February 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Fans of RESPECT,

Does RESPECT have programs appropriate for college students? Yes, we do! In January I traveled with RESPECT actor educators to the University of Nebraska at Kearney to premiere our college version of “Cracked But Not Broken” which uses theatre to educate about dating violence. While we have performed Cracked But Not Broken for years for high school students, one of the things that makes our programs so effective is that we can adapt our presentations to fit the needs of any audience. In the case of college students, we “aged-up” the play and then provided content in our talk-back session specific to college life. As is always the case, the “Cracked But Not Broken” is explicit in its depiction of the warning signals of intimate partner violence, the dynamics of power and control and the importance of bystander behavior and attitudes in supporting those who are being targeted for this abuse. Our panel members from the University of Kearney mental health services, law enforcement, and educational community were outstanding in responding to the many questions from the audience.

After Cracked But Not Broken, RESPECT provided interactive and research-based training for Residence Hall Advisors (RA’s.) Prior to RESPECT arriving to Kearney, RA’s had submitted numerous scenarios to our staff and these which were then worked into scenes for forum theatre, discussion, and problem solving.

The results were dynamic, often emotionally startling and according to one young man I spoke with, “practical-something I can start using right away!” A panel member told me, “This is the most useful and interesting training we have ever had. They will never forget what they have learned tonight.”

RESPECT plans to continue providing programs on college campuses. Ever on the forefront of addressing Dating Violence, we take into account these startling statistics from a 2011 College Dating Violence and Abuse Poll:

• Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) college women report having been a victim of abusive dating relationship in her life.
• 57% of students who report having been in an abusive dating relationship indicate it occurred in college.
• 52% of college women report knowing a friend who has experienced violent and abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, digital, verbal or controlling abuse.
• Further, 58% of students said they would not know how to help if they knew someone was a victim.

The full report of survey results can be found at www.loveisnotabuse.com

Call and talk with us about sharing this experience with your post high school students and staff!

RESPECTfully,

Patricia Newman
Executive Director, RESPECT

RESPECTable Highlights

Typically, when you think R&R, you think of taking some time to relax. These days, when staff members of RESPECT think R&R, we’re thinking of how we can push our programming forward at every opportunity.

For us, R&R stands for Rewind & Rework. This is a brand new program addition that we’re offering to any of our shows from fourth grade and up. We find that our most fulfilling work is when we get to use our forum theatre techniques to engage with audience members and encourage them to try their own proposals for solving complex problems.

Rewind & Rework sessions add an additional half-hour to our visits where we use pre-collected prompts from the administration and students to build role-play scenarios and then test out solutions using our actors’ improvisational skills. Audience members will join us on-stage, in front of their peers, and demonstrate how a community can succeed in problem-solving, together. The cost of the add-on is $75 per session.

We’ve already begun the process of introducing them, using them in sessions with Partnership 4 Kids, North Bend public schools, and UNK’s Women’s Center, and we can’t wait to offer them at every opportunity.