NYPOST.com: A former Met stage carpenter is suing the Metropolitan Opera for sexual harassment, claiming that her male colleagues constantly abused her with unwanted come-ons and crude, dangerous pranks. Teri Orsburn, 53, worked for almost three years at the Met, where she was the company’s only female stagehand.
12 comments:
This story is incredibly sad and unbelievable. There are so many advances women have made but that is put into perspective when someone finally gets the courage to come forward and reveal something like harassment. It must have been really hard for this woman who wanted to dedicate her life to the theater and to working as a stagehand.
It is always really impressive when you have women working as stagehands. Perhaps it is because women are not so much into the heavy lifting, or it could be because the moment a woman walks into the shop or backstage she is discriminated against. Women shouldn't have to enter a job like that and have to prove themselves from day one. I feel that sometimes, the only way to gain any hope of respect is to put on a strong exterior, maybe even an intimidating exterior and work incredibly efficiently. Maybe at that point, there will be a little bit of respect as far as your work ethic. I'm very sorry for this woman, I hope she can find an alternative place to work. Not all theaters are like this.
As a woman who works in theatre, it's very hard to hear these sorts of stories. One always hopes that there won't be the one "creepy guy" who says and does things that make you uncomfortable, yet I've worked enough shows to have seen the type. You can only stand up for yourself so much. I'm sorry that she was harassed to the point of physical injury, and I hope that when our generation enters the workplace this despicable behavior will have faded out. I really hope she wins this case, and sexism in backstage theatre work is brought to light.
This article was a shocker- things like this are happening at THE MET?? What?! I find it so appalling and unbelievable, especially because this is happening in such a professional setting. I'm thankful that I read this article- scenarios of sexual/ any type of harassment are barely ever mentioned openly when they happen in places like this. It must be terrible to have to even consider leaving a job you have loved and always wanted to pursue, ONLY because someone else is bothering you so much you cannot fulfill you tasks. This is a shame. I really hope the case gets settled and she can find another job that was just as good, if not better than her original! I hope the best for her.
It’s frankly ridiculous that this type of sexist abuse is still happening in this day and age. Though considering how male-dominated the stagehand demographic is, perhaps it is not so hard to believe. Most crews don’t have more than one or two women on them, if that. People can talk all they want about how this gender imbalance should change, but it’s like any kind of prejudice. It’s only going to change if more women start becoming stagehands, working beside men and showing them that they are just as competent and good at their jobs, and earning respect. Granted, this case of prejudice escalating to the point of violence is particularly extreme and unsettling. Even in a male-dominated career, it is unacceptable that such things are still happening in the name of sexist. I hope she wins her lawsuit and gets some sort of justice.
Come on guys. Do you see that cowboy hat she's wearing? She was totally asking for it.
Although this is sad and disappointing, I find it difficult to be particularly shocked. I have not been working in theatre for a very long time since I am only twenty, yet I have encountered many cases of sexual assault backstage, thankfully never personally. But I see this sort of thing happen to women and men all the time, and it is even sadder when a company like the Met that produces such great work stoops so low as to have employees behave in such a way. Hopefully more people like Teri speak up about these sorts of situations so that people will be more aware of how terrible it is and more willing to take a stand to change things.
I was very shocked when I read this article. It is sad how in theater, collaboration and harmony is the most important thing to keep in mind especially because it requires long hours of working together. However, this kind of action is very rude and immature since it ruined one person's whole dream. I remember all of freshmen had to go conservatory hour to hear about sexual harassment. Therefore, it really hits me and I hope this can remind other workers so that it doesn't happen again. I also hope that workers become more respectful of each other regardless of any difference.
This is just pathetic. Women always have to work harder to gain the respect that they deserve, however it is so distasteful when men taunt women or disrespect them just because they can. These are grown men, engaging in bullying and then people wonder why kids do it!!
I wonder if she ever complained to anyone above her supervisor, because it doesn't seem as though he would have cared for her complaints due to the fact that he was also one of the instigators. Referring to an employee as "girl" is unacceptable. How did she work there for three years and why?? Also I wonder if she was in a union, because she could have complained before these three years and before she was hurt. I also don't understand what really happened when she was shoved to the ground.... Were they fighting? Was he trying to sexually harass her? I would really love to know if she ever made reports of harassment and if they were ever dealt with.
At least all theaters aren't like this, however you will find it quite often and also whenever there are jobs which are male dominated.
It absolutely disgusts me to read something like this. Theatre is supposed to be an open environment where people should be able to do whatever they want, no matter what their gender is. We are in an up and coming society where women and men are becoming more equal and it's situations like this one that are putting this equality on the back burner. I find it horrible to think that men still have a sense of power over women in areas that are deemed more "masculine." A woman can do anything a man can do and their should be no questions asked about it, especially in theatre, a place that should be so inviting and welcoming to new people and ideas.
This is all sorts of terrible, but definitely not surprising. Discrimination against women in the workplace and very specifically theater is something I've heard about many times, and was warned about when I declared wanting to work in the performing arts. Now when we read an article like this, that is the moment to ask ourselves what can be done to change the misogynistic mentality that i exemplified by this article.
I am also pretty sure I actually met this woman when I went on a backstage tour of the Met a few years ago. There was a few stagehands working on the stage when we were going through it, and a woman introduced herself to me as the only woman working there when she found out I was planning on going into theater. So it was probably her. Weird.
This was a very thought provoking article. We always hear about sexual harassment in the work place , but this one hit a little too close to home. This is my seventh year of working in theatre tech. I have never come across this situation myself, but am conscious in the fact that it is a real phenomenon in today's crazy world. My first instinct would be to nip this kind of situation in the bud as soon as it happened.Obviously that may be easier said than done, but for me personally, I wouldn't take that for a second. I have a strong personality so hopefully my vibe is that if you mess with me............You'll be sorry! If things didn't change immediately, I would be looking for another job. I know there will always be some ignorant, shallow men that are intimidated by a woman in a traditionally male world, but I consider that their problem and not mine. After reading this article, I think it would be a good idea for this topic to be part of interviews in my future. To ask how this potential situation would be handled may not be a bad idea. It will at least let me know where they're coming from. I hope Ms. Orsburn gets justice and compensation for what she had to endure. Her story getting out could help all us "girls" in the future!
I agree that this is a very unfortunate circumstance that this woman has had to endure. But just to play devil's advocate here... Everyone above has said that it is especially upsetting because a career like theatre is supposed to be so collaborative and an open environment, etc. But really, the industry she is in has nothing to do with this at all. Every single industry is going to have situations like this and people that get mistreated. It's a sad reality, but it is a reality none the less. And to a certain extent, I understand how she lasted for 3 years in this kind of environment. As an independent person (not just female), you want to be able to handle yourself and not be too sensitive. The hard part is finding that line between not being too sensitive and letting yourself fall into a position that is going to put you in harms way.
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