OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON HARASSMENT

In December of 2014, pre #MeToo, we gathered together a group of theater professionals to discuss harassment and abuse in the theatrical community. We then drew up a preliminary Statement of Principle in consultation with attorney Norman Siegel in order to raise awareness and gathered the undersigned. The statement is published below.

Many of our statements have now come in to being, but we continue to push for more accountability towards perpetrators.

Statement Of Principle

No one should be forced to choose between her personal safety and dignity, and her job. But too often in the theater community this is exactly the choice that women must make. Sexual discrimination and harassment and gender-based violence often occur in the intimate and physical context of a theater production.

Victims of such conduct face a stark choice between continuing to work in close collaboration with their abuser and quitting the show. Few can afford to give up a job and lose not only income, but also the opportunity for career advancement. There is a sense in the community that it is not necessarily in a victim’s best interest to report abuse because of fear that the response will be insufficient and open her up to retribution.

In addition, many instances of abuse happen outside of the physical boundaries of a theater. No theater, union or guild currently takes responsibility for handling such cases. However, the two people involved will most likely have to work together the next day or in another production, and the victims are left to deal with the aftermath by themselves. In the face of these realities, victims often choose silence and the abuse is allowed to continue. It is time for the theater community to break its own silence on harassment and abuse and formally address the problem.

The reality is that those who behave abusively are generally in positions of power. Artistic directors hold the power to employ, playwrights have hiring approval; removing a director mid-rehearsal puts an entire production in doubt; losing a celebrity from the cast hurts ticket sales. All of these roles continue to be held predominantly by men and their victims are predominantly women. An unresolved conflict with a person in power can easily become an ongoing barrier to career opportunities throughout a woman’s career. Harassment and abuse are contributing factors that slow the advancement of women in theater.

We are aware of men being intentionally injured during performances, as well as gay and straight men being harassed and abused in much the same way as women have been. Victims can be anyone, stagehands as well as actresses, designers as well as writers. A more robust and victim-centered response to the problem will move the culture forward and benefit all.

On January 12th at New Dramatists, a meeting was held of members of the theater community, including representatives from the Dramatists Guild of America, the Actor’s Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Three proposals for change and enhancement of their existing procedures were generated and discussed:

1. We recommend that a clear statement be read at each professional production’s first company meeting outlining the procedure to file a complaint. The procedures and related contact numbers should be prominently posted on theater and union/guild websites.

2. We recommend that each union or guild designate a specific person to receive complaints. This person should be thoroughly educated and knowledgeable about the procedures and be prepared to guide victims to them and to appropriate support services.

3. We recommend that, when appropriate, a mediation process overseen by a neutral professional be added to what the unions and guilds currently offer to parties in dispute over a claim of abuse or harassment.

Move For Mediation

Mediation has an overwhelming success rate. Over the past twenty years it has become a broadly endorsed method for handling harassment claims in the courts and in private practice. All federal district courts are required by law to devise and implement programs to promote and encourage alternative dispute resolution. The New York Supreme Court has both mandatory and voluntary mediation programs, depending on the nature of the dispute. A study of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) mediation program found that 91% of claimants and 96% of respondents who used mediation to solve their dispute would use it again. It is commonly held that when disputing parties voluntarily participate in mediation they are more likely to abide by the terms of their agreement and there is less likely to be retribution, one of the most common reasons victims do not come forward with complaints. Moreover, mediation provides a complainant the opportunity to speak for herself and empowers her to participate in shaping a remedy. It also allows the accused to clarify his side of the story and avoid public charges. In addition, mediation is the most likely method to reach an amicable resolution in a relatively short time, which limits costs and disruption to the production, theater, union or guild.

We strongly recommend and support making these simple changes to recognize and address the needs of the victims of abuse. By instituting these measures, the unions and guilds will be taking steps towards ensuring the safety and dignity of their members.

The theater community has long whispered, laughed and written about harassment in its ranks, telling tales of the casting couch and out of control stars. It is past time we stopped ignoring or even encouraging abusive behavior and publicly recognize the existence of sexual discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence within our community. It is time to confront and overcome this abuse.

• The Lilly Awards Foundation

• New Georges

• New York Theater Workshop

• Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York)

• The League of Professional Theater Women

• 50/50 in 2020

• International Center for Women Playwrights

• Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative

• Voice of the City

• Two Birds Casting

• Theatre Wit

• Oracle Productions

• The Hypocrites

• Knife & Fork Chicago

• Bailiwick Chicago

• Pride Film & Plays

• Kate Erbe, Actor

• Joanna Gleason, Actor

• Jane Alexander, Actor & former Director of the NEA

• Marsha Norman, Playwright

• Jessica Chastain, Actor

• Jess Weixler, Actress

• Neil Labute, Playwright &Director

• Terry Kinney, Actor & Director & Steppenwolf Theater Company founder

• Jose Rivera, Playwright & Screenwriter

• Tracey Scott Wilson, Playwright & Screenwriter

• Thandie Newton, Actor

• Todd London, Director U of WA Drama, former director New Dramatists

• Gloria Steinem, Journalist & Activist

• Norman Siegel, Lawyer

• Karen Hartman, Playwright

• Lynn Nottage, Playwright,

• Jo Bonney, Director

• Tony Goldwyn, Actor & Director

• Amy Morton, Actor

• Martha Plimpton, Actor

• Amanda Green, Lyricist

• David Cromer, Actor & Director

• Jonathan Marc Sherman, Playwright

• Stephen Adly Gurgis, Actor & Playwright

• Richard LaGravenese, Playwright, Screenwriter & Director

• Vivienne Benesch, Actor & Director

• Mairin Lee, Actor

• Sheri Wilner, Playwright

• Nina Hellman, Actor

• Katie Finneran, Actor

• Shannon Burkett, Actor & Playwright

• Jeannie Dorsey, Playwright & Screenwriter

• Kristen Anderson Lopez, Actress, Lyricist

• Bobby Lopez, Composer & Lyricist

• Georgia Stitt, Composer & Lyricist

• Jason Robert Brown, Composer & Lyricist

• Lear deBessonet, Director

• Sasha Eden, actress, Artistic Director Women’s Expressive Theater

• Casey Childs, director, Executive Producer of Primary Stages

• Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director of Primary Stages

• Elliot Fox, Managing Director of Primary Stages

• Adam Greenfield, Associate Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons

• Maddie Corman, Actress

• Randy Graff, Actress

• Kelli Garner, Actor

• Adam Bock, Playwright

• Julia Jordan, Playwright & Lyricist

• Brooke Berman, Playwright

• Susan Bernfield, Artistic Director of New Georges

• Deb Laufer, Playwright

• David Friedlander, Entertainment Lawyer

• Linda Chapman, Associate Artistic Director

• Jim Nicola, Artistic Director

• Jack Doulin, casting director, NYTW

• Jeremy Blocker, Managing director of NYTW

• Stephen Belber, Playwright

• Anne Washburn, Playwright

• Tanya Barfield, Playwright

• Lucy Thurber, Playwright

• Betsy Aidem, Actor

• Marin Ireland, Actor

• Maddie Corman, Actor

• Carmen Zilles, Actor

• Evan Cabnet, Director

• Daniel Talbott, Playwright, Director, Actor, Artistic Director of Rising Pheonix Rep

• Cusi Cram, Playwright

• Eisa Davis, Actor,Playwright & Composer

• Lucas Papaelias, Actor & Composer

• Mike Lew, Playwright

• Adam Gwon, Composer & Lyricist

• Francine Volpe, Playwright

• Dana Eskelson, Actor

• Polly Lee, Actor

• Michele Pawk, Actor

• Sevrin Mason, Actor

• Andrea Ciannavei, Playwright

• Charlayne Woodard, Actress & Playwright

• Bekkah Brunstetter, Playwright

• Dallas Roberts, Actor

• Melissa Kievman, Director

• Winter Miller, Playwright & Journalist

• Erica Gould, Director & Fight Director

• Adam Rapp, Playwright & Director

• Adriana Perez, Actor and Educator

• Didi O’Connell, Actor

• Courtney Baron, Playwright

• Leigh Silverman, Director

• Mary Testa, Actor

• Maggie Keenan-Bolger, Actor, Singer & Playwright

• Daniel Goldstein, Director

• Caissie Levy, Actor

• Laura Maria Censabella, Playwright

• Rachel Bonds, Playwright

• Susan Louise O’Connor, Actor

• Rachel Hauck, Set Designer

• Tatiana Suarez-Pico, Playwright

• Barbara Cassidy, Playwright

• Hilary Bettis, Playwright

• Dipika Guha, Playwright

• Andrea Lepcio, Playwright

• Cori Thomas, Playwright & Actor

• Joan Lipkin, Playwright & Director

• Mandy Siegfried, Actor

• Young Jean Lee, Playwright & Director

• Alice Gordon, Playwright

• Cathy Gropper, Playwright

• Alexis Clements, Playwright

• Mallery Avidon, Playwright

• Lori Myers, Actor

• Peggy Miller, Actor

• Elaine Grogran Luttrell

• Cecilia Copeland, Playwright

• Amy Driesler, Actor

• Beth Blatt, Lyricist

• Carrie Brewer, Fight Choreographer

• Karina Richardson, Playwright

• Jonathan Mastro, Composer and Writer

• Mary Jo Bolduc, Actor

• Rebecca Spence, Actor, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble member

• Emma Goldman-Sherman, Playwright

• Jeffrey Frace, Actor

• Tom Dacey Carr, Actor

• Jenny Lyn Bader, Playwright

• Peggy Stafford, Playwright

• Siobahn O’Neill, Producer

• Christen Gee, Actor

• H. Lin, Playwright

• Yvette Heyliger, Playwright

• Gael Schaefer, Actor & Fight Choreographer

• Fengar Gael, Playwright

• Micheline Auger, Playwright

• Susan Rose, Producer

• Jennie Redling, Playwright

• David Johnston, Playwright

• Laura Eason, Playwright

• Tim Huang, Composer & Lyricist

• Sturgis Warner, Director

• Molly Rice, Playwright

• Julia Pearlstein, Actress

• Stephanie Zadravec, Playwright

• Sibyl Kempson, Playwright

• Wendy MacLeod, Playwright

• Kait Kerrigan, Playwright & Lyricist

• Deborah Stein, Playwright

• Romy Nordlinger, Actor

• Suzanne Bradbeer, Playwright

• Judith Binus, Stage Manager

• Lisa Rothe, Director

• Maxine Kern, Dramaturg

• Mary Ellen Ashley, Actor

• Michael Cuomo, Actor

• Sarah Hammond, Playwright & Lyricist

• Lisa Joyce, Actor

• Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, Director & Choreographer

• Nicole Pandolfo, Playwright

• Zach Shaffer, Actor

• Tari Stratton, Director of Education & Outreach for the Dramatists Guild

• Helen Sneed, Playwright

• Lauren Feldman, Playwright

• Joanna Carpenter, Actress

• Tammy Ryan, Playwright

• James Carpinello, Actor

• Mahayana Landowne, Director

• Jenny Maguire, Actor

• Jill Dolan, Professor of Theater, Gender Studies & English Lit at Princeton Univ.

• Alexandra Neil, Actress

• Charise Castro Smith, Playwright & Actor

• Diane DiVita, Stage Manager

• Kathryn Meisle, Actor

• Marguerite Stimpson, Actor

• Marjorie Duffield, Playwright

• Maria Gobetti, Artistic Director of the Victory Theater Center

• Valerie Weak, Actor & Educator

• Laura Shamas, Playwright

• Jennie Webb, Playwright

• Robin Byrd, Playwright

• Caterina Bartha, Producer, Director of Finance at the Dramatists Guild

• Neil Huff, Actor

• Bryce Pinkham, Actor

• Somer R. Benson, Actor

• Kim Chelf Haymes, Actor

• Molly Brennan, Actor

• Laura T. Fisher, Actor

• Aaron Christensen, Actor

• B.J. Jones, Artistic Director Northlight Theatre

• Kirsten Fitzgerald, Actor, Artistic Director, A Red Orchid Theatre

• Jennifer Markowitz

• Caitlin Parrish, Playwright

• Michael Patrick Thorton, Co-Founder & Artistic director, The Gift Theatre

• Robin Witt, Director

• Elizabeth Ellis, Actor & playwright

• Caroline Neff, Actor

• Jason Butler Harner, Actor

• Janelle Snow, Actor & Educator

• Michael Denini, Actor

• Bilal Dardai, Playwright, Artistic Director of The Neo-Futurists

• Hillary Clemens, Actor, The Gift Theatre Company ensemble member

• Lindsey Pearlman, Actor

• Will Kinnear, Actor

• Maria Margaglione, Actor

• Michelle Courvais, Actor

• Paul N. Moulton, Playwright

• Isaac Gomez, Literary Manager, Victory Gardens Theater

• Thomas J. Cox, Actor & Educator

• Kristin Idaszak, Playwright

• Justine Serino, Actor

• Erica Weiss, Director

• Jason A. Fleece, Director

• Mickle Maher, Playwright, Co-Founder of Theater Oobleck

• Andrew Hinderaker, Playwright, Ensemble Member, The Gift Theatre Company

• Meg Thalken, Actor

• Dani Bryant, Playwright

• Elaine Romero, Playwright

• Guy Van Swearingen, Actor

• Whitney Morse, Actor

• Natasha Lowe, Actor

• Cynthia Castiglione, Actor

• Carin Silkaitis, Artistic Director & Actor, Professor at North Central College

• Theo Allyn, Actor

• Roderick Peeples, Actor

• Rita Vreeland, Stage Manager

• Corrbette Pasko, Actor, Playwright

• Marika Mashburn, Actor, Casting Director

• Dutes Miller, Performance & Visual Artist

• Stan Shellabarger, Performance & Visual Artist

• Monty Cole, Artistic Programs Manager & Casting Director, Victory Gardens Theater

• Tiffany Scott, Actor

• Brian Russell, Director

• Jared Fernley, Actor

• Warner Crocker, Director, Playwright

• Kelly Lynn Hogan, Actor

• Erica Sartini-Combs, Casting Professional

• Jodi Kingsley, Actor, Ensemble Member – Irish Theatre of Chicago

• Rachael Patterson, Owner, Acting Studio Chicago

• John Tovar, Fight Director

• Curtis Jackson, Actor

• John Morrison, Director

• Alison C. Vesely, Artistic Director, First Folio Theatre

• David Rice, Executive Director, First Folio Theatre

• Maggie Cain, Actor

• Christy Arington, Actor & Educator

• Sandra Marquez, Actor

• Anne Fogarty, Actor

• Dana Black, Actor

• Donna McGough, Actor

• Victor Bayona, Partner R&D Choreography

• Samuel Taylor, Actor

• Gail Rastorfer , Actor

• Stephanie Chavara, Actor

• Richard Gilbert, Violence Designer, Co-founder R&D Choreography

• Darci Nalepa, Actor