Douglas Theatre grads keep it real for police training

Nicola Elbro, second from right, says playing eco-terrorist in a police training exercise was `great improv practice.' Pictured with, from left, David Quast, Nicholas McKechnie, Joanna Williams and Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service Constable Ken Morrison.

Douglas College Theatre grads played a unique role in a recent police training exercise. Four actors portrayed eco-terrorists who take hostages and threaten to detonate an explosive, who are confronted by police while on the SkyTrain.

"It was one hell of a set," says actor Nicola Elbro. "It was great for future source work as I've never held a real gun or had real guns pointed at me. It was also great improv practice," she says.

Elbro and her colleagues agree this type of off-stage training simply can't be found elsewhere.

"There was an element of reality that you never get to experience. These types of scenarios are what these officers have to deal with on a regular basis," says Nicholas McKechnie.

Actors from the Douglas Theatre Program started working with the New Westminster Police Department six years ago. Four years ago the New Westminster Police Emergency Response Team amalgamated with teams from the Abbotsford, Delta and Port Moody police departments and Douglas students have continued to work with the amalgamated team. This latest exercise also involved officers from both the Vancouver Police and Lower Mainland RCMP Emergency Response Teams.

Using actors in police training exercises "is a win-win situation," says New Westminster Police Staff Sergeant Mike Kelly, organizer of the recent production.

The actors get a one-of-a-kind experience under their belts, including bragging rights that they yelled at a police officer and got away with it.

In return, the police get more effective training, says Kelly. When officers role play as the bad guys, they tend to either make it too hard for other officers to negotiate with them, or underplay it and give in too fast. They're also hesitant to criticize their peers, says Kelly.

Indeed, the latest exercise, which lasted seven hours, grew so emotionally heated that Elbro worried the officers taking part would take offence to her character's behaviour.

"We all got pretty verbally abusive. I actually ended up taking it very seriously because I knew it was intended for something bigger than entertainment," says Elbro.

Kelly provided the actors with character descriptions and a basic script, but he left plenty of room for them to improvise.

The actors say the experience left them with a better idea of how the police work in hostage situations.

"I expected the training exercise to be - and I'm a bit ashamed to admit it - like you see in the movies: snipers on buildings and swat teams surrounding the train. In reality we didn't really see any police officers until we were arrested and our only communication was over the telephone," says McKechnie.

"It's a great opportunity that doesn't come around everyday and I feel very fortunate that I got to have that experience. Plus my faith in the police has gone up a few notches," Elbro adds.

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