
Turner, who was a youth counselor before becoming a police officer, not only wanted to continue working with kids, but also had the acting bug.
"This was perfect. I wanted to act, and I enjoy being around kids. I saw an opportunity to do two things I really enjoy," Turner says.
Turner says that when she began the improv classes, she did not tell the kids she was a police officer. She wanted them to see her as just another person first.
Now, after several sessions, the kids and cops are warming up to each other. "We're fitting in well, and the kids are more accepting," Turner says. Since the program is voluntary, the participants have varied from week to week, though there have been some regular faces, including Outlaw and Turner. The classes are held in two locations on the north and near west sides of the city.
Most of the youngsters who come are good kids. The difficult part is recruiting those who wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with cops.
On one recent night, a former gang member came to attend an improv session but decided to go home when he saw some of his old pals hanging out nearby.
"I wish I had known about that," Turner says. "I would have done something."
Evans says that getting the tough kids involved is the hardest part. "A lot of kids dismiss this out of hand because it involves the police," she says. "Either they're kids who have faced police brutality or heard about it. "
But Evans believes perceptions and antagonistic attitudes can change. "It's something that can be defused in these classes," she says. "It drops defenses and brings these two groups together."
On a recent night, Kottler and actress Lillie Frances led the group in theater games as a warm-up. The first game involved pretending to toss objects to each other while saying aloud what the object was. Another involved the players using their bodies and making noises to create a machine.
"It's mostly stuff to loosen your inhibitions," Kottler says.
Once they get going, everyone seems to forget who they are. It isn't about cops and kids but just people having a good time. Participants perform skits in which they create conflicts or tell stories with each person contributing one line at a time.
Frances, who has directed at Second City and teaches improv to aspiring actors and employees of corporations, says acting opens up new ways of thinking. "I feel that just about any group you work with can get something out of it," Frances says. "For the police officers, it's definitely a release. They get to say stuff and do stuff they don't get to on the job. For the kids, they get to be listened to."
Beyond bringing cops and kids together, these exercises are valuable on the job because Turner says police need to improvise every day. "Any time we walk into a situation, our roles change, and we need to shift into that next scenario," she says. "We have to be out there acting every day."
Evans hopes to explore police and youth issues in greater depth as the group develops and they become more comfortable. One of her goals is to have the cops and kids write a play to be performed at city high schools.
Evans says the program has the potential to be adopted throughout the city and in departments across the country. "I think what's interesting is the awakening of everyone about its potential," Evans says. "It pushes the concept of community policing."
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