'Social Issue Theater' Way For Cops To Earn Credits
Posted
Daniel Riordan-driordan@timesuniononline.com
State-mandated training isn't how most police officers would choose to spend an afternoon.
But ACT Out Ensemble, in association with the Bowen Center and the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, tried to provide a unique way to cover some mandated topics.
With director Sara Riemen, a group of professional actors out of Indianapolis went through different scenarios that included domestic abuse involving a police officer, dealing with someone with mental health issues, human trafficking and dealing with the parent of an autistic child.
The group put on two shows Tuesday at the Kosciusko County Extension Office auditorium, formerly the First Christian Church.
The two-hour show helped officers receive credit hours from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.
Along with Kosciusko County officers, departments from Elkhart and Marshall counties sent officers as well.
The group would act out different scenes, then Riemen would freeze the scene and ask the officers in the audience what they would do differently.
The actors would remain in character, often having a back and forth with the officers.
At Tuesday's first showing, dozens of officers from the county, Warsaw and other communities were on hand.
In one scenario, an actor played a woman who had been battered by her husband who is a police officer. Another actor plays a fellow officer who is friends with both the husband and wife.
The officers in the audience were asked to critique how the officer at the scene handled the victim.
In another scenario, an actor played an officer talking to a father and grandmother of a 3-month-old who just died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Based on the seriousness of the scenario, some of the actors became highly charged during the scene.
After officers gave their feedback, the actors broke character and said what they learned from the officers' feedback.
The ACT Out ensemble began in 1995 and has performed for more than 300,000 people.
For more information about ACT Out, visit www.actout.org
