theatrebayarea.org: “We have a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment, and we have never had any complaints.” This is what I heard from the representatives of every Bay Area theatre company I asked (the ones who responded to my query, that is) regarding their histories and policies on sexual harassment. While this consensus paints a rosy picture of our theatre community and its progressive attitudes, I know, and many people who read this will know, that this is not entirely accurate. While we may be past the era of unscrupulous producers installing two-way mirrors in women’s dressing rooms (as was rumored to have been discovered during the Orpheum’s renovation years ago), theatre people are not too different from everybody else, and sexual harassment and assault are still all too prevalent.
1 comment:
This article raises a very interesting point and issue, one that all people working in theater should be made aware of. I agree with the writer's emphasis on the lack of prevention and awareness to sexual harassment in the theater. The fact that it is such an unusual workplace, environment and industry leads theater workers to believe that they are subject to different rules and boundaries than that of the rest of the world. The nature of performers' work blurs the line when it comes to what is an acceptable interaction and what becomes harassment; the promiscuity that is often created by a show can be translated into something possibly inappropriate in the real world. It appears that the only way to work on and solve this issue is creating awareness, and finding a way to verify that smaller theater companies enforce the rules unconditionally.
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