The Policemen's Ball

The Policemen's Ball[1]

Series
Work In Progress
Original Broadcast Date
1988
Cast
Tim Jerome, Arthur Miller, Nick Aulette, Larry Block, Barbara Sohmers, Steve Friedman, Denny Partridge, Joe Frank
Format
Scripted Actors, Improv Actors, 1 hour
Preceded by:	Lines
Followed by:	Sleep

"My high school gym teacher was the most uh oppressive, out front personality it's ever been my misfortune..."

The Policemen's Ball is the name of a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series Work In Progress. It was originally broadcast in 1988.

Synopsis

• A guy talks about his high school gym teacher torturing a fat kid who later becomes a school sports enthusiast.
• Panel discussion: understanding the value of life by saving or destroying life.
• Actors: a man and woman overlook a riot during the policeman's ball, shoot at people. People robbing robbers.
• Panel discussion: coexisting socialist and capitalist systems within one society.
• Presentation: a private security force protects an animal research lab.
• Panel discussion between critics and a security force proponent: modern security forces as city states, samurai, death squads. A modern secured house. The price of security is vigilance. Imprisoning oneself. A war between wealthy households.
• Actors: A concert by a charity orchestra the Helmsely Hills [sp?] foundation - the orchestra plays horrible music, then the orchestra hall comes under siege and dissolves into chaos.
• Panel discussion: The nature of theft, stealing and usurping property, the theft of a shiny stone.
• Actors: The riot continues. Aiming for legs. A play about class revolution that costs $100 a ticket. A man watches television coverage of the riot beneath his window.
• Actors: a DJ with a tinny voice set against percussive electronica reads poetry, urges the audience not to get shot, coughs and begins cawing like a bird.
• Panel discussion: a slick arsonist contrasted with an ordinary arsonist. Workplace theft. Traps and threats in everyday life - binoculars which stab the eyes, asphyxiating pillows, refrigerators that attack people, flesh eating socks. A list of criminals. Are we all criminals?
• Actors: a woman lists things that she likes against the sound of battle and percussive music.

Interesting Facts

The programs "Policemen's Ball" and "Policeman's Ball (remix)" from joefrank.com are identical. KCRW broadcast the program with the "remix" title in the mid nineties, probably because the show contains material from earlier programs.

Commentary

Please see guidelines on commentary and share your personal thoughts in this section.