Theatre-Based Body Language Training for Police Officers
Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 12:15 pm
With Thembi Duncan / Shea’s Performing Arts Center; Lt. Craig Macy and Captain Steven J. Nichols / Buffalo Police Department
Learn about how Shea’s Performing Arts Center and the Buffalo Police Department collaborated to develop a program that uses theatre-based body language skills to train new recruits on cultural competency and nonverbal communication, expanding community consciousness and building empathy across lines of difference. This presentation will illustrate a process for artists to repurpose their arts training toward positive community outcomes in WNY and help expand public awareness of the efficacy of arts integration in a variety of professional and community settings.
Thembi Duncan
Thembi Duncan is a director, actor, playwright, and teaching artist who has been developing and executing theatre-based body language training for nearly two years in the city of Buffalo. She holds a B.A. in Theatre, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Maryland and currently works as the Director of Arts Engagement and Education at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.
Craig Macy
Lieutenant Craig Macy has served as a community police officer for the BPD Housing Unit and has worked as part of the department’s Neighborhood Engagement Team. His background is in military service, having been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the New York National Guard. Lt. Macy has been honored by the Erie County Bar Association and the Police Athletic League for his community service.
Steven J. Nichols
Captain Steven J. Nichols has been a Buffalo police officer for 24 years. He oversees the department’s Community Police Officers and Citizen Police Academy. Cpt. Nichols directs all of the department’s special events, has been honored by Crime Stoppers Buffalo, and has been interviewed about community policing on multiple media platforms.
Shea’s Performing Arts Center
Shea’s Performing Arts Center (Shea’s PAC) is a campus of three theatres in downtown Buffalo comprised of Shea’s Smith Theatre, Shea’s 710 Theatre, and Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. The different venues boast varying styles of performing arts from touring Broadway to international collaborations to local rentals. Shea’s mission is to restore and maintain Shea’s Buffalo Theatre for present and future generations to enjoy as working historic theatre providing a wide variety of live performing arts experiences for patrons, and innovative and effective educational experiences fostering an appreciation of live theatre by area youth.
