Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Met Opera Fires Stage Director, Citing ‘Inappropriate Behavior’
The New York Times: The Metropolitan Opera fired the veteran British stage director John Copley this week after receiving a complaint about what the company described as “inappropriate behavior in the rehearsal room.”
2 comments:
Rosie Villano
said...
I am glad that the #MeToo is movement is extending to the opera world as well and that the Met is making sure that there is no tolerance for sexual harassment. I think it unexpected for Mr. Copley to be fired, but because of the scrutiny over how The Met dealt with James Levine’s actions that action sends a powerful message that no one is safe and that the organization values the safety of the actors over all else. I also hope that the firing of Mr. Copley actually forces him to reconsider his behavior. While I can understand the suddenness of his firing could be shocking, if the remark was bad enough for the organization to fire him he probably deserves it. If the director felt that he could make a sexually charged comment in a professional environment, that speaks volumes about the atmosphere of rehearsal and the character of the director.
I fully support the #metoo movement and the changing the pervasive culture of horrible sexual misconduct that has been brought to light in everything from Hollywood to politics and news and journalism, however, this in some ways seems a bit vague and undetermined. The article is actually slightly poorly written, because it makes no mention of a pattern of behavior or if this was the only incident. This man is 84 years old, and before firing him over one inappropriate comment to another man in rehearsal, I would think that they would investigate to see if this is a pattern of behavior, or a one off. This does not mean that if the man was not innocent he should not be fired, however, this article should have highlighted if this was the first incident that has happened to involving this man. This in some ways may undermine the movement by making it seem like a witchhunt. Clearly the Met opera is hypersensitive given what happened with the former director James Levine. It is important though that we ensure that there is a fair and equitable investigation process. Some of this seems like a slightly knee-jerk reaction based upon the way this article was written, and I hope that this man gets a fair investigation to determine whether or not his firing was warranted.
2 comments:
I am glad that the #MeToo is movement is extending to the opera world as well and that the Met is making sure that there is no tolerance for sexual harassment. I think it unexpected for Mr. Copley to be fired, but because of the scrutiny over how The Met dealt with James Levine’s actions that action sends a powerful message that no one is safe and that the organization values the safety of the actors over all else. I also hope that the firing of Mr. Copley actually forces him to reconsider his behavior. While I can understand the suddenness of his firing could be shocking, if the remark was bad enough for the organization to fire him he probably deserves it. If the director felt that he could make a sexually charged comment in a professional environment, that speaks volumes about the atmosphere of rehearsal and the character of the director.
I fully support the #metoo movement and the changing the pervasive culture of horrible sexual misconduct that has been brought to light in everything from Hollywood to politics and news and journalism, however, this in some ways seems a bit vague and undetermined. The article is actually slightly poorly written, because it makes no mention of a pattern of behavior or if this was the only incident. This man is 84 years old, and before firing him over one inappropriate comment to another man in rehearsal, I would think that they would investigate to see if this is a pattern of behavior, or a one off. This does not mean that if the man was not innocent he should not be fired, however, this article should have highlighted if this was the first incident that has happened to involving this man. This in some ways may undermine the movement by making it seem like a witchhunt. Clearly the Met opera is hypersensitive given what happened with the former director James Levine. It is important though that we ensure that there is a fair and equitable investigation process. Some of this seems like a slightly knee-jerk reaction based upon the way this article was written, and I hope that this man gets a fair investigation to determine whether or not his firing was warranted.
Post a Comment