The West Side Story Project (WSSP) is a collaboration between police, theatre, and schools 

that uses the themes of West Side Story to address youth violence, youth–police relations, 

and cultural differences. This project demonstrates how these groups can use theatre arts to 

reduce youth conflicts (both internal and external) and build relationships. 

The West Side Story Project Toolkit is a set of 5 booklets, a CD and a DVD that provides 

directions, suggestions, and examples for building an innovative collaboration between law 

enforcement, the theatre, schools, and community organizations to develop a youth violence 

prevention initiative using the timeless musical West Side Story. 

BOOK 1 “PROGRAM OVERVIEW” provides a summary of the West Side Story Project 

(WSSP) and its value for law enforcement agencies and theatre organizations. 

BOOK 2 “PARTNERS & RESOURCES” gives suggestions for finding partners and resources 

for the project as well as ways to measure outcomes of the project. 

BOOK 3 “PLANNING THE YOUTH SUMMIT” describes how to plan a series of workshops 

based around scenes from West Side Story. 

BOOK 4 “PLANNING THE ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE” describes how to prepare for a 

performance of original works by youth based on themes from West Side Story. 

BOOK 5 “PLANNING THE COMMUNITY FORUM” explains how to organize a community 

forum to discuss youth violence prevention. 

The West Side Story Project can be replicated in part or in its entirety, depending on 

the interests, needs, and resources of each jurisdiction. The DVD includes 60 minutes of 

interviews from the law enforcement, theatre, and community perspectives. The CD includes 

a sample press release, an article on the WSSP, and forms that are ready to edit, print, and 

use. This toolkit is designed as a series of booklets that contain tools to build each of the 

major activities of the WSSP. You may use one booklet, or you may use them all. 
Book 1 

Program Overview 
West Side Story Project Toolkit: 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage 

Produced By: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Authors: Pamela Beal, Ph.D. and Liza Comtois 

This project was supported by Grant Number 2007-CK-WX-K003 awarded by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained 

herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. 

Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations or supplement discussion of the 

issues. 

Recommended citation:
	

Beal, Pamela, and Liza Comtois. 2010. West Side Story Project Toolkit: Crime Prevention on a New Stage. 

Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
	

“West Side Story ® ” is a registered trademark of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. 


Used by permission. 


4 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Contents 

From the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
 

Toolkit Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
 

A Unique Approach to Youth and Gang Violence Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
 

Why Use West Side Story? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 

Overview of the West Side Story Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
 

The Power of West Side Story for Youth Violence Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
 

Research on Arts and Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 5 
From the Director 

Dear Colleague, 

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the 

Seattle Police Foundation are pleased to announce the publication of the West Side Story 

Project Toolkit—a resource that provides an opportunity for law enforcement to partner with 

local theatre, schools, youth-based organizations, and community groups to develop new 

approaches to gang prevention, youth-police relations, and cultural conflict. 

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s 2008 National Youth 

Gang Survey, 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties experienced 

gang problems in 2008. This report also states that approximately 774,000 gang members 

and 27,900 gangs were active in the United States, demonstrating that many communities 

across America are plagued with the threat of gangs. The West Side Story Project Toolkit 

allows students from diverse ethnic and minority communities to participate in activities 

designed to engage youth and law enforcement in dialogues about gangs, youth violence 

prevention, youth-police relationships, immigration, and racial/ethnic relations. It also creates 

the possibility for a public forum to discuss a local community’s efforts to reduce youth 

violence and address the role of its juvenile justice system. 

The purpose of this Toolkit is to demonstrate how police, theatre, youth organizations, and 

others can work together to use creative strategies to reduce conflict, solve problems, and 

build relationships. 

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) understands the 

importance of forging relationships between law enforcement and the community. These 

relationships contribute to the concept of “building communities of trust” and a sense of 

shared purpose. We hope you will find this publication helpful in “building relationships and 

solving problems,” two core focuses of community policing. We encourage you to share this 

publication, as well as your successes, with others. 

Sincerely, 

6 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Bernard Melekian 

Director 
Acknowledgments 

Many organizations and individuals worked together to make the original West Side 

Story Project happen in Seattle in 2007: the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle Police 

Foundation, the 5th Avenue Theatre, King County Parks and Recreation, Seattle Parks and 

Recreation, Seattle Public Schools, the Seattle Channel, Town Hall Seattle and the Langston 

Hughes Performing Arts Center. Special thanks to Anna Laszlo who imagined this project and 

worked to make it happen, and to former SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske and SPD Chief John Diaz 

for their support of the project. Also, thanks to Liza Comtois, Detective Kim Bogucki, Officer 

Adrian Diaz, Carmen Martinez, and the WSSP Teen Advisory Council who worked with Anna to 

plan the project. 

Many thanks to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services for providing the funding for the West Side Story Project Toolkit, especially Sandra 

Webb, Ph.D., Katherine McQuay and Tawana Waugh. Thanks also to the members of the West 

Side Story Project Advisory Board for its work in assisting with the Toolkit: Anna Laszlo (Circle 

Solutions, Inc.), SPD Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, SPF Executive Director Renee Hopkins, 

5th Avenue Producing Artistic Director David Armstrong, 5th Avenue Education Programs 

Manager Anya Rudnick, WSSP Coordinator Liza Comtois, SPD Detective Kim Bogucki, SPD 

Officer Adrian Diaz, Carmen Martinez of Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Seattle youth 

Colin Hartman and Roxie Torres. Thanks also to those that replicated the WSSP and provided 

feedback on the Toolkit in White Plains, New York, in 2008: Former Commissioner Frank 

Straub, Assistant Chief Anne Fitzsimmons, and officers of the White Plains Police Department, 

Linda Puoplo and Catherine Backes of the White Plains Youth Bureau, Teaching Artist Toni 

Rubio, and the Mayor’s Youth Council of White Plains; and in Los Angeles, California, in 

2009: Senior Lead Officer Larry Martinez, and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department 

Foothill Division, and Elizabeth Salazar, Oren Siegel, Stephanie Fabia, and Jennifer McKinney 

of Phoenix House in Lake View Terrace. Thanks also to Jamie Bernstein and the Leonard 

Bernstein Office, Inc for their support for this project. 

My special thanks to Shanna Christie, SPD Graphic Designer, for her work on the Toolkit and 

to Cesar Hidalgo-Landeros, SPD Video Unit, for his many hours of work on the Toolkit DVD. 

And finally, my thanks to Toolkit coauthor, Liza Comtois. 

Pamela Beal, Ph.D., Project Director 

West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 7 
Toolkit Introduction 

The West Side Story Project Toolkit is a set of 5 booklets and an accompanying CD and DVD 

providing directions, suggestions and examples for building an innovative collaboration 

between law enforcement and the theater to work with schools and community organizations 

to develop a youth violence prevention initiative using the timeless musical West Side Story. 

The toolkit was funded by the United States Department of Justice Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to provide a guide for other jurisdictions interested in 

replicating the West Side Story Project (WSSP) that was conceived and implemented in 

Seattle, Washington. 

BOOK 1 “PROGRAM OVERVIEW” provides a summary of the West Side Story Project (WSSP) 

and its value for law enforcement agencies and theatre organizations. 

BOOK 2 “PARTNERS & RESOURCES” gives suggestions for finding partners and resources 

for the project as well as ways to measure outcomes of the project. 

BOOK 3 “PLANNING THE YOUTH SUMMIT” describes how to plan a series of workshops 

based around scenes from West Side Story. 

BOOK 4 “PLANNING THE ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE” describes how to prepare for a 

performance of original works by youth based on themes from West Side Story. 

BOOK 5 “PLANNING THE COMMUNITY FORUM” explains how to organize a community 

forum to discuss youth violence prevention. 

THE DATA CD includes Books 1–5, forms and contracts that you can edit, print, and use, a 

sample press release and an article on Seattle’s West Side Story Project. 

THE DVD (60 MINUTES) contains interviews with law enforcement managers and officers, 

theater staff and teaching artists, students, and community leaders who participated in the 

original WSSP in Seattle, Washington (2007), as well as those who participated in replications 

of the project in White Plains, New York (2008) and in Los Angeles, California (2009). It also 

features an interview with Jamie Bernstein, daughter of West Side Story composer Leonard 

Bernstein, and excerpts from the Seattle Town Hall Youth Violence Forum. 

8 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
 

 

 

 

 

 

The WSSP can be replicated in part or in its entirety, depending on the interests, needs and 

resources of each jurisdiction. Some locations may only replicate one part of the project, 

such as the summit or the community forum. Others may decide to reproduce all parts of the 

WSSP. The toolkit is designed as a series of booklets that contain tools to build each of the 

major activities of the WSSP. You may use one booklet, or you may use them all. 

A Unique Approach to Youth and Gang 

Violence Prevention 

“A profound opportunity to connect with youth in ways that


 we usually can’t .” – Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, Seattle Police Department
 

COPS: Supporting Creativity and Unusual Partnerships 

to Reach Youth 

Developing and implementing a youth violence prevention effort requires both the creativity 

to design interventions that “speak” to youth in their language and circumstance, as well 

as the wisdom to engage a wide range of community agencies and resources that interface 

with youth. Law enforcement agencies, implementing the tenets of community policing, have 

partnered with schools, parent groups, athletic organizations, Boys & Girls Clubs, and churches, 

for example, in efforts to reach and educate youth through early gang prevention efforts. 

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (the COPS Office) has supported these 

programmatic efforts by fostering collaborative partnerships between law enforcement 

agencies and schools, as well as developing technical assistance materials to encourage the 

application of problem-solving principles to address both school-based and gang-related 

problems. By fostering these collaborative partnerships, the COPS Office has encouraged 

law enforcement agencies to look beyond their “traditional” community partners to forge 

collaborations that will uniquely allow law enforcement (and their collaborative partners) to 

design tailored responses to community crime and disorder problems—a principle tenant of 

community policing.1 

1. For example, since 1999, COPS has funded the COPS in Schools Program that provides resources to local law 

enforcement agencies to deploy school resource officers in schools. COPS has also developed a series of ProblemOriented Guides for Police (POP Guides) to encourage the use of the SARA problem-solving process and developed 

the Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build, Fix and Sustain Effective Law Enforcement-Community Partnerships. COPS has 

also compiled a comprehensive CD-ROM addressing gang-related programs and strategies. See www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 9 
10 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

The West Side Story Project Collaborative Partners 

Law enforcement agencies are always seeking new ways to reach youth and prevent youth 

violence. In 2007, the Seattle Police Department (SPD), the Seattle Police Foundation (SPF), 

and Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre developed a unique collaboration to create the West Side 

Story Project (WSSP). This project is an opportunity for law enforcement agencies to partner 

with a nontraditional partner such as a local theater company in cooperation with more 

traditional partners such as schools and/or community-based organizations to develop 

new approaches to gang prevention, youth-police relations, and cultural conflict. Most 

community theaters and nonprofit professional theaters have educational outreach programs 

with missions that suit such a project and complement the ongoing efforts of today’s law 

enforcement agencies to find new ways to engage youth and prevent youth-related crime. 

Why Use West Side Story? 

Background: West Side Story 

By far the most popular contemporary version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a tragic 

story of feuding families and star-crossed lovers, is the 1957 musical drama West Side Story. 

Set in the slums of New York City, West Side Story revisits the rivalry between the Capulets 

and the Montagues in a clash between the Jets, a Polish-American gang, and the Sharks, an 

immigrant Puerto Rican gang. The Jets see the Sharks as a threat to their dominance, and 

the Sharks, new to the neighborhood, are ready to defend their new territory and establish 

themselves in their American home. The tension builds as the gangs vie for control of the 

neighborhood. When the Jets’ former leader Tony (West Side Story’s Romeo) and Maria 

(sister of Shark member Bernardo and the musical’s Juliet) fall in love, the opposing gangs’ 

tensions boil over into violence. The warring between the Jets and the Sharks ultimately leads 

to the death of Bernardo and Tony, leaving Maria brokenhearted and the gang members with 

nothing but sorrow and loss. 

The same societal issues central to Romeo and Juliet—prejudice, hatred, and struggles for 

power that erupt into violence and culminate in death—are re-explored in this still modern 

musical drama of youth gang wars. The West Side Story Project Toolkit is designed to help 

build new partnerships that employ theater and the arts to address some of today’s pressing 

issues such as youth violence, bullying, gangs, interracial tensions, and cultural conflict. 
 

West Side Story and Its Relevance for Today 

Marking its 50th anniversary in 2007, West Side Story provides the backdrop to an exploration 

of youth gangs, youth-police relationships, prejudice and the romance of two young people 

caught in a violent cross-cultural struggle. The electrifying music of Leonard Bernstein and 

the prophetic lyrics of Stephen Sondheim hauntingly paint a picture as relevant today as it 

was more than 50 years ago. The themes and scenes of this quintessential story can serve 

as the catalyst for a series of community dialogs for youth and adult audiences about gang 

involvement and violence (“The Jet Song”), violence prevention (“Cool”), race, immigration, 

and discrimination (“America” and “A Boy Like That”) and youth-police relations (“Gee, 

Officer Krupke,” “Snowing the Cops”).2 

The Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre’s production of West Side Story 

marked the timeless musical’s 50th anniversary and sparked the 

unique partnership between theater and police that created the 

West Side Story Project . 

2. For a recent study of immigrant families in New York City that contributes to the understanding of the link between 

immigration, disenfranchised youth, and the lure of gang life, see Mateu-Gelabert, Pedro, Dreams, Gangs, and Guns: 

The Interplay Between Adolescent Violence and Immigration in a New York City Neighborhood, New York: Vera Institute 

of Justice, 2002. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 11 
Overview of the West Side Story Project 

HEAR “PARTNERS & PARTICIPANTS” IN THE SEATTLE WSSP TALK ABOUT THE 

GENESIS AND IMPACT OF THE PROJECT IN “OVERVIEW OF THE WSSP” ON THE 

ACCOMPANYING DVD .
 

The project provides an opportunity for middle and high school students to participate in 

activities designed to engage youth and members of law enforcement agencies in dialogs 

about gang and youth violence prevention, youth–police relationships, and immigration and 

racial/ethnic relations. Simultaneously, it introduces youth, particularly those considered 

at-risk, to a world far away from their everyday lives—the experience of live musical theatre 

and the opportunity to create their own art and drama based on themes from West Side Story 

while working with professional actors and teaching artists. 

The project also provides an opportunity for a public forum (See Book 5 “Planning the 

Community Forum”) based on the themes of “Gee, Officer Krupke,” on issues of risk and 

resiliency among at-risk youth, juvenile justice reform, issues facing new immigrants and 

their relationships with police, and local community efforts to address youth and gang 

violence. The four specific goals of the toolkit are: 

1.	 To use theater and drama to start dialogs between youth and law enforcement officers

about youth and gang violence and youth/police relationships.

2.	 To use theater and drama to give youth tools to deal with their own internal conflicts and

conflicts with others.

3.	 To engage interested youth in producing, with the assistance teaching artists, their own

art and drama based on themes of West Side Story.

4.	 To engage the adult community in a dialog about youth violence, gangs, and strategies to

address system-wide responses to at-risk youth.

12 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Seattle’s WSSP Youth Summit: “Snowing the Cops” role 

reversal workshop . 

Resources Needed 

While Seattle’s project was, in part, funded by the Seattle Police Foundation, (costs for the 

youth summits and for teaching artists), many of the costs associated with the project were 

donated by the partner organizations (such as labor for planning and staffing the events) and 

by local sponsors (e.g., printed material). Like any community policing outreach effort, this 

project does require time and commitment of police officers over several months, and the 

commitment of the leadership of the partner organizations is key to the success of the project. 

See Book 2 “Partners & Resources.” 

Program Results 

Two hundred students completed evaluations of the Seattle WSSP summits, consistently 

reporting significantly improved perceptions of the SPD officers as a result of participating 

in this project. They spoke of “seeing police officers as people who want the best for youth” 

or “seeing that officers are there to help youth prevent problems” and “learning more about 

gang prevention and how SPD officers can help them stay out of gangs.” 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 13 
14 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In White Plains, New York, a WSSP theater performance by youth and police in May 2008 

attracted 400 attendees and has now become an annual production partnering the city of 

White Plains Youth Bureau, White Plains schools, the White Plains Department of Public 

Safety, and the White Plains Performing Arts Center. In 2009, the LAPD partnering with Lake 

View Terrace Phoenix House, a residential substance abuse treatment facility, began monthly 

role reversal workshops resulting in significantly changed attitudes in youth toward police. 

Officers in all jurisdictions report better communication, more regular interaction, and 

increased cooperation with youth in the community. The project also allowed the law 

enforcement agencies involved to build on established partnerships and begin new 

partnerships with local theaters and drama organizations. 

Possible Events for the WSSP: 

• Summit: An all-day “youth summit” partnering law enforcement officers, student facilitators,

and teaching artists in a series of workshops about gangs, violence, cultural conflict, and

youth-police relationships based on scenes from West Side Story (See Book 3 “Planning the

Youth Summit”).

• Performance: With the help of teaching artists, youth develop and present their own

performances based on themes from West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet (See Book 4

“Planning the Artistic Performance”).

• Community Forum: An adult community forum to explore the public policy issues

inherent in the lyrics of “Gee, Officer Krupke” with a facilitated panel discussion of youth

and gang violence and the juvenile justice system (See Book 5 “Planning the Youth

Community Forum”).

The Power of West Side Story for Youth Violence 

Prevention 

In 1955, Arthur Laurents, the author of West Side Story, observed that “it is ironic that a national 

misfortune (the rise of juvenile gangs) should benefit a project for the theater. It might seem 

odd to consider juvenile gang wars as the right background for a musical, but never had we 

thought of this show in terms of an ordinary musical.” No “ordinary musical” indeed! What 

the creative team of West Side Story could not have imagined is how this less-than-ordinary 

musical could be the catalyst for a series of workshops and dialogs about youth–police 

relationships, cultural differences, youth violence, and improving support systems for youth. 
Issues the West Side Story Project Can Address 

Youth-Police Relations 

West Side Story is about the lack of trust that often exists between police and youth. 

“Snowing the Cops”: A role reversal workshop based on this scene allows youth to play 

police officers and police to play teenagers. In their evaluations of the workshop, Seattle 

youth reported that it gave them a much better understanding of the world from a police 

officer’s perspective. 

Cultural Differences 

West Side Story is about the inability to see the world from another’s perspective, resulting in 

prejudice, fear of the unfamiliar, and conflict with those unlike ourselves. 

“America”: In a workshop based on this scene, youth in White Plains, New York, used a theater 

game called “Gibberish Land” to show how difficult it is for new immigrants who are unable 

to speak the language in a new country. In the “America” workshop in Seattle, theatre games 

were used to show youth how much in common we actually have with each other. As one 

student wrote, “People were open with their lives and experiences. I learned not to judge 

people by the way they look.” 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 15 

Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre Production of West Side 

Story: The Jets versus the Sharks . 
 

 

 

 

SEE “YOUTH PERSPECTIVE” ON THE ACCOMPANYING DVD FOR INTERVIEWS 

WITH YOUTH WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE WSSP ON THE VALUE OF USING 

THEATRE IN CHANGING THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON POLICE AND DEVELOPING A 

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE DIFFERENT FROM THEMSELVES . 

The Danger of Gangs 

West Side Story is also about the attraction and danger of gangs. 

“Jet Song”: In this workshop, youth can hear from police officers and former gang members 

about myths and realities of gangs. In surveys completed after the Seattle workshop, youth 

reported the following lessons learned: 

• If anyone tries to force me to join a gang, I can talk to people about this problem.

• I learned to make good choices, be more careful in what I do, and be more responsible.

• I learned a lot more about gangs and how it would be better not to be involved in them.

• I learned to think hard about the actions you take and what the results will be.

Detailed guides for the summit workshops “Snowing the Cops,” “America,” and “Jet Song” can be 

found in Book 3 “Planning the Youth Summit.” 

Youth Violence 

West Side Story also addresses how easily fear and anger can erupt into violence. 

Theater Games and Artistic Performance: The WSSP gives youth a chance to turn their conflicts 

into art and even laughter as they develop and perform original works based on themes from 

West Side Story and the Shakespeare play on which it was based, Romeo and Juliet. 

• In Seattle, using a dramatic method called Replay Theatre that employs the ancient idea

of the narrator and Greek Chorus, youth turned their own personal stories of conflict with

others into plays.

• In White Plains, New York, youth were taught stage fighting to turn conflict into dance in a

re-creation of the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet.

16 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a guide to creating a WSSP performance, see Book 4 “Planning the Artistic Performance.” 

SEE “PLANNING THE ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE” ON THE ACCOMPANYING 

DVD FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHING ARTIST ABOUT TECHNIQUES TO 

DEVELOP ORIGINAL WORKS BASED ON THEMES FROM WEST SIDE STORY AND 

ROMEO AND JULIET. 

Support Systems for Youth 

West Side Story is also a critique of the juvenile justice and the support systems that 

sometimes fail our youth. The surprisingly cynical lyrics of “Gee, Officer Krupke” can serve 

as a starting point for a community forum on youth violence prevention and ways to support 

systems for youth. 

For a guide to organizing a community forum, see Book 5 “Planning the Community Forum.” 

SEE “SEATTLE TOWN HALL: YOUTH VIOLENCE FORUM” FOR EXCERPTS FROM 

THE SEATTLE FORUM INCLUDING A PANEL DISCUSSION ON GANGS AND WHY 

YOUTH TURN TO THEM . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 17 
Research on Arts and Prevention 

Recent research has shown links between the performing arts and improved cognition, 

including the following substantiated observations: 

1.	 An interest in a performing art leads to a high state of motivation that produces the

sustained attention necessary to improve performance and the training of attention that

leads to improvement in other domains of cognition.

2.	 Correlations exist between music training and both reading acquisition and sequence

learning. One of the central predictors of early literacy, phonological awareness, is

correlated with both music training and the development of a specific brain pathway.

3.	 Training in acting appears to lead to memory improvement through the learning of

general skills for manipulating semantic information.

4.	 Learning to dance by effective observation is closely related to learning by physical

practice, both in the level of achievement and also the neural substrates that support the

organization of complex actions. Effective observational learning may transfer to other

cognitive skills.3 

 

More Readings on Arts and Prevention 

For additional resources on the use of arts for youth violence prevention and conflict 

resolution see: 

• Americans for the Arts (www.americansforthearts.org). Search their database for

keywords “at-risk youth,” “prevention,” and “crime and justice.”They have an excellent

online downloadableYouthARTSToolkit as well as instructional videos.They also have

a publication designed for developing an arts program in a community setting: Artists

in the Community:Training Artists toWork in Alternative Settings.

• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org). Search

for publications on the topic of delinquency prevention and subtopic of youth

involvement. In particular, see the Arts and Performances for Prevention in theirYouth

in Action series.

3. Gazzaniga, M. S., “Arts and Cognition: Findings hint at relationships.” Learning, Arts, and the Brain –

The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition, New York/Washington, D.C.: Dana Press, March 2008. 

18 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
© 2009 Seattle Police Foundation. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, 

nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others 

to use, this publication for publication for Federal Government purposes. This publication may be 

freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes. 
“ This is an opportunity to talk about very difficult issues in a very safe 

environment... .We get to talk about race, we get to talk about diversity, 

we get to talk about youth violence, we get to talk about how our 

conduct as police officers affects the community and to learn from the 

community how we can do things differently .” 

– Frank Straub, Former Public Safety Commissioner, White Plains, New York

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

September 2010 

e071016292 

ISBN: 978-0-16-086412-4 
Book 2 

Partners & Resources 
West Side Story Project Toolkit: 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage 

Produced By: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Authors: Pamela Beal, Ph.D. and Liza Comtois 

This project was supported by Grant Number 2007-CK-WX-K003 awarded by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained 

herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. 

Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations or supplement discussion of the 

issues. 

“West Side Story ® ” is a registered trademark of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. 

Used by permission. 

4 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Contents 

A New Kind of Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Benefits of Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
 

Identifying Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
 

Project Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
 

Budgeting & Funding Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
 

Media for the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
 

Evaluating the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
 

Intellectual Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 5 
A New Kind of Partnership 

Partnering for Youth Violence Prevention 

Local law enforcement, schools, and social services agencies have partnered to create an 

array of programs to educate youth about the dangers of gang involvement and the strategies 

to resist gangs and violence: engaging youth in after-school activities, mentoring and 

counseling programs, and academic tutoring and job skills training. These initiatives, while 

not appropriate for “hard-core” gang members, have been designed with an understanding 

that reaching the gang “wanna-bes” or other youth who are surrounded by gangs in their 

neighborhoods may be the most powerful investment to reduce future gang involvement and 

violence. 

Partnering with the Theater 

The West Side Story Project (WSSP) is another such effort targeted at youth on the edges of 

the culture of gangs and violence, but brings an unusual new partner to law enforcement: the 

theater. In the WSSP, unlikely partners join forces to address one of the most tragic afflictions 

of today’s youth culture—youth-on-youth violence at younger and younger ages. With this 

approach, the theater becomes a non-traditional messenger for community policing. Law 

enforcement advocates for the power of theater. 

Partnering with the Schools and Teachers 

The West Side Story Project can either be replicated in a school setting as a companion piece 

to a production of West Side Story, or by individual teachers in the classroom. For instance, 

a social studies or history teacher can show West Side Story and use selected scenes and 

lyrics from songs such as “America” or “A Boy Like That” to develop lesson plans around 

such issues as the history of immigration to America and the cultural conflicts that have 

resulted. A drama teacher could collaborate with a history, social studies, or English teacher 

to use theater games and interactive dramas based on the workshops in the Toolkit to begin 

discussions about conflict between cultures, immigration, youth violence, or conflict with 

authority or with those whose perspectives differ. Or using “Snowing the Cops” and “Gee, 

Officer Krupke,” school resource officers could be asked to participate in a role reversal 

workshop to help youth and police better understand each other. 

6 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
As an example, a teacher at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, one of the schools participating 

in the Seattle WSSP, used the WSSP to augment her course on cultural conflict. As one of her 

students remarked, 

“A class I took my senior year of high school used the West Side Story Project to help 

students at my school learn about the issues like gang violence and segregation found 

in many other schools around the city, but rarely felt at mine. Most of the students 

in my classroom were middle-class white kids who had no relation to gangs or any 

victims of gang violence and had rarely, if ever, felt any sort of discrimination. Using 

the West Side Story film and speaking with students from other, more diverse schools 

around the city helped my classmates learn about issues that were close to our 

homes but many of us never knew existed. The West Side Story Project opened up 

opportunities for honest conversations and a place where my classmates and I felt free 

to talk about social issues we considered important.” 

Bringing in police officers for the role reversal workshops can result in especially powerful 

experiences for both youth and police. Lorraine Trovato-Cantori, an art teacher at an 

alternative high school in White Plains, NY, who worked on their WSSP says, 

“I loved working with the police and saw the power of the role reversals where the 

police played youth and youth played police, giving youth a perspective on police 

as human beings. The only obstacle we had was removing the pre-conception 

the students had that this would be just another workshop. It wasn’t just another 

workshop: it was unlike anything else they’d ever done and they responded with 

enthusiasm.” 

“I would recommend the WSSP to other teachers and schools, because our youth today 

are instrumental in helping to develop cultural understanding and the WSSP promotes 

a positive understanding of cultural differences. I highly recommend that teachers bring 

students aboard who are at-risk, youth who are associated with gangs, and introverted 

youth. We brought such youths to the WSSP and they are now sharing the lessons they 

learned with others.”

 -Lorraine Travato-Cantori 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 7 
8 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

These are only a few of the possible uses of the timeless themes of West Side Story within 

a classroom setting. Certainly if a school is doing a production of West Side Story, any one 

or more of the components of the Toolkit—the summit workshops, the forum, or even a 

companion performance of original works by youth based on themes of the film—could 

enhance students’ experience of the play as a school-based West Side Story Project and could 

be done on a small budget. Partnering with local police, a local community theater, or even 

a local youth bureau or organization can bring more resources to a school-based WSSP. For 

teachers interested in learning more about using the arts to teach other subjects, see the 

Leonard Bernstein Center for Artful Learning at www.artfullearning.com. 

Using the Arts to Resolve Conflict 

This project is built on the idea that the arts, in particular kinetic arts such as drama, music, 

and dance, can give youth a means to work out their negative feelings in a safe manner. 

Drama, music, and other art forms can often reach youth and help them to resolve internal 

and external conflicts when other approaches, such as punishment or threat, cannot. Jamie 

Bernstein, daughter of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein, believes that “the 

arts can be used to teach so much more than the art itself: It is really the most creative and 

communicative tool that a teacher can have.”1 

Pooling Resources for a Common Vision 

These unlikely, and certainly “nontraditional” partners share a common vision—musical 

theater, partnered with law enforcement. Such a combination can be a powerful instrument to 

educate youth and adults and to explore the societal systems that can be mobilized to reduce 

youth violence and develop mutual respect between youth and law enforcement officers. 

When the Seattle Police Department (SPD), the Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre, and the Seattle 

Police Foundation (SPF) forged their collaboration, they combined their individual resources 

to leverage other community agencies, local sponsors, and the media to support a series of 

citywide programs focusing on youth violence prevention. These other partners included the 

King County Boys & Girls Clubs, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Neighborhood Group, 

Town Hall Seattle, the Seattle Channel (public access channel), Allstate Insurance, Seattle 

Public Schools, and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. All partners contributed 

in-kind and/or financially to ensure the successful implementation of the project. 

1. All quotations are from an interview with Jamie Bernstein on May 20, 2008 in New York City by Pamela Beal, Ph.D. 

For information on the Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning, go to www.artfullearning.com. 
Benefits of Collaboration

Interviews held with participants in the Seattle, Washington, White Plains, New York and Los 

Angeles, California projects yielded numerous benefits for youth, law enforcement, and the 

theater, including better cooperation for police with youth on the street, community-wide 

recognition of a theater’s commitment to education, and better understanding for youth of 

why police officers act as they do in an encounter. 

SEE THE ACCOMPANYING DVD FOR INTERVIEWS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT 


MANAGERS, OFFICERS, YOUTH, THEATER STAFF, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS 

ON ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF THE WSSP . 

Molly Fortin and Liza Comtois of 5th Avenue 

Theatre, Detective Kim Bogucki of the Seattle 

Police Department, and Carmen Martinez of 

Seattle Parks and Recreation joined forces to 

create the West Side Story Project . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 9 
Benefits to Youth Who Participated in the WSSP 

Allows students to meet other youth from different schools. 

“Microsoft kids go to my school. Meeting kids from Chief Sealth whose experiences were so 

different from mine was eye opening. I had no idea about gangs.” 

Encourages youth to build relationships with the police. 

“Making a positive connection to the police was great. I was terrified of cops! Most of my 

friends felt the same way. I had no interaction with cops before and no reason to fear them, 

but I did.” 

Encourages youth to help others stay out of gangs. 

“My cousins used to be in gangs and it didn’t really help their life. I thought if I join in the 

West Side Story Project I might really help others.” 

Breaks down barriers and prejudices between groups. 

“At the summit, the Youth Advisory Council decided to mix things up at lunch and so 

even though we were from different schools and different groups we sat together. Some 

stragglers from different schools started sitting together after seeing us change, realizing 

that it really was okay to mix. Seeing that small change in what we were before the program 

(a group of strangers afraid to mingle) and what we became showed me that the goal of 

awareness really did work.” 

Benefits to Law Enforcement Agencies 

Improves youth–police trust and communication and provides an opportunity to see things 

from each other’s perspective. 

“In the beginning it was an icy atmosphere...but by the end it was a total 180.” 

– Senior Lead Officer John Walker, LAPD

Highlights the positive, preventative work law enforcement does and attracts media attention. 

“The WSSP gave the Seattle Police Department the opportunity to showcase its commitment 

to violence prevention.” 

– Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, SPD Media Unit

10 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Provides a forum to discuss police–community issues in a safe environment. 

“We get to talk about race, we get to talk about diversity, we get to talk about youth 

violence...and to learn from the community how to do things differently.” 

– Former Commissioner Frank Straub, White Plains, New York Public Safety

Gives law enforcement officers the opportunity to educate youth about laws that affect young 

people. 

“I got a better understanding of situations I may encounter and how the police will deal with 

them so I know how to act.” 

– Student at Seattle Youth Summit

Benefits to the Theater 

• Showcases the educational outreach mission of the theater to the community

• Provides an opportunity for community-wide forums inspired by musical theater

• Educates nontraditional theater audiences, particularly young people, about theater

• Brings new partners to the theater

• Shows the value of theater for helping to focus the creative energies of at-risk youth

• In Seattle, provided unusual interaction for the cast of West Side Story with youth,

police, and even former gang members inspiring their roles in the 5th Avenue Theatre

production

“The West Side Story Project provided an opportunity for community discussion of crucial 

issues through the vehicle of musical theater.” 

– Bill Berry, Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre Associate Artistic Director

“Any regional theater that has an educational outreach program could stand to benefit by 

partnering with their local police department and using West Side Story as a way to generate 

discussion and participation with youth in their city.” 

–Jamie Bernstein

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 11 
Jamie Bernstein Encourages Local Theaters to Partner With 

Their Local Police: 

“The really great thing that happened in Seattle was that the theater company—which had its 

own educational outreach program—discovered that the police department—which had its 

own educational outreach program—was really trying to do the same thing. So when they 

put their resources together they had a double strength means of reaching out to the youth 

in the city and they got exponentially more results for their efforts.” 

Identifying Partners 

Finding the right primary partners who will form the core team to plan the project and 

identifying other supporting stakeholders is key to the success of the project. Below are 

examples of what Seattle, Washington, did to develop its partnerships. 

Theater. The Seattle partnership started in 2007 with a Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre Board 

member approaching the artistic director with the idea of a partnership with the police in light 

of the theater’s production of the musical in its 50th anniversary year. The artistic director saw 

the potential of the partnership in supporting their educational outreach mission. 

Law Enforcement. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) was open to new ideas for 

partnering with the community on public safety matters, and since the musical addresses the 

problem of youth violence and youth–police relations, the police saw the potential, too. 

Schools. SPD officers and the theater’s educational outreach liaison went together to talk to 

principals and teachers in schools that had drama programs as well as in schools located in 

areas that had gangs. The police and the theater’s liaison used established connections in the 

schools to begin the discussions. Four high schools were selected to partner on the project: 

two with strong drama programs and two with significant populations of at-risk youth. 

Sponsors.The partners then applied for and received a grant from the Seattle Police 

Foundation for the project (see budget below). They also jointly solicited and were awarded 

a grant from one of the area’s arts foundations. Other sponsors were sought according to the 

needs identified by the primary partners. 

12 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
 

For additional resources on developing partnerships and identifying stakeholders, see 

the COPS Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build, Fix and Sustain Effective Law EnforcementCommunity Partnerships.2 

Talking Points for Partners 

When putting together your principle partners, consider the following suggestions as possible 

talking points. 

Theater Partners: If you are looking for a Theater partner, consider the following: 

• Most community and nonprofit theaters have an educational outreach program that

would fit well with the WSSP. Ask to speak to the educational outreach liaison/manager.

• Frame the project as way to build youth interest in theater, to expand the theater’s

partners’, and to showcase their outreach program.

• Determine if the theater already has a partnership with a local school.

• Offer to contact arts funders in the area with the theater to submit a joint application for

funding the project.

• Ask the theater to provide backstage tours for students who become involved with

planning the project and discount theater tickets for students who participate in the project.

DVD: CONSIDER SHOWING “OVERVIEW,” “JAMIE BERNSTEIN,” AND “THEATRE 

PERSPECTIVE .” 

2. Rinehart, Tammy, Anna Laszlo, and Gwen Briscoe. COPS Collaboration Toolkit: How to Build, Fix and Sustain Effective 

Law Enforcement-Community Partnerships. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services, 2001. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 13 
Law Enforcement Partners: If you are looking for a Law Enforcement partner, 

consider the following: 

• Reach out to established connections within the department.

• Ask to speak with the community police officers, the community outreach unit, gang

unit officers, officers involved with a Police Athletic League (PAL) or other youth-related

activities.

• Ask supervisors to involve officers with good community speaking skills and officers who

like “outside of the box” work.

• Frame the WSSP as a youth violence prevention project, suitable for at-risk youth but not

an intervention for hard-core gang members.

• Highlight the benefits for police departments, especially in establishing communication

with youth and improving youth–police relations. While it might seem a “warm-fuzzy”

project, the goal is to build communication and trust with at-risk youth.

• Emphasize that this is an interactive project, not a lecture, and that youth learn without

even realizing it! It is an excellent vehicle for educating youth about the law and about

the perspective of police officers.

• Offer a passive role such as a group guide for the day for officers who are nervous or

unwilling to act in the role reversal workshop. Even in Seattle some officers came into the

project a little reluctantly but by the end saw the value in the project and had fun with the

youth.

• Consider the issue of overtime for police departments and try to work the project into a

schedule that will not require it. In previous projects, the police donated their time and

labor.

• If the police department has a foundation, consider applying to the foundation for

funding for the WSSP.

14 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

DVD: CONSIDER SHOWING “OVERVIEW,” “LAW ENFORCEMENT MANAGERS’ 

PERSPECTIVE,” OFFICER PERSPECTIVE,” AND “YOUTH PERSPECTIVE .” 
 

School Partners: If you are looking for partners in the Schools consider the following: 

• Reach out to established contacts that either the police or theater might have in the

schools.

• Meet with principals and ask them which teachers might be interested in the project.

Meet also with drama teachers or social studies teachers who might want to make this a

school project.

• Contact sports coaches who might be interested in having their teams participate

in the project.

• Ask administrators and teachers what they think the problems are in their schools

(violence, bullying, cultural conflict, racial tensions, lack of trust or cooperation between

youth and police, etc.).

• Check school calendars and consider what the best times for such a project might be

for schools.

DVD: CONSIDER SHOWING “OVERVIEW,” “COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE,” AND 

“YOUTH PERSPECTIVE .” 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 15 
Project Timeline 

Seattle Sample Timeline 

The timeline for the West Side Story Project will vary depending on which parts are selected 

for replication. Below is a general timeline for the Seattle project: 

Meet with potential partners September 

Identify funding sources for WSSP October 

Recruit Youth Advisory Council members November 

Planning for 2 summits (High & Middle School) December – February 

Hold summits March 

Start sessions for WSSP performance April 

WSSP Artistic performance May 

Town Hall/Community Forum on Youth Issues May 

White Plains Sample Timeline 

The timeline in White Plains, New York, was similar although they did not do the Community 

Forum. They had even less time than Seattle, but they already had a youth planning team in 

place in the form of the Mayor’s Youth Council. They also partnered primarily with one high 

school and one middle school. 

Planning for 2 summits (High & Middle School) January – March 

Hold summits March 

Preparing for performance April and May 

Hold performance May 

16 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Resources for the WSSP 

Once you have identified your primary partners, discuss what you will need for your WSSP. 

Consider making a chart of Needs and Resources: what do we need and who might have the 

necessary resources? See the example below of some of the needs and resources identified in 

the Seattle WSSP: 

Needs Resources 

Funding Seattle Police Foundation, local arts funders, 

local businesses 

Planning Team members SPD, 5th Avenue Theater, Seattle Parks and 

Recreation 

Site for summits Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center 

Recruiting youth for summits Seattle Parks and Recreation, Seattle Public 

Schools 

Facilitators for the summits Seattle Neighborhood Group 

Transportation for summits Seattle Schools, SPD 

Sites for performance workshops Seattle Schools, LH Performing Arts Center 

Site for forum Town Hall Seattle 

Moderator and panelists for forum University of Washington, SPD, Center for 

Children and Youth Justice 

Media and Marketing SPD and 5th Avenue Media Relations 

Videotaping events SPD Video Unit and Seattle Channel 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 17 
Budgeting & Funding Ideas 

Sections of the WSSP can be conducted without much if any cost. Town Hall Seattle became 

a partner on the project and included the West Side Story Project event as part of its regularly 

occurring public events so the venue was free (although there was a small admission charge), 

the panelists and moderator appeared pro bono, the public access channel filmed it as part of 

their regular show, the actors appeared courtesy of the 5th Avenue Theatre, and publicizing 

was done by Town Hall and the Seattle Police Department in tandem with the 5th Avenue 

Theatre. 

A summit workshop could be done in lieu of a full summit and possibly incorporated into 

another event. The role reversal workshop especially lends itself to use at community centers, 

within schools or even at juvenile detention centers or prisons as a stand-alone piece. For 

example, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) now does monthly role reversals, where 

police play youth and youth play police officers, with Phoenix House at little or no cost. Even 

a performance of original works based on themes from West Side Story can be done on a 

small budget if you tap into local community theater; some nonprofit theater groups provide 

support pro bono for youth projects like this one. 

Seattle.The Seattle WSSP was funded primarily by the Seattle Police Foundation with 

additional support for theater staff provided by a grant from a local arts funder. Below 

is the budget request to the Seattle Police Foundation. All partners donated labor, with 

the exception of the WSSP coordinator and teaching artists. Also, several businesses and 

organizations provided in-kind support. 

White Plains. Funding for their project came from the city of White Plains, the White Plains 

School District, SUNY Purchase Liberty Partnership, New York State Department of Education 

21st Century Community Learning Center funding, and SAMHSA Drug Free Communities 

funding. 

Having identified a recurring funding source, White Plains has elected to do a project of 

similar scope annually that will continue the partnership among the city, the police, the 

schools and the White Plains Performing Arts Center. 

18 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Sample Budget 

The Seattle West Side Story Project 2007 

Budget to Seattle Police Foundation 

Personnel $3,600.00 

2 Seattle police officers will coordinate the project as part of 

their routine responsibilities. $0.00 

Street Smarts/America Workshop Instructor 

$100.00/per session x 2 sessions $200.00 

5th Avenue Theatre WSSP Project Coordinator 

$15.00/hour x 200 hours $3,000.00 

5th Avenue Theatre Teaching Artists (2) 

$100.00/per session x 2 sessions x 2 artists $400.00 

5th Avenue Theatre Associate artistic director will donate 25% 

of his time to supervise the project coordinator and teaching artists $0.00 

5th Avenue Theatre director of development will donate 10% 

of her time to coordinate public relations with community partners $0.00 

Other Direct Costs $6,550.00 

Student discounted tickets to West Side Story 

200 tickets x $15.00/per ticket $3,000.00 

Teaching materials for the West Side Story Project Summits 

$100.00/per session x 2 sessions $200.00 

Meals $7.50 each (breakfast and lunch) x 100 participants x 2 sessions $3,000.00 

Giveaways: West Side Story Project T-shirts, CDs, posters, and 

water bottles with the project insignia $1,500.00 

Rental of community center space for 2 sessions $350.00 

Total Requested Budget $11,650.00 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 19 
 

 

 

Media for the Project 

Receiving local, national, and international media attention3, the WSSP provides an 

opportunity for law enforcement agencies to highlight the positive work they do in youth 

violence prevention, and for theaters to showcase their educational outreach missions. In 

Seattle, the theater and the police department worked in tandem on the media and marketing 

for the project. Both organizations donated their media unit’s time on the project. 

Note that one of the elements of this project that captured the imagination of the media was the 

unique partnership between law enforcement and the theater and their common goal to reduce 

youth violence. Doing all press jointly helps to underscore the partnership to the media. 

SEE “WSSP PRESS CONFERENCE” ON THE ACCOMPANYING DVD FOR AN 

EXAMPLE OF HOW SEATTLE INTRODUCED THE PROJECT TO THE MEDIA AND 

THE PUBLIC . 

Below are some suggestions on how to organize your WSSP media campaign: 

1.	 Primary partners should involve their public information officer and/or media relations

representatives early in the planning process. Ask them to attend a few planning

meetings so that they understand the project and the partners involved.

2.	 Hold a meeting with the media relations units of primary partners to discuss the specifics

of the media and marketing strategy. Encourage this as a joint, collaborative effort and

suggest co-authorship when releasing any information on the project.

3.	 Plan a joint press conference near the first event of the WSSP and send out a joint

press advisory. Prepare talking points for each major partner to cover during the press

conference. Make sure youth involved in the project are in attendance and standing on

the podium. You might even ask one of the youth to prepare remarks. In Seattle, all the

youth wore a specially designed WSSP T-shirt at the press conference.

20 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

3. The Seattle Times and the Associated Press ran news articles; all local affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS covered 

the youth summits and news conference; interviews were featured on the local NPR station; the Seattle Channel 

(public station) produced a short documentary on the project and aired the full Seattle Town Hall event; the 

Leonard Bernstein Organization (NY) forwarded news clips to the Christian Science Monitor and the New York 

Times, and BBC 2 covered the story. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

4.	 Prepare joint press kits to distribute, with information on dates, times, locations, and

descriptions of all activities planned in the project (see example from the Seattle WSSP)

and listing all major partners and sponsors. Send press kits to those who could not

attend the event.

SEE “JOINT PRESS RELEASE” ON CD .
 

5.	 Make follow-up phone calls to invited media to encourage them to attend the press

conference, emphasizing the unique partnership between a law enforcement agency and

a theater working together for youth gang violence prevention.

6.	 Have at least one media relations representative at each event to guide the media who

cover the event, and to set up interviews with appropriate event participants. The person

can also make calls the day of the event to remind media of the uniqueness of the

partnership and project.

For articles on the WSSP see Sullivan, Jennifer, “West Side Story inspires anti-gang program,” 

in the Seattle Times, March 29, 2007 (www.seattletimes.com) and Liebson, Richard, “White 

Plains to get program that uses art to combat youth violence,” in the Lower Hudson Journal 

News, January 3, 2008 (www.thejournalnews.com). See also the Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre 

article, “The West Side Story Project: New Seattle gang prevention and education program 

makes theater and public conversation a force for change in teens’ lives” (Encore: 50th 

Anniversary of West Side Story, June 2007). 

SEE ARTICLE ON CD .
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 21 
 

Evaluating the Program 

Project Planning and Evaluation 

To assist in planning the project, partners can use a pre-project survey to help better 

understand each other’s goals for the project and to establish desired outcomes. A postproject survey can then help measure those outcomes and capture other important results. 

In some cases, it might be useful to conduct follow-up interviews with project partners to 

ascertain what worked well and what might be improved. Consider asking a local university 

or college to assist with interviewing and data analysis. Graduate students in criminal justice, 

sociology, or even management programs might be willing to assist at little or no cost as part 

of a class or research project. 

SAMPLES OF PRE- AND POST-PROJECT SURVEY FORMS ARE PROVIDED ON 

THE ACCOMPANYING CD . 

22 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Seattle WSSP Youth Advisory Council . 
 

 

Summit Evaluation

While evaluation of prevention efforts is difficult, analysis of surveys given to youth attending 

the summits in Seattle demonstrated that as a result of the WSSP, participants had a 

significantly enhanced perception of police (a 4.28 mean on a scale of 1 to 5). This was equally 

true for at-risk youth and those deemed not at-risk. Qualitative responses highlighted that 

participants’ perceptions of police changed from one of law enforcer to helper. Some of the 

youth spoke of “seeing police officers as people who want the best for youth” or “seeing that 

officers are there to help youth prevent problems.” 

Also significantly enhanced was the understanding of the realities of gang involvement. 

Responses showed that participants realized that gang involvement was dangerous and could 

realistically result in death and that there was help available for youth who want to stay out 

of gangs. In fact, at one of the Seattle summits, a youth approached a police officer to ask for 

help getting out of a gang. As a result, the police worked with him and his family and have 

devised a plan for helping the youth to safely exit gang life. 

SAMPLE SUMMIT EVALUATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE 

ACCOMPANYING CD . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 23 
Intellectual Property 

What You Need to Know about Intellectual Property Issues 

for This Project 

Below is a detailed description of Intellectual Property and the rights that it covers. Both the 

musical and movie of West Side Story including all music, lyrics, dialog, characters, and 

choreography are covered under these rights and you will need to consider them when you 

are making decisions about how you will use the stage or film material in your project. Every 

project will be different and use the materials in a unique way; therefore, we cannot make a 

specific recommendation on how you should approach these rights. We hope the information 

below provides you with the tools to make the right permissions choices for your project. 

Intellectual Property (IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as 

musical, literary, and artistic works; inventions; and symbols, names, images, and designs 

used in commerce, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights. Under 

intellectual property law, the holder of one of these abstract “properties” has certain 

exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention which is covered by it. 

Intellectual property confers a bundle of exclusive rights in relation to the particular form or 

manner in which ideas or information are expressed or manifested. The term “intellectual 

property” denotes the specific legal rights that authors, inventors, and other IP holders may 

hold and exercise, and not the intellectual work itself. Use of another person’s intellectual 

property will usually involve royalty payments or permissions, and should always include 

proper credit to the source. 

In dramatic works, the following were approved at the Berne, an international copyright 

agreement designed to protect literary and artistic works. 

24 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Subject to certain permitted reservations, limitations, or exceptions, the following are among 

the rights that must be recognized as exclusive rights of authorization: 

• The right to translate

• The right to make adaptations and arrangements of the work

• The right to perform in public dramatic, dramatico-musical and musical works

• The right to recite in public literary works

• The right to communicate to the public the performance of such works

• The right to broadcast

• The right to make reproductions in any manner or form

• The right to use the work as a basis for an audiovisual work, and the right to reproduce,

distribute, perform in public, or communicate to the public that audiovisual work.

The Convention also provides for “moral rights”: the right to claim authorship of the work 

and the right to object to any mutilation or deformation or other modification of, or other 

derogatory action in relation to, the work which would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or 

reputation (www.theatrewithoutborders.com). 

Individual songs from West Side Story are administered by the agents for the Leonard 

Bernstein Music Company LLC (ASCAP). Agent for Rental and Print: Boosey & Hawkes 

(www.boosey.com); Agent for Broadcasting and Recording: Universal Music Publishing 

Group (www.umpg.com). 

Permission to make videos of or to broadcast theatrical productions of West Side Story, in 

whole or part, is generally not available. 

In general, to utilize copy written material, you must obtain permission. In the case of West 

Side Story, you would obtain a license and potentially pay royalties. Your project team should 

decide how you are going to use West Side Story and if you are using the musical or the 

movie or both. Then consult your area expert or legal counsel to determine next steps in 

licensing the material. If you are partnering with a local theater, they should be familiar with 

the licensing process and could take the lead on approaching the appropriate parties. Very 

often they will have established relationships that could be beneficial for obtaining the rights 

at little or no cost, particularly if the purpose of the project is educational. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 25 
Licensing information and applications for 

West Side Story can be obtained from: 

Music Theatre International 

421 West 54th Street 

New York, NY 10019 

Tel: 212.541.4684 

Fax: 212.397.4684 

Licensing@MTIshows.com 

More information can be found at the following web site: 

West Side Story official web site: 

www.westsidestory.com 

Original music and stage lyrics can be found here: 

www.westsidestory.com 

Musical Theatre International (MTI) general information: 

www.mtishows.com/faq_general_information.asp 

How to license a musical: 

www.MTIshows.com/faq_licensing.asp 

How to license clips from the film: 

www.mgmstills.com 

26 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
© 2009 Seattle Police Foundation. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, 

nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others 

to use, this publication for publication for Federal Government purposes. This publication may be 

freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes. 
“ If you would have told me 10 years ago that I was going to do this 

I’d have said ‘you’re nuts’... .I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am 

that I did... .When you look at how we got to interact with each 

other, let them be the cops and order me around...it was unlike 

any other experience I’ve ever had .” 

– Sergeant Joe Bauer, Seattle Police Department

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

September 2010 

e071016292 

ISBN: 978-0-16-086412-4 
Book 3 

Planning the Youth sUmmit 
West Side Story Project Toolkit: 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage 

Produced By: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Authors: Pamela Beal, Ph.D. and Liza Comtois 

This project was supported by Grant Number 2007-CK-WX-K003 awarded by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained 

herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. 

Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations or supplement discussion of the 

issues. 

“West Side Story ® ” is a registered trademark of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. 

Used by permission. 

4 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Contents 

About the Youth Summits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Planning Team Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 

Sample Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
 

Pre-Workshop Preparation for the “Snowing the Cops” Role Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
 

Workshop 1 - “Snowing the Cops” Role Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
 

Workshop 2 - “America” (Valuing Differences) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
 

Workshop 3 - “Jet Song” (Myths and realities of gangs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
 

Summit Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 5 
About the Youth Summits 

The WSSP Youth Summits are a series of interactive workshops based on scenes from West 

Side Story that spark dialogue between youth and officers about the issues of youth and gang 

violence, youth–police relations, and cultural conflict. The summits help law enforcement 

to connect with youth through drama and music. As Officer Adriana Mungia of the LAPD 

Foothills Division says, “this project helps youth on so many levels. It builds self-esteem, 

teaches ways to deal with conflict, and teaches communication skills.” 

Purpose of the Youth Summits 

• To create a dialogue between youth and law enforcement about youth violence, gangs,

and youth–police relationships

• To create a dialogue between youth from different backgrounds about cultural conflict

and prejudice

• To engage interested youth in producing, with the assistance of teaching artists and

theater staff, their own art and drama based on themes from West Side Story.

Youth Driven 

Using selected scenes from West Side Story, a youth advisory council works with an adult 

planning team to create a series of workshops for the summits that use interactive drama to 

spark these dialogues. The summit and its workshops are most effective if they are created 

and marketed by youth. 

“In planning the West Side Story Project it is essential that it be youth driven. We got a group 

of students together to create an advisory council so that we could create a summit that they 

and other students would be interested in attending.” 

– Seattle Police Detective Kim Bogucki

6 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

SEE THE ACCOMPANYING DVD FOR INTERVIEWS WITH YOUTH ABOUT 

PLANNING THE SUMMITS, LEADING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE 

WORKSHOPS, AND REASONS THEY WOULD RECOMMEND THE WSSP TO 

OTHER YOUTH . 
 

Putting Together the Planning Team 

Step 1. Identify a planning group that includes individuals from law enforcement, a theater 

company, and someone from a governmental or community organization dedicated to youth. 

Ask school resource officers, juvenile unit officers and/or gang unit officers to participate. 

Often, theaters have an education program coordinator who would be a good choice for the 

planning team. 

Step 2. Designate one person from the planning group as the coordinator for the summits. 

In Seattle, this person was the theater liaison, funded in part by a grant from the Seattle 

Police Foundation. In White Plains, New York, a City Youth Bureau staff member took the lead 

organizational responsibility for the summits in addition to her regular duties. 

Step 3. Discuss which high schools and middle schools might want to participate in the 

summits. In both Seattle and White Plains, two summits were held, one for high school 

students and one for middle school students. In Seattle, the planning group selected four 

different schools to participate from varied geographical locations in the city. Two of the 

schools had strong drama programs and two were in areas with student populations that 

were somewhat at risk for gang involvement. The four schools were diverse academically, 

economically, and racially. The police and the theater liaison established connections with 

specific teachers or staff members at each of the schools, making working with the schools 

easier. Since White Plains was a smaller city, it drew on the major high school in the city as its 

primary planning partner. 

Step 4. Invite school administrators and selected teachers to a meeting to discuss the 

project and its goals, to identify the youth population who would participate in the summits, 

and to establish a timeline for the summits that fits the school calendar. Ask that one or two 

school staff be part of the summit planning group. 

SEE YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL APPLICATION FORM ON DATA CD .
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 7 
Step 5. Recruit youth to be part of the planning team. Have officers approach their 

established contacts in the schools, community centers, parks and recreation or other youth 

organizations to identify youth interested in being on the WSSP Youth Advisory Council. 

Officers can give short presentations to various classes or even to sports teams to recruit 

youth for the planning team. The theater liaison can address drama classes and clubs. Some 

cities, such as White Plains, NY, may already have a youth advisory council in place that 

can become part of the planning team. In both Seattle and White Plains, the youth advisory 

council consisted of approximately 30 high school youth. 

Step 6. Once youth planners are recruited, consider if it would be helpful to give them 

incentives to remain committed to the project. Seattle gave stipends to youth who attended 

four of the six planning sessions and both of the summits. Youth were also offered discounted 

tickets for a local production of West Side Story (if no production is happening near you, 

tickets for other shows would be a great way to nurture their appreciation for theater) as well 

as backstage theater tours. The hours may also be applicable for a school’s community service 

requirement. 

Step 7. Decide how many sessions will be needed to plan the summits as well as meeting 

locations, times, and tasks. In Seattle, weekly 2-hour sessions with the youth advisory 

council were held over a period of six weeks to select the most effective scenes and then 

develop workshops around them. Sessions were held after school at rotating locations at the 

represented schools and community centers, with pizza and snacks provided. The rotating 

locations gave the youth planning team an opportunity to see each others’ schools and learn 

about their communities. Students were called before each meeting to remind them to attend. 

Transportation was provided for students who needed it. 

8 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Using Seattle as an example: Summit Logistics Agenda 

Seattle West Side Story Project 

High School Summit 

Friday, March 30, 2007 

8:00 AM– 2:00 PM 

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center 

8:00 AM – 8:15 AM - Pick Up 


Students will be picked up from school and transported by bus.
 

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM - Student Registration
 

Students will register for the summit and receive their group assignments. They will then proceed into the 


theater and/or go to the Multi-purpose Room for a snack. Students arriving after 8:50 AM will go directly into 


the theater after registration.
 

9:00 AM – 9:25 AM - Opening Session in Theater
 

Session will include the following:
 

• Welcome remarks by the 5th Avenue and Seattle Police Department (SPD)
 

• A live performance of a number from West Side Story 


• A keynote address by a former gang member from Project SAVE
 

• Instructions for the rest of the day and division into groups for first workshop session.
 

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM - Workshop Session One
 

Three simultaneous 1-hour workshops will be offered facilitated by SPD officers and staff from the 5th 


Avenue Theatre. Students will be accompanied by an officer and teacher assigned to their group. They will 


go to one of the following workshops: 


Workshop A: “Snowing the Cops” This workshop will provide an opportunity for a reverse role play with 

SPD officers and youth. 

Workshop B: “The Jet Song” This workshop will explore life in and out of gangs, myths and realities about 

gang involvement, and gang-resistance strategies. 

Workshop C: “America” This workshop will explore cultural differences and stereotypes, as well as help 

youth learn to value differences. 

10:35 AM – 11:35 AM - Workshop Session Two 

Students will rotate to their second workshop. 

11:40 AM – 12:05 PM - Lunch in Multi-purpose Room 

All students will go to the Multi-purpose Room for lunch. 

12:10 PM – 1:10 PM - Workshop Session Three 

Students will rotate to their third workshop. 

1:15 PM –1:45 PM - Final Session, Wrap-Up and Next Steps in Theater 

All students will return to the theater for: “Officer Krupke” discussion on the Juvenile Justice System 

• Raffle

• Group photo.

• 1:45 PM – 2:15 PM - Students return to school

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 9 
Planning Team Tasks 

Task 1. Become familiar with West Side Story. Before planning begins, have someone give 

an overview of West Side Story as well as a summary of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 

from which it was derived. If possible, show the film in its entirety to the youth advisory 

council before planning begins, although a few scenes can also be shown at each planning 

session. 

Task 2. Get to know each other. Some suggested questions: 

• Why did you decide to participate in this project?

• What are you looking forward to in this project?

• For those of you who have encountered police officers, what is your impression of the

police? What formed your impression?

• How many of you have been to a theatrical performance? Has anyone thought about

working in the theater?

• How many know something about gangs? What do you know?

Task 3. Select scenes from the film. Choose scenes that have relevance to youth issues in 

your area. Youth involvement in the process of scene selection is key as they know their peers 

best and know what appeals to them. 

Task 4. Discuss selected scenes in depth. After watching the selected scene, ask youth: 

• What is this scene about?

• Does the situation seem familiar?

• What about this scene is relevant to your peers?

• What are possible discussion issues in this scene?

Task 5. Choose scenes to use for workshops at the summit and develop workshops around 

those scenes. See examples on page 15. 

Task 6. Identify workshop facilitators. Identify adult workshop facilitators and consider 

partnering them with a youth advisory council member to help facilitate the workshop. Ask 

youth advisory council members to develop questions they might ask in the workshop to help 

stimulate discussion. 

10 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
 

 

 

 

 

Task 7. Create a marketing plan. In Seattle, the youth were tasked with designing a summit 

poster and T-shirt as part of the marketing plan. Youth were asked to bring in different designs, 

and the group selected the winning design. This project took an entire session but was worth 

it since many issues such as gang colors and school rivalries were brought to the table. See 

sample poster created for the Seattle WSSP on page 14. 

Task 8. Create a plan for recruiting students to attend the summits. Youth advisory council 

members can talk to their peers about the summits. They can identify clubs and groups that 

might be interested in attending. Create and distribute a recruitment poster advertising the 

summit. Teachers might want to bring entire classes, particularly classes with themes or 

projects that fit with the summit purpose. In Seattle, one coach brought her entire basketball 

team. 

Task 9. Select a summit location. In Seattle, since there were four high schools involved, the 

planning team chose a neutral location for the summits—a centrally located youth arts facility 

familiar to most youth. Your location should have a theater and a number of other rooms 

available for the workshop sessions. Holding the summits in a theatrical space enhanced the 

theater connection and took the youth further out of their familiar comfort zones of a school 

or community center building. 

Task 10. Plan logistics for the day of the summit, including transportation.Transportation 

to and from the summits will need to be planned, so consider assigning a transportation 

coordinator. A school bus company donated transportation for the Seattle summits 

supplemented by vans from the Seattle Police Department. Breakfast and lunch will also need 

to be planned. See sample “Summit Logistics Agenda” for the Seattle WSSP Summit on page 9. 

Task 11. Develop a summit agenda and a folder or bag for summit attendees to keep 

materials. Plan how students will be registered, what materials they will be given (including 

an agenda and evaluation forms), how they will be grouped and who will guide each group. 

See sample “Summit Logistics Agenda” for the Seattle WSSP Summit on page 9. 

Task 12. Distribute parental consent forms for any student attending the summit. Every 

student who attends should have a signed parental consent form that includes information 

about food allergies, emergency contact information, and a release for educational use of 

photographs and video images of students. Ask one of the WSSP team members to keep 

copies of these consent forms. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 11 
 

SEE SUMMIT FIELD TRIP PERMISSION AND RELEASE FORM ON DATA CD . 

Task 13. Meet with teachers to assign students to summit groups. Students were divided 

into three groups of approximately 30–35 youth in the Seattle summit, and assignments to 

these groups (indicated by a colored wristband) were pre-determined by adult planners and 

teachers to mix students from various schools and avoid any possible conflicts. 

Task 14. Decide the role of the media at the summits. For some workshops it might be 

best not to have media present as you want participants to speak freely—for instance in 

the “Jet Song” workshop on gangs. One workshop that is particularly “media friendly” is 

the “Snowing the Cops” role reversal. Exceptions can be made for those documenting the 

project. 

Task 15. Hold a press conference for the event. Have members of the youth advisory council 

attend and perhaps ask one of them to prepare remarks. For additional information on 

planning a press conference, see “Media for the Project” in Book 2: Partners & Resources. 

SEE KICK-OFF PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE ACCOMPANYING DVD .
 

12 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Using Seattle as an example: Staffing
 

Summit staffing, in addition to the adult planning team and workshop leaders:
 

• 3–6 registrars (separate names by 2–3 sections of alphabet)

• Summit emcee who leads general sessions

• Summit keynote speaker (optional)

• Summit performers (optional)

• Talent wrangler (if performers are included)

• Transportation coordinator (if students are being bussed in)

• 2 runners who can take care of any miscellaneous problems that arise

• At least 1 police officer to travel all day with each group (3 groups = 3 police officers)

• A teacher should also be assigned to accompany each group

• A teaching artist in each workshop to lead the theater game and to encourage interest in

the performance

• 5–10 volunteers to assist with set up, summit bag and T-shirt distribution, lunch service,

technical needs, clean up, etc.

• If media is present, assign a person to host them so they are not wandering without

a guide. Perhaps ask a law enforcement media relations representative to attend and

perform this function.

Workshop Staffing: 

• 2 workshop facilitators who will be responsible for keeping time in their workshops,

including setting aside enough time for youth to fill out evaluations at the end of each

workshop

• 2 police officers per scenario for the “Snowing the Cops” Role Reversal workshop

• Teaching artist for each workshop if possible

• A teacher and officer assigned to the group to help them get to their next workshop on

time with all present and to collect evaluations at the end of the day

• Volunteers for setup. If possible, set up rooms the day before and arrive about 90

minutes early the day of the summit to set up all the AV equipment, distribute the DVDs

for each workshop, organize the registration tables, the summit bags and T-shirts, set up

the breakfast and prep for the lunch service.

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 13 
14 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Summit program cover and 

poster designed by WSSP 

Seattle Youth Advisory 

Council Student Member, 

Roxie Torres (2007) . 
Sample Workshops 

The following are workshops developed for the Seattle WSSP summits: 

Snowing the Cops (Scene 3) – Youth-Police Interaction 

This workshop is a role reversal in which the police play youth and youth play police officers. 

The Seattle Police used scenarios that were particular to the issues in Seattle. Feel free to 

create your own scenarios based on the youth–police issues in your own jurisdiction. See 

example scenarios on pages 19–20. 

Jet Song (Scene 4) – Myths and Realities of Gangs 

Ask a gang unit officer to lead this workshop, perhaps together with a former gang member 

who now works for good in the community. The “Jet Song” can be used to dispel myths 

about gangs, discuss the local gang problem, warn about recruitment tactics, and suggest 

ways to avoid gang involvement. 

America (Scene 11) – Valuing Difference 

Use “America” to help youth recognize their own stereotypes of others, including new 

immigrants, both positive and negative. Perhaps use first with the youth advisory council 

as a focus group exercise. Consider having older youth (high school) run this workshop for 

younger youth (middle school). 

Gee, Officer Krupke (Scene 13) – Juvenile Justice System 

Use “Krupke” to educate youth about the juvenile justice system (e.g., the roles of police 

officers, judges, district attorneys), to discuss the problems that youth who do not have a 

support system face and where they might get help, or discuss youth–police relations. 

Other possible scenes:The following are scenes that were reviewed by the Seattle Youth 

Advisory Council but not used for the summits. However, some of them were used as focus 

groups with the youth council. The Seattle planning team found that even if a scene wasn’t 

selected, the dialogue around the issues that the scene raised was valuable for the youth. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 15 
War Council (Scene 15) – Conflict Resolution 

This scene can be used to explore the pressures of adolescence, including peer relationships 

and violence, with a focus on violence prevention and conflict resolution. 

Rumble (Scene 21) – Consequences of Violence 

Use “Rumble” to discuss how violence can escalate quickly even for people not inclined 

to violence. Also use this scene to discuss the serious consequences of resolving conflict 

through violence. 

Cool (Scene 25) – Anger Management 

”Cool” can be used to discuss anger management issues, violence that erupts from minor 

disputes, and the relation of power to keeping your “cool.” 

A Boy Like That (Scene 27) – Issues of Assimilation 

This scene might be used to highlight issues of assimilation for new immigrants and minority 

cultures (including sexual minorities). Parents want their children to marry in their own 

culture, stay with their own kind. How do immigrant youth meld with the new culture without 

losing their parents’ culture? This scene might also be used as a focus group exercise with the 

youth advisory council. 

Possible discussion questions: What friends have you had from different cultures or 

social groups? What differences existed between you? What did you like about their culture or 

social group? What didn’t you like? Can you have friendships, even date, outside your culture 

or with someone your family might not approve? What if your younger sister was dating 

someone from another culture or another “gang”? How would you handle it? 

Finale: Tony’s Death (Scene 31) – Violence Begets Violence 

The finale can be used to discuss how violence begets violence, the senselessness of 

violence, and the loss and pain that result from violence. It can also be used to discuss 

alternatives to revenge. 

16 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Pre-Workshop Preparation for the “Snowing the 

Cops” Role Reversal 

Working with the Youth Advisory Council: Prior to the “Snowing the Cops” summit 

workshop, police officers and members of the youth advisory council can work together 

to prep for this workshop and develop some of their own scenarios. See pages 19–20 for 

examples of scenarios used in Seattle. 

Options: Hold pre-workshop discussion of various scenes between officers and the youth 

advisory council. Watch scenes 2 and 3 (“Prologue” and “Snowing the Cops”) and scene 

13 (“Gee, Officer Krupke”) from the West Side Story DVD. (NOTE, WEST SIDE STORY DVD 

MUST BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY.) Use the following outlines to start discussion about 

the scenes: 

Scene 2 Prologue 

• Jets bullying/intimidating younger youth. They go around little girl playing – What does

that say?

• Jets encounter Sharks and taunt them. Then power shifts to Sharks – Why?

• There is no dialogue in the first half of this scene but what is conveyed?

• What are the 2 gangs fighting over? Why?

• Have you ever known people who hate each other without knowing each other?

Scene 3 Snowing the Cops 

Police arrive (Lt. Schreck). How does Lt. Schreck handle the situation? 

• Does it work? Why or why not?

• What does he say to the Sharks? To the Jets?

• How do they respond?

Scene 14 Gee, Officer Krupke 

• What does Krupke say to the Jets?

• How do they respond to Krupke?

• How do the Jets explain why they get into trouble?

• What does the “system” say is wrong with them?

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 17 
What problems involving youth do police deal with in your jurisdiction? Police officers might 

wish to meet with the youth planning group to develop scenarios to use for the workshop. 

See also Role Reversal Scenarios used by Seattle Police Department. 

Go over the scenarios you will be using at the workshop and run through them once or twice, 

preferably with the youth planning group. All officers should know all of the scenarios used 

for role reversals, but each group of officers should do the same scenario for each workshop. 

Led by police officers, this workshop is a role reversal in which the police play youth and 

youth play police officers. The Seattle Police used scenarios that were particular to the issues 

in Seattle. Feel free to create your own scenarios based on the youth–police issues in your 

own jurisdiction. 

For Youth: 

Have you ever had an interaction with the police? How did it go? 

For Police: 

Does this encounter with youth seem familiar? How so? 

18 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Option 

If officers will be working with an alienated group of youth, consider holding 

a pre-role reversal dialogue between youth and police to break the ice. 

• What do you hope to gain from today? Why are you here today?

• What is one perception/belief I have about you?

• What is one thing that you do not know about me? (This is intended to

possibly dispel the perception or belief from the previous question.)

• What is one thing that would make our interaction easier?

Role Reversal Scenarios for “Snowing the Cops” Workshop 

Use these scenarios or develop your own, perhaps together with your youth advisory council. 

Scenario #1 Marijuana:You and your partner drive up on a large gathering of juveniles 

hanging out at a local skateboard park. You find stereos blaring, skateboards everywhere, and 

the smell of a pungent substance in the air. The park closes at 10:00 PM and it is now 9:55 PM. 

What do you do? 

Suggested talking points with youth: 

• Dealing vs. smoking

• Marijuana vs. other drugs

• School grounds vs. public space

• Consequences – suspension, loss of housing, problems for college, or job applications.

Scenario #2 Social vs.Terry Stop:You and your partner are driving through a 

residential area around 3:00 AM. You observe two youth wearing dark clothing and carrying a 

large bag. There has been a series of car prowls in the area. What do you do? 

• Social stop can turn into a Terry stop and then arrest.

• Questions to ask: Am I free to go? Are you detaining us?

• Review Obstruction.

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 19 
20 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Scenario #3 Party Scene:You and your partner are dispatched to a loud party call. Upon 

arrival, many cars are parked illegally, trash and bottles are everywhere, the music is very 

loud, and it appears that a party with juveniles is in progress. What do you do? 

• Youth 1 is uncooperative: Detain and transfer to precinct to ID. MIP (Minor in Possession).

False reporting.

• Youth 2 cooperates: Mom and Dad pick up. Cited and released for MIP.

• Youth 3 flees the scene and gets in a wreck: MIP, DUI, insurance, suspended license,

possibly charged with vehicular manslaughter/homicide.

• Youth 4 is the homeowner’s kid: held responsible for actions of others.

Scenario #4 Traffic Stop: At 11:00 PM on a Friday, you and your partner observe a car 

speed through a red light. One passenger is not wearing a seat belt. You pull the car over. 

What do you do next? 

• Good stop – license, insurance, cooperative = ticket or warning

• Bad stop – no license, no insurance, uncooperative = ?

• Seatbelt violation.

Scenario #5 Domestic Violence:You and your partner are dispatched to a disturbance/ 

fight at a local apartment complex. Upon arrival, you hear screaming coming from the unit. 

No one answers your knocking and announcing. The yelling continues. What do you do? 

• Exigent circumstances

• Mandatory arrest

• No contact order

• DV covers family members, roommates, friends living together.

NOTE OF THANKS: We would like to thank Kathy Kaminski of Seattle Neighborhood Group and Darlene Sellers of 

King County Parks and Recreation for their help in developing the role reversal workshop. Special thanks also goes 

to King County Sheriffs Deputy Steve Cox for his contribution to the role reversal workshops, and for dedicating 

his life to making the White Center community a safer place. 
Workshop 1 - “Snowing the Cops” Role Reversal 

Purpose of Workshop:To give youth a chance to see from a police officer’s perspective, to 

help develop communication between youth and police officers, and to educate youth about 

the law. 

Workshop Directions: The ratio of police to students or youth for this workshop should 

be 2 officers to 4-6 youth, with a maximum of 25 participants. If possible allow 1 1⁄2 hours, 

although if the workshop is done during a summit, you will likely only have 50 minutes. 

Facilitator: Show “Snowing the Cops” scene 3 from West Side Story. Ask a few questions 

about the youth–police interactions in the scene (see suggestions above) just to make sure 

they understand what happens in the scene. 

Explain that for this workshop, 2 officers and 4-6 youth will prepare a short skit depicting 

one of the types of encounters that occur most frequently between youth and police in your 

jurisdiction. See sample scenarios on pages 19–20. 

Divide students into 4 groups by counting off numbers 1–4. Give each student a copy of the 

scenario that they will be performing. 

Explain to the workshop participants that in this workshop, the officers will play youth and the 

youth will play officers. 

Officers: Officers introduce themselves and youth introduce themselves. Use jokes to break 

the ice and relax students. Perhaps have props such as fake badges or guns, old police hats 

or vests. 

Officers ask the youth in their group the following questions: 

• What do you know about the law in this circumstance?

• Have any of you been in this kind of situation?

• If so, do you want to use that situation?

• Who wants to play what role?

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 21 
Officers explain the law behind the scenario and provide ideas of how police might act and 

what they might say. For example, explain what an officer might do in a scenario of stopping 

youth with cause. Also explain any technical terms or legal language (e.g., “Terry stop” or 

drug-free zones). 

Officers should let youth help plan the scenario. Take about 10 minutes to plan and practice a 

couple of dry runs. Make sure every one knows safety is primary—don’t hurt anyone. 

Seattle WSSP Youth Advisory 

Council planning meeting . 

Facilitator: Workshop facilitator walks around to each of the groups to make sure they are 

progressing and to keep them on point. 


Before each group does their scenario, facilitator reminds them to face audience and to 


project. 


Note: Stick to time frame so that everyone gets a chance to act and to discuss. 


Facilitator reminds entire workshop to pay attention as they will want others’ attention when 


it is their turn. 

22 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Role Reversal and Debrief: Set the stage. Have a student in the group read the scenario 

before it is played. 

Play out scenario; officer stops scenario after a few minutes. 

Police officers or facilitator should debrief first with the youth in the scenario (in front of large 

group) after each role reversal: 

What did you learn from the role reversal? 

What did you learn about the law? 

How did your understanding of the police change? 

(If there is any rough treatment, ask “Why did you rough up the person? Is that your 

perception of the police? Where did you get that perception? From someone you know or did 

you see it on TV or in a movie?”) 

Officers should emphasize safety issues during an interaction and explain that they do what 

they do to remain safe. 

Then, if there is time, open up the debrief to the entire workshop. Avoid letting people tell “I” 

stories (“this is what happened to me”) in the interest of time. This scenario can then be used 

to explain to the students the proper way to respond to being stopped by a police officer, the 

law about the kind of circumstance in the scenario and what to do to make a complaint. 

• Did you see anything wrong with the way things went down?

• What could the officers have done differently? The youth?

• Do you understand the law in this situation?

• Are there any other questions?

Remind the youth: “If you feel your rights have been violated, this is the procedure to use” 

and provide police department complaint procedure. 

Give final recommendations for how best to handle interaction with the police. If there is 

time, you can do a reverse role reversal (with police playing police and students playing 

students) to show how best to do a stop or other interaction. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 23 
The youth advisory council members were asked to write up questions they could ask if the 

dialogue was slow. In this workshop, they asked questions such as: 

• What is the difference between a social and a Terry stop?

• Why can an officer stop me in a public space or park?

• Why do officers have people sit down sometimes?

• Do I have to open my backpack if asked?

• What do I do if I feel I have been stopped illegally?

• Just because I smell like marijuana can I be arrested?

• If I get pulled over, what do I do with my hands?

Provide a quick overview of acting skills:
 

Be seen —Stand on a diagonal and face toward the audience at all times, 


especially when you speak, even if you normally would face the person 


with whom you are talking.
 

Be heard—project your voice so that you can be heard in the back of the 


room.
 

Use sound effects!!
 

Be safe—because you are not trained in stage combat, no stage fighting!
 

24 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Workshop 2 - “America” (Valuing Differences) 

ANITA: “Life can be bright in America” 

BERNARDO: “If you can fight in America” 

ALL GIRLS: “Life is all right in America” 

ALL BOYS: “If you’re all white in America” 

-from West Side Story 

Purpose of Workshop:To show what we have in common with those who may seem 

different than we are and to value differences. 

Preparation for Workshop with Officers and Youth Advisory Council: 

Use “America” to help youth (and police) recognize their own stereotypes of others, including 

new immigrants. Perhaps use the workshop first with your youth planning team as a focus 

group exercise. 

Designate at least two facilitators, an adult and a youth, for this workshop at the high school 

level. Consider having high school youth run this workshop for middle school students. 

Youth from White Plains, New York, 

perform original works based on themes 

from West Side Story . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 25 
Workshop Directions: 

Watch Scene 11 “America” from West Side Story DVD 

For those who haven’t seen the film in its entirety, briefly describe the story, or have a 

participant who has seen the film describe the story (you can also use the story of Romeo 

and Juliet as background). For those who have seen the entire film, what stereotypes do you 

see and hear in West Side Story? In “America”? What negative stereotypes about the Puerto 

Ricans? The Polish (the Jets)? The police? America itself? Are there any positive stereotypes 

about the Puerto Ricans? The Polish? The police? America? 

Begin with an icebreaker that shows that we all have similar experiences and have much in 

common: 

Cross the line. Count off by 2’s and then have students stand in 2 lines facing each other. 

A student facilitator asks a series of questions and after each question students answering 

“yes” to the question take a step forward and cross the imaginary centerline to the other 

side and turn and face the new group across the line. Students will observe that both groups 

will be completely jumbled by the end of the series of questions because we all have similar 

experiences. You can get as deep as you want with these questions—the more honest the 

participants have to be, the better the results. After you get people warmed up, if you feel 

comfortable enough have the participants throw out a few statements. The facilitators should 

be part of the two groups crossing the line. 

Example questions (you can make up your own): 

• If you are wearing black, cross the line.

• If you have a younger brother, cross the line.

• If you have ever told a lie, cross the line.

• If you have ever been stopped by a police officer, cross the line.

• If you have a parent or grandparent born in another country, cross the line.

• If you have ever stereotyped someone, cross the line.

• If you have ever felt stereotyped, cross the line.

• If you have ever been a victim of hate, any form of hate, cross the line.

• If you speak a language other than English at home, cross the line.

After you have gone through the statements, have the students discuss some things that 

surprised them, and give your own examples of things that surprised you. 

26 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Questions for Discussion: Note: For all of these questions if no one is 

answering give your own example or idea to start off the discussion. 

•	 What does it mean to stereotype? 

•	 Have you ever been stereotyped? 

•	 What are some of your stereotypes about other people or cultures? 

•	 Give examples: What is the stereotype about blondes? people with a British accent? 

people who wear glasses? people wearing hoodies and baggy pants? 

Have you ever stereotyped someone and then gotten to know them? (Leader should give an 

example from his or her own experience.) 

•	 Have you ever witnessed stereotyping in your classroom or school? What happened? 

•	 Are there groups at your school who don’t get along? Do you know why not? 

•	 Are there groups at school you can’t or wouldn’t sit with at lunch? Which ones? Why not? 

•	 Who has the power in your school? Are there rivalries? Between what groups? 

•	 Where did your own parents or grandparents come from? What stereotypes of their 

culture or social status did they face? 

•	 What other cultural or ethnic groups are in your neighborhood? Your school? How do you 

interact with them? 

•	 Are there things about other cultures that you like? 

•	 Are there things about other cultures you do not understand? Does not understanding 

other cultures cause stereotypes? Which stereotypes? 

•	 What does it mean to be an American? What is the American dream? 

•	 How do you think new immigrants feel about coming to this country? Do you know any 

people who have recently immigrated? 

•	 What might you do to help stop stereotyping? 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 27 
Theater Games 

Use a theater game to build understanding of immigrants or those outside the mainstream 

culture. White Plains, New York, used a theater game called Gibberish Land. 

Gibberish Land: Students count off in 4’s. Groups 1 and 2 go outside of the classroom with 

the student leader who briefs these groups that they are families of immigrants to America 

from the land of GIBBERISH and they speak nothing but Gibberish as a language. One group 

must secure housing at the Housing Department. The other group must buy groceries at the 

local grocery store. 

Students of group 3 are the Housing Department. 

Students of group 4 are the grocery clerks. 

Each group must help each other and use any form of communication they can. 

Debrief: In the debrief, ask what feelings students in each group had during the interactions. 

Frustration? Fear? Anger? Compassion? What means did they use to communicate without 

language? Ask if anyone has been in a situation like this, unable to communicate with 

someone else. How did that make the person feel? 

28 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

NOTE OF THANKS: We would like to thank the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club for their assistance in developing 

this workshop. 
Workshop 3 - “Jet Song” 

(Myths and realities of gangs) 

When you’re a Jet, 

You’re a Jet all the way 

From your first cigarette 

To your last dyin’ day. 

-from West Side Story 

Purpose of Workshop:To educate youth about the myths and realities of gangs and gang 

membership and provide tools to prevent them from joining a gang. 

“It informed me about the life of gang members, the consequences of gang life and let me 

hear real life stories.” 

-Student at Seattle Youth Summit 

“I learned about the danger of being in a gang and what to do to stay out of gangs.” 

-Student at Seattle Youth Summit 

Preparation for Workshop with Officers and Youth Advisory Council: 

Ask a gang unit officer to lead this workshop, perhaps together with a former gang member 

who works in the community. Someone who can talk from his or her own experience of being 

in a gang raises the level of discussion. 

Note:This workshop is primarily for prevention rather than for intervention and is not 

intended for entrenched gang members. The targeted youth for this program are those at risk 

for recruitment into serious gangs. Also, media presence may discourage open discussion, so 

consider making this a session closed to media. 

Workshop Directions: 

Use the “Jet Song” workshop to: 

• Dispel myths about gangs

• Discuss what constitutes a gang

• Discuss the history of gangs in your area

• Explain how gangs recruit, including via internet

• Warn that gang membership is not romantic or glamorous, nor is it a healthy support

system/family

• Discuss ways to prevent gang membership.

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 29 
30 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Show Scene 4 “Jet Song” Ask what they noticed in the scene about the Jets, for 

instance, their graffiti, the lyric “once a Jet, always a Jet,” the territory they “own.” Record 

their observations on a flip chart. 

• What are the Jets and Sharks fighting over and why?

• What does it mean “once a Jet, always a Jet”?

• Why do they say they want to be in the gang?

Ask the students what constitutes a “gang,” and then read and briefly discuss the following 

definition. The basic definition is: A group with three or more members, juvenile and/or adult, 

who associate on a continuous basis, form an allegiance for a common purpose and are 

involved in delinquent or criminal activity (graffiti, drug dealing, bullying, vandalism, physical 

violence). 

Other Questions: 

• How many of you ever thought you might want to be in a gang?

• Do any of you have family members or relatives in a gang?

• How many of you have you ever been recruited by a gang or know someone who has?

• Are you in a gang until the day you die?

• Is it true that gang members are likely to end up dead or in jail?

Show Scene 5 “Something’s Coming” where Tony tells Riff he wants out of the gang. Then 

show scene 21 “Rumble” to underscore the danger and consequences of joining a gang, to 

show how hard it is to get out of a gang, and to emphasize the need for prevention. Discuss 

these scenes using the following questions: 

• What does Riff want Tony to do?

• What does Tony tell Riff? Why does he want to stay out of the gang?

• What does Riff say in response to Tony?

• What is Tony’s attitude toward life?

• Why does Tony agree to go to the dance? Why does he go to the Rumble?

• What happens to Tony at the Rumble? Why does he do what he does? Who is hurt by

what happens?
Provide a Brief Overview of the History of Gangs in General 

and in Your Area 

Example of National Gang History: Different immigrant groups have formed gangs for 

protection or for illegal economic activity throughout the history of America. Italian, Irish, and 

Russian immigrants all have established various “mafias” or gangs. In the 1980s in California, 

Hispanic gangs started growing and separated into the Mexican Mafia/Southern (color 

blue) and Northern (color red). CRIPS were blue and used the number 13 (M for “Mexican” 

is 13th letter); Bloods were red and used the number 14 (letter N for “Northern” is 14th 

letter). Originally, CRIPS stood for Community Revolutionary In Progress and was an African 

American group formed to better the community that then grew into a gang. 

Example of Local Gang History: In Seattle, there are about 250–300 gang groups, but only 

about 8 of them are violent. Others are just kids trying to be a part of something. Every week 

a new gang appears as there is frequent splintering off of kids who don’t get along. Most 

shootings occur between the 100 or so youth involved in those 8 gangs who tend to be much 

more violent. 

Ask them about the gangs they are familiar with—many of them know the terminology and 

the names—use this time to find out about their knowledge. 

Preventing Gang Membership 

Preventing gang membership: Use this time to find out about their knowledge of gangs. Make 

a list of recommendations from their input. Some of the suggestions at the Seattle summit 

included: 

• Easy access to programs

• More programs with police department

• These types of discussions

• Support for families for DV, alcoholism, divorce

• Help for getting out of gangs—make that information easily available.

Warn about gangs advertising themselves on the Internet. Gangs from 1000 miles away 

advertise in Seattle. The Internet spreads conflicts between ethnic groups and advertises 

how to get gang-related clothing. MySpace allows you to become something you aren’t: kids 

create gang member personas to fit in, be a part of something, and they don’t realize what 

messages they are sending to the serious gangs. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 31 
Exiting a gang: Discuss how to get help exiting a gang. In the Seattle WSSP, a youth at one 

of the summits asked for help getting out of a well-established violent gang. An exit plan 

for someone who is gang-involved requires working with the youth and his family and with 

social service providers to develop the decision-making abilities of the youth. It can take 3 to 

4 years get out of a serious gang unless residence is changed. A week might be sufficient for 

a weak, small gang or clique. Let youth know where they can find help if needed. 

Theater Games 

Self-identification 

Purpose:This game is particularly useful with teens when dealing with sensitive issues 

such as peer pressure, substance use, and bullying. Participants are always surprised at 

who stands up to claim the statements as their own, and a sense of solidarity is quickly 

established. 

Everyone sits in chairs in a circle. One person stands in the center (there is no chair for the 

middle person). The middle person says something that is true about him or herself, for 

example, “I have blue eyes.” Everyone in the circle who has blue eyes then must stand up 

and find an empty chair. The one person who is without a seat is now the middle person, who 

must say something true about himself: “I have a cat.” All cat owners then stand up and try to 

find a new chair. 

32 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

Seattle WSSP Youth Advisory 

Council members Kelsey Graves 

and Colin Hartman . 
The longer you let the game go, the more interesting it becomes. The initial statements will 

likely be silly and shallow, but after several minutes, people have to start thinking harder 

about what to say. The facilitator can also direct the group to focus on a specific topic. For 

example, if the group is examining the topic of “communication,” participants can say things 

like, “I told a lie this week,” “I call my mother every day,” or “I’m afraid of speaking in public.” 

Other possible statements that would reflect the scenes in West Side Story: 

• I have hit someone in anger.

• I have intimidated someone to make them do what I want.

• I have beat up someone to defend someone else.

• I have run away from a fight.

Scenarios of Conflict 

Purpose: A role-play to get youth thinking about options for resolving conflict. 

If it is a fairly small group (under 25), give each group of four or five students a specific 

scenario and have them create an improvisation on a situation where the desire to stay on 

track or out of the ‘fight’ is conflicted with someone or something you love being threatened 

or hurt. The scenario might also consist of insults and injustice by a bullying force. There 

could be an inner voice (played by another student) that tries to keep them out of the fight 

and a voice that convinces them to jump into it. Start them off with a few lines of dialogue 

that set a conflict and let them improvise forward from there. Situations to consider using: 

• Hearing someone making fun of you or your friend

• Someone is “moving in” on your girlfriend or boyfriend

• Someone “grills” you

• Someone has been saying things about you behind your back.

Then have them discuss the consequences of various reactions. Perhaps use a paper flip chart 

and write in one column “reactions” and in another column “consequences.” 

Resources for information on gangs: 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov 

National Gang Center www.nationalgangcenter.gov 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 33 
 

Summit Evaluation 

At each summit, evaluations were distributed to students. Group leaders encouraged 

students to complete each section of the evaluation after each workshop, and students were 

able to participate in a raffle for an iPod as an incentive for turning in their evaluation sheets. 

Consider asking a local university or college to assist in compiling and analyzing the 

evaluation data. 

SEE SAMPLE EVALUATION FORM ON DATA CD . 

“I found much truth in the movie Mean Girls. Maybe it was slightly exaggerated, but when 

I saw the map of the lunchroom it could not have been more spot on. If you walk into the 

lunchroom of my high school you can see the Asians, the jocks, the band geeks, the theater 

geeks, the black kids, the Filipino kids, the nerds and cool nerds all sitting at their own tables. 

And when I walked into the lunch area of the summit I found something very similar: all 

of the tables were segregated by school and within schools there were different tables for 

different groups. After seeing this, the WSSP Youth Advisory Council leadership decided to 

mix things up and we all sat together. Some stragglers from different schools started sitting 

together after seeing us change and realizing that it really was okay to mix. I know it was 

small, but seeing that small change in what we were before the program started, a group of 

strangers afraid to mingle, and what we became, friends, was something really special. It 

showed to me that the goal of awareness really did work.” 

– Anna Bennett, Seattle WSSP Youth Advisory Council

34 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
© 2009 Seattle Police Foundation. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, 

nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others 

to use, this publication for publication for Federal Government purposes. This publication may be 

freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes. 
“ One student actually approached an officer and told him that he 


did not want to participate in a gang anymore, that he wanted out .

I thought that was pretty cool—we got to somebody .” 


–Roxie Torres, Seattle WSSP Youth Advisory Council
 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

September 2010 

e071016292 

ISBN: 978-0-16-086412-4 
Book 4 

Planning the artisTic performance 
West Side Story Project Toolkit: 

Crime Prevention on a New stage 

Produced By: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Authors: Pamela Beal, Ph.D. and Liza Comtois 

This project was supported by Grant Number 2007-CK-WX-K003 awarded by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, U. S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained 

herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. 

Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations or supplement discussion of the 

issues. 

“West Side Story ® ” is a registered trademark of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. 

Used by permission. 

4 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Contents 

Overview of the Artistic Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Resources and Recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
 

Ideas for the First Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 

Ideas for Developing the Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
 

The Artistic Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 5 
Overview of the Artistic Component 

Whether from the streets of Verona, Italy, New York’s West Side, or neighborhoods across your 

city, youth sometimes fall in love with the wrong people, defend their friendships with their 

lives, question authority, and challenge adult assumptions about their relationships and ideas 

of what is best for them. The Artistic Performance Component of the West Side Story Project 

will explore these ideas in workshops and dialogue culminating in a public performance of 

students’ original works based on themes from West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. 

The purpose of the artistic component of the West Side Story Project is to help participating 

youth create art out of their life experiences that resonates with the themes of these plays. 

The goal of the artistic component is to offer all participating youth the following key 

experiences: 

• An understanding of the relationship between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story and

the concept of the universal story

• Opportunities to engage in honest dialogue about the themes of the project and how the

participants see them expressed in their lives, school, neighborhood, and city

• Development of tools for the artistic expression of their own life experiences—love,

friendship, and navigating the path to adulthood—through a variety of creative means

including dance, music, poetry, and playwriting

• An appreciation for the value of art as an effective tool of communication

• Positive interactions with adults and authority figures including police officers, teachers,

actors, teaching artists, and special guests

• A chance to perform their original work for an audience of their family, peers, and

community.

6 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Resources and Recruitment 

Resources Needed 

Teaching Artists (2 Per Group of Youth): Working with professional teaching artists 

is the key to the success of this project. If you are working with a theater partner, they will 

probably have a roster of artists with whom they work. If not, a great resource to find these 

artists is your community’s Arts Council or Commission. 

Teaching artists should be familiar with how to engage youth in theater games and 

workshops that can open them up to authentic expression, build trust among the groups, and 

engage their imaginations in both improvisation and performance1

. Project planners should 

be open to their input. Work like this is often not about following a set plan or formula but 

interacting with youth, reading them, and finding what works with them. As one teaching 

artist said, “trust the process and you find the map as you go.” 

Locations for Meetings should have large open rooms with minimal furniture and a 

clean floor (carpet is ideal). Youth will be participating in group activities that can be physical 

as well as in round-table dialogue so space versatility is crucial. 

DVD Player and Monitor are needed to show youth scenes from West Side Story and 

Romeo and Juliet as part of the dialogue sessions. A CD player may be needed for music 

incorporated into a performance. 

Some drama exercises need additional materials such as large pieces of paper and markers 

for writing/drawing. Consult with your teaching artists. As the performances take shape, 

costumes and props may be needed. Resources for these things can come from the partner 

theater, school drama programs, or community theaters in your area. 

Recruitment of Youth 

Youth (about 10-15 per group) participants can have any level of experience in theater. They 

can be drama students, a basketball team, an advisory council, or a mix of youth recruited 

from the summits or from affiliated schools and/or community centers. 

1. Additional recommended resources are Theater Game File and Theatre Games for the Classroom by Viola Spolin. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 7 
 

Suggestions for Recruitment 

• Pass out flyers at summits in packets youth receive and/or send an email to youth

participants.

• Include interactive drama games during summit workshops to raise student interest in

the performance component.

• Have your teaching artists attend the summits and include them in developing one of the

workshops to give it a theater focus. Youth will then have a sense of how they could see

themselves participating in the component piece even if they don’t have performance

experience.

• Have the teaching artists and a member of the summit planning team visit school drama

programs, after school clubs, sports teams, or student council meetings to generate

interest in participating.

• Visit area youth centers with members of your teen advisory council and have them talk

to other youth about the project.

• Offer incentives to youth for their participation. Opportunities to work with professional

actors and to attend professional theater rehearsals, performances and backstage tours

(if they can be arranged) are all possible at no cost to the project. If the budget permits,

modest stipends for participation could be offered.

Have youth complete a “Performance Release and Contract” to ensure that they and their 

parents understand the scope of commitment the project requires. 

SEE SAMPLE WSSP PERFORMANCE RELEASE AND CONTRACT ON CD . 

8 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Seattle WSSP youth perform a scene from 

Romeo and Juliet . 

Other Suggestions 

• Find meeting places and set times that are convenient for youth.

• For easier scheduling, target a group of youth who already meet at a regular time to

avoid having to schedule a special time. For instance, meet during a drama class at a

high school or meet at a community center at a time the youth regularly attend (e.g., after

basketball practice).

• If you work with youth from a variety of schools and programs, they will benefit from

meeting and interacting with one another. But it can be difficult to coordinate schedules

for this project and to keep them motivated to attend. Be prepared to make reminder

calls, to provide transportation, and to have snacks available during your sessions to

encourage attendance.

• Some youth have acting experience, but most probably do not. Teaching artists may have

to adjust the level of performance according to students’ backgrounds. In Seattle, one

of the groups was comprised primarily of drama students while another was comprised

primarily of girls’ basketball team members. The expectations for each group were

obviously different, but they were able to perform together in the final event as each

group brought different strengths to their performances.

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 9 
10 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

• Sessions run from 11⁄2 to 2 hours until performance time when extra time may be needed to

rehearse.The number of sessions will be based on what type of performance you choose to

create.Trust your teaching artists to let you know how much time they will need.

• Be clear with students about the time commitment and expectations regarding

participation level, attendance, and being on time.

Ideas for the First Sessions 

Theater Games 

Theater games are interactive. They warm up the body and voice and they build community. 

Using them also lays in a conceptual understanding of how an actor works and teaches youth 

about movement, voice projection, and eye contact. Below are some suggested games to 

help you get started with your project: 

Name Game: The participants sit or stand in a circle. The leader says, “We are having a 

party, and everyone has to bring something for the party that begins with the same first letter 

as their name. My name is JANINE, and I am bringing a bag of JELLYBEANS.” The person to 

the leader’s right says his name and item, and then repeats the leader’s name and item: “My 

name is ERIK, I am going to bring EGG SALAD. This is JANINE, who is bringing JELLYBEANS.” 

Each person in turn introduces himself, announces their item, and repeats the name and item 

of everyone who preceded them. This means that the last person has to remember everyone 

in the group, or at least try. The leader should encourage others to help out when participants 

get stuck on someone’s name or item, with verbal or pantomimed clues. 

Zip-Zap-Zop: Everyone stands in a circle. One person quickly claps and points at another, 

while saying “zip.” The person who received the “zip” then claps and points at another, while 

saying “zap.” That person then claps and points to someone while saying “zop.” The pattern 

continues, “zip, zap, zop, zip, zap, zop.” The goal is to pass the words and energy around as 

quickly as possible, which is harder than it seems. 

Word Ball: Everyone stands in a circle. A category is chosen, like food, sports, animals, etc. 

One player starts by tossing a word that goes with the chosen theme (such as “apple”) to 

another player while making eye contact. The receiver then tosses another word (“orange”), 

and throws it to yet another player. This can be used as an elimination game. If a word gets 

tossed to someone who doesn’t have a word to toss, the person is eliminated and must make 

a flamboyant bow and step out of the game. 
Clapping Pass: The group stands in a circle and someone starts by turning and facing 

the person to their right. Once they have the attention of that person, the two will clap 

simultaneously. Then that person turns to the right and claps simultaneously with the person 

to the right and the clap is passed around the circle. The goal is to get a fast steady rhythm 

going. You can add complication by passing another clap to the left while one is traveling to 

the right. 

Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre production 

of West Side Story: “America .” 

Discussion 

Once the group has warmed up, begin a dialogue about West Side Story and its connection 

to Romeo and Juliet and their universal themes. Have students already familiar with the 

story give a recap. If time permits, watch videos or selected scenes of both. You can also read 

selected scenes from Romeo and Juliet aloud, answering questions about what words and 

passages mean and highlighting Shakespeare’s use of metaphor and simile. Or read the lyrics 

from songs in West Side Story such as “America” or “Officer Krupke” or “A Boy Like That.” Ask 

students how the ideas in West Side Story scenes can be found in Romeo and Juliet. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 11 
Different groups of students will respond to different parts or different themes in a scene. 

First meetings are about sensing what scenes they respond to and which universal themes 

resonate with them. 

Possible scenes from West Side Story to show (and their equivalents in Romeo and Juliet): 

West Side Story Romeo & Juliet 

Jet Song Act I, Scene 1 or Act I, Scene 3 

Something’s Coming 

Dance at the Gym Act I, Scene 5 

America 

Tonight (balcony scene) Act II, Scene 2 

The Rumble Act III, Scene 1 

A Boy Like That 

Officer Krupke (balcony scene) 

Cool (balcony scene) 

Possible discussion questions to help determine what scenes youth might wish to work with 

in the sessions and for the performance pieces: 

• What are the similarities between the two films/stories?

• What modern situations are similar to the situations in each film/story?

• What in a particular scene (or scenes) relates to your life?

Discussion Questions for Particular Scenes: 

“The Capulet Party” (Act I, Scene 5) in Romeo and Juliet or “Dance at the Gym” from West 

Side Story and the balcony scenes from both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story can be 

used to discuss the power of love to override prejudice or peer pressure or the challenge of 

having friends from a different culture or even a different school group. 

• Who wouldn’t you be able to bring home?

• Who wouldn’t your parents want you to date?

• Who wouldn’t your friends want you to hang out with or date?

12 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Following this discussion, pair youth with someone they don’t know and have them play 

Act 1, Scene 5 from Romeo and Juliet. 

“America” can be used to discuss the problem of prejudice, and the difficulties of being an 

immigrant or newcomer. 

• What does prejudice look like?

• What is America? What does it mean to be an American?

• What do you think about race in America?

• What constitutes a family in West Side Story?

A theater game called a tableau can serve to illustrate the ideas and themes you are 

discussing: 

Tableau: One group of 5 or 6 students creates a tableau, a human three-dimensional 

photograph that conveys a particular image or idea. For instance, after viewing “America” the 

youth can make a tableau of prejudice or of a particular cultural stereotype, then the rest of 

the group guesses what the tableau is saying. Groups creating the tableau can be encouraged 

to use stereotypes to provoke responses from the group, like an African American youth 

holding a White youth who is down on the ground. The group guessing will often say the 

African American youth beat up the White youth but actually the tableau could be about the 

African American youth trying to revive the White youth after he fainted. 

“Jet Song” can be used to discuss what it means to be a family, what a gang provides 

to youth, how to respond to conflict, or what causes violence between groups of youth. 

In the White Plains WSSP (New York) performance, students and police re-created and 

choreographed the opening fight scene of Romeo and Juliet that shows conflict erupting over 

a mere gesture. 

“Something’s Coming” can be used to discuss growing up, looking forward to a better 

life, leaving friends, and growing out of an “old” life. 

“Officer Krupke” might be used with at-risk youth to talk about any experiences they 

might have had with the juvenile justice system or how they feel they are perceived by others 

and by society. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 13 
 

“Rumble” can be used to discuss how violence can escalate quickly even for people 

not inclined to violence, or used to discuss the serious consequences of resolving conflict 

through violence. 

This process of dialogue and theater games can be as valuable as the production itself. The 

conversations and processes that lead to the production may be the most memorable part 

of the project for the youth. In one case in Seattle, the production was limited because the 

youth had little drama experience and time was short, but the conversations held during the 

sessions were animated and energetic, covering hot topics and current political issues as 

well as getting the youth to “play” together in a positive, collaborative, and imaginative way. 

Again, talent and theater experience are not what is most important in these sessions or in 

the creation of the performance. The purpose of the performance is to create art out of their 

life experiences that resonate with the themes of these plays. That is what Shakespeare did 

and what the creators of West Side Story did. Youth need to know they can it do as well. 

Ideas for Developing the Performance 

There are many ways to develop work for original performance. Your teaching artists will 

certainly have suggestions. Below are some examples of the techniques used to create the 

performance pieces in Seattle. 

Replay Theater:This process works well with students with little or no theatrical 

experience. It draws on students’ own lives to create the story. One youth volunteers to tell a 

story from his/her own life that reflects the themes the group has discussed. This youth acts 

as the narrator of his or her own story while the other students act as the chorus, taking on 

the roles of characters or even props in the story. 

SEE “TEACHING ARTIST” INTERVIEW ON THE ACCOMPANYING DVD .
 

14 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guided Writing:This can be a very useful tool in creating original work.Youth are given 

a theme or idea to write about that can come from a photograph, a scene from West 

Side Story, or even a lyric. As the youth are writing, the teaching artist gives prompts to 

stimulate their imaginations and keep them from running out of ideas. Prompts can be 

questions such as “What do you hear in this photo?” “Is there anything to be afraid of 

behind a door or tree or around a corner?” “What is the message of this scene?” or “What 

clothes are they wearing and why?” 

Encourage students to write about something from their own experiences. In Seattle, after 

watching the “Dance at the Gym” scene in West Side Story, one youth wrote about two 

students from two different worlds who meet at the lunch room garbage can, talk, and strike 

up a friendship while their other friends look on in shock and then try to separate them. The 

group can share their stories or poems and decide which ones they want to dramatize for the 

performance. For vignettes, keep a narrow focus and keep them simple. 

Physical Poetry: Using questions from the discussion of West Side Story and Romeo 

and Juliet have youth write answers on separate index cards. Have them select a significant 

word or phrase from their answers and write it on another card and put it into a hat. As the 

cards are pulled from the hat, write down the words/phrases in the order drawn to create a 

poem out of the words and phrases. This group poem is then given a physical life; youth use 

physical gestures to illustrate the words and phrases (e.g., a hug, a shrug, a bow). Youth can 

also repeat certain lines or say certain words or phrases in unison or pairs. Pauses or rhythms 

can be added to highlight different aspects of the poem. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 15 
16 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Artistic Performance 

Location:The performance should be held in a theatrical space with good acoustics. The 

performances can vary widely, from a simple sharing of short scenes and poems for friends 

and family to a big production with sound, lights, and costumes. The place you choose should 

reflect the performance you are presenting and fit the expected audience size. 

Rehearsals: If you choose to do a full-length performance as was done in White Plains, New 

York, (theirs ran about an hour and 15 minutes), consider having students and their parents 

complete a commitment contract (see below). Scheduling rehearsals for large numbers of 

people can be particularly difficult. Consider creating a detailed schedule that gives exact 

times and locations of practices with contact information for the teaching artists conducting 

the rehearsals. SEE ALSO: “Intellectual Property Issues” in Book 2: Partners & Resources for 

information on use of West Side Story and its music and lyrics. 

Promoting the Performance 

You will need a plan to promote the event. This could include flyers, posters, press releases, 

public service announcements, and if you have the budget, advertisements in local 

newspapers. Perhaps contact your local public access channel to see if they would tape the 

program to broadcast. See sample flyer used for the White Plains, New York performance 

below. 

You will also need to determine if you will need to ticket the event. If so, determine who 

will take reservations, if it will be assigned seating or general admission, where to pick up 

tickets, etc. Also consider your VIP guest list of key individuals involved in the project or 

project sponsors. Do you want to give them time to say something before, during, or after the 

performance? Where will they be seated? 

If you decide to hold a performance that is likely to attract a large audience, it would be 

very helpful to work with a theater partner familiar with producing large events.They will 

be able to take care of most aspects of the production as well as assist with lighting, sound 

and any other technical elements to the performance. A smaller performance won’t require 

all of these details, but do create some promotional materials such as flyers to gain a wider 

audience and convey support for the performance. Also, a VIP guest list should be created 

even for smaller events. 
 

A program listing all participants can be created for the event as well. White Plains also 

distributed “goody bags” to their audience with information about their project and a 

CD of poetry and music created by WSSP youth. In addition, consider holding an “after 

performance” gathering for your VIPs and those who planned the event. White Plains also 

held a debrief and celebration party for all participants a few weeks after the performance. 

If you plan to tape the performance, be sure to get signed releases for the use of the tape for 

not-for-profit, educational purposes only from the parents of any youth under 18. If possible, 

get releases from those 18 and older as well. 

SEE SAMPLE WSSP PERFORMANCE RELEASE AND CONTRACT ON CD .
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 17 
18 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
© 2009 Seattle Police Foundation. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, 

nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others 

to use, this publication for publication for Federal Government purposes. This publication may be 

freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes. 
“ [My father] would be so thrilled to know that West Side Story is 

being used in this new way to reach out to communities and to 

kids in trouble .” –Jamie Bernstein, daughter of Leonard Bernstein

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

September 2010 

e071016292 

ISBN: 978-0-16-086412-4 
Book 5 

Planning the Community Forum 
West Side Story Project Toolkit: 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage 

Produced By: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Authors: Pamela Beal, Ph.D. and Liza Comtois 

This project was supported by Grant Number 2007-CK-WX-K003 awarded by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained 

herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, 

products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. 

Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations or supplement discussion of the 

issues. 

“West Side Story ® ” is a registered trademark of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc. 

Used by permission. 

4 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
Contents 

Community Forum on Youth Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
 

Planning the Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 5 
6 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The West Side Story Project allows you to engage your 

community in a way that is both meaningful and entertaining 

and that has the ability to shape and change the way the world 

functions .”–Bill Berry, Associate Artistic Director of the Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre

Community Forum on Youth Violence 

Many cities and towns have organizations that provide forums for public discussion of 

important issues for our communities. Such forums and town halls are often held at 

universities or colleges or at libraries or other public buildings. As part of the West Side Story 

Project (WSSP) in Seattle, an organization called Town Hall Seattle (www.townhallseattle.org) 

provided the venue for a community forum on youth violence to which the public was invited. 

Such a forum can be held independently of any of the other aspects of the WSSP. 

A SEGMENT OF THE SEATTLE TOWN HALL YOUTH VIOLENCE COMMUNITY 

FORUM “JETS AND SHARKS 50 YEARS LATER: A CONVERSATION ABOUT 

YOUTH VIOLENCE AND PREVENTION” IS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON THE 

ACCOMPANYING DVD . 

TO VIEW THE FORUM IN ITS ENTIRETY, GO TO WWW .SEATTLECHANNEL .ORG 

AND DO A VIDEO SEARCH FOR “WEST SIDE STORY PROJECT .” 

Purpose of the Forum: 

The forum is designed to engage the community at large in a discussion about what is 

known in relation to the problems of youth violence in your area, the current research about 

the factors that place youth at risk for violence, and the protective factors that can prevent 

youth from engaging in a life of violence. The forum can also discuss the challenges and 

opportunities facing the police in addressing youth violence and the role of the juvenile 

justice system, in partnership with other community-based organizations, to serve as a 

catalyst for change. The idea is to “replicate” the characters in the West Side Story song “Gee, 

Officer Krupke” (i.e., the judge, the police officer, the social worker, and the psychiatrist) 
with prominent, real-life practitioners who can address the issues facing youth and the 

helping systems with which they interact. The forum can also provide an opportunity to 

briefly discuss the conceptualization of West Side Story and why it remains a quintessential 

American musical more than 50 years later. 

Performance of “Officer 

Krupke” by the 5th Avenue 

Theatre troupe at the Seattle 

Town Hall forum . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 7 
8 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Seattle Did 

In the WSSPTown Hall in Seattle, nontraditional messengers sang an unexpected song: musical 


theater became an unexpected voice for community policing and violence prevention, and the 


police became a voice for the power of theater in reaching youth.TheTown Hall forum began 


with a brief introduction to West Side Story by David Armstrong, Artistic Director of the 5th 


AvenueTheatre, followed by a performance by 5th Avenue cast members of the harshly cynical 


song “Gee, Officer Krupke” (from West Side Story) excerpted below.
 

Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke, 


You gotta understand, 


It’s just our bringin’ up-ke 


That gets us out of hand. 


Our mothers all are junkies, 


Our fathers all are drunks. 


Golly Moses, natcherly we’re punks! 


Gee, Officer Krupke, we’re very upset; 


We never had the love that ev’ry child oughta get. 


We ain’t no delinquents, 


We’re misunderstood. 


Deep down inside us there is good ! 


For the full lyrics of “Gee, Officer Krupke,” see the official West Side Story website: 

www.westsidestory.com. 

The lyrics of “Gee, Officer Krupke” provide an excellent starting point for a community-wide 

dialogue on the complexity of issues facing at-risk youth and the multiple systems that deal 

with them. In Seattle, the panel was moderated by Dr. Hubert Locke, retired dean of the 

University of Washington Medical School. The dialogue was focused on stepping outside the 

individual organizational/professional safety zones and taking on these issues in partnership. 

If the societal problem of youth violence is complex and steeped in psychological, 

educational, and parenting issues (among others), then law enforcement agencies and their 

partners in preventing youth violence need to engage in early and constant prevention 

activities. The panel members represented various aspects of the criminal justice system, 

reflecting the characters in “Gee, Officer Krupke,” and they had name recognition within the 

local community to draw an audience for the event. 
• Seattle Police Officer Adrian Diaz spoke about the emotional/behavioral issues of youth,

including undiagnosed youth with ADHD who end up as “gang wanna-be’s” and the

changes in gangs in the past 50 years.

• Dr. Eric Trupin of the University of Washington talked about the social-psychological

research on risk and resiliency, concluding that while we know a great deal about what is

going on with youth, our public policy has often not supported evidence-based programs

that clearly work.

• Former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske talked about why it is important for police

to focus on prevention rather than “sticking to the knitting” and doing only what they

have always done. He emphasized that police agencies need to look beyond what is

comfortable for them (law enforcement) and become engaged with people like Dr. Trupin,

with projects like this one, and in supporting early childhood programs that seek to give

children a healthy foundation for life.

• Former Washington State Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, founder and president

of the Center for Children and Youth Justice, an organization working to improve the

juvenile justice system statewide (www.ccyj.org), spoke about initiatives to revamp and

rethink the youth justice system.

John Jay College Symposium 

In November 2007, as part of a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of West Side Story, John 

Jay College (located only a few blocks from the area of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City where 

the musical was filmed) held a symposium “West Side Story: Perspectives from the Street.” Dr. 

Dana Tarantino organized the symposium, which was moderated by Dr. Ellen Scrivner, former 

director of John Jay’s Leadership Academy. Participants in the symposium included faculty 

members at John Jay College who were experts in their respective fields of juvenile justice 

and Latino studies. Topics included the impact of West Side Story on the Latino community, 

Latino perspectives on the play, Latino cast members’ responses to the musical, and 

discussions of present day gang culture in the Hell’s Kitchen area. 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 9 
Planning the Forum 

Suggestions 

One of the key parts of planning a forum includes selecting a host site. Some suggestions 

include a university or college, a local library, or another public building with appropriate 

seating. You should take into account public accessibility so that the site is easy to find and to 

enter. Other helpful tips for planning the forum include the following: 

• Select a panel moderator, perhaps a professor from a local college or university or

someone from the local media.

• Meet with the moderator and a leader of the host organization to plan the program.

Planning should include creating a theme such as Seattle’s “Jets and Sharks 50 Years

Later,” identifying the panel members, and developing questions for the panel.

• Decide how to have “Gee, Officer Krupke” delivered at the forum: if possible, have live

actors perform the song or arrange to have the scene from West Side Story played on a

large screen. If neither of these is possible, have the lyrics read aloud and/or reproduced

for the audience.

• Discuss marketing and outreach efforts as well as cost, if any, of the event. Consider

asking local businesses to sponsor the event to cover your costs and to reduce or

eliminate any admission fees. Ask the WSSP partners (police, theater, community

organizations) to produce a joint press release for the event.

• Provide refreshments. In Seattle, Town Hall provided light refreshments during the event

and allowed the WSSP organizers to sell T-shirts, water bottles, and other WSSP items to

raise money for the project.

• Consider asking your local public access channel to tape your event. In Seattle, the

local public access channel (www.seattlechannel.org) recorded the event, broadcast the

original panel discussion, and then broadcast the event periodically during the 3-week

run of West Side Story at the 5th Avenue Theatre.

• Prior to the forum, the WSSP coordinators should call each of the panel participants to

discuss the project, provide them with the proposed format and possible questions, and

work with them to develop their opening comments. Immediately before the event, the

panel and the WSSP coordinators should meet to review the evening’s activities.

10 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
The Forum Program 

Ask a well-known local figure to welcome the audience and introduce the program. Perhaps 

ask a theater partner to provide a brief history of West Side Story and its importance to 

the American Musical Theater and to highlight the enduring relevance of its themes today. 

If possible, have a local theater group perform the song “Gee, Officer Krupke,” show the 

scene from West Side Story, or have the lyrics read aloud. Finally, introduce your panel and 

moderator. The panel can answer a moderator’s questions for about 45 minutes and then take 

questions from the audience. 

Seattle Town Hall forum panelists (left 

to right) Dr . Eric Trupin, former SPD 

Chief Gil Kerlikowske, SPD Officer 

Adrian Diaz, Honorable Bobbe Bridge 

and moderator Dr . Hubert Locke . 

Crime Prevention on a New Stage | 11 
Possible Questions for The Panel 

What is the real scope of gangs in our community? 

How has the way courts address juveniles changed over the past 50 years? 

The lyrics of “Officer Krupke” raise the issue of nature versus nurture. What part do nature 

and nurture have in forming our youth? 

There is much finger-pointing at parents in “Officer Krupke.” What role does parenting have in 

the problem of youth violence? 


What about the modern notion that parents should not use corporal punishment? 


What is different and what remains the same about gangs today as opposed to those at the 


time of West Side Story?
 

Why do youth seek out gangs as families? 


What is the cost of incarcerating youth versus putting resources into early intervention? 


How do learning disabilities contribute to the problem of youth involvement in the juvenile 


justice system? 


From 1957 to the present day, what have been the gains and losses in helping youth? What 


kinds of interventions work? Why aren’t they implemented more? 


What effect does violence in the media and video games have on youth violence?
 

How much effect has immigration had on the problem of gangs? 


Can assigning more police officers to work with youth and community help?
 

12 | West Side Story Project Toolkit 
© 2009 Seattle Police Foundation. The U.S. Department of Justice reserves a royalty-free, 

nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others 

to use, this publication for publication for Federal Government purposes. This publication may be 

freely distributed and used for noncommercial and educational purposes. 
“ The way that people wanted to engage in a dialogue...made me 

have hope, which is what West Side Story is about, hope, that we 

don’t have to live this way, that there is a place for us .”

–Bill Berry, Associate Artistic Director of the Seattle 5th Avenue Theatre

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

September 2010 

e071016292 

ISBN: 978-0-16-086412-4