The interim artistic director at the Alley Theatre is weighing the best response to the query of, “What will be Gregory Boyd’s legacy?” Boyd, who left in January, helped grow the company’s reputation as artistic director over nearly three decades but was also accused of harassing several women on his staff and creating an abusive work environment.
2 comments:
What an interesting article. I am not a know-it-all when it comes to theatre companies in the United States but this article was really insightful although I didn’t have all of the context to maybe completely comprehend the situation. First, I think it’s great that a company was able to recognize that their leadership was flawed and disrespecting women. Second, I thought the interim director was eloquent in not focusing too much on the mistakes of the previous artistic director. I understand that when a sexual harassment case occurs, he obviously doesn’t deserve to go unreprimanded, but he did do some good for Alley Theatre. Third, I think the interim artistic director is completely right, there is a need for younger leaders and newer actors/creators within the entertainment industry. His belief in locally sourcing resources and diversifying the line-up of productions within in a season will hopefully rejuvenate and progress Alley Theatre out of Gregory Boyd’s shadow and into a light all on its own.
First off, t I have a problem of how Black talks about Boyd. He said “’He [Boyd] did extraordinary things for this theater when I compare what it was when I started to where it arrived, I think he did a lot of good. There was some questionable behavior, but … I don’t know. I’m not interested in talking about the past’’’. This is attitude doesn’t say that Black condones the actions of Boyd but it not outright saying that Boyd acted wrongly is an issue. Black and the Alley theatre should have a clear that they don’t condone Boyd’s actions. I know he is walking on eggshells with the public and the higher-ups of Alley Theatre but he still shouldn’t just say it was questionable. It is good to read that he looking to make the Alley theatre more diverse and hopefully he acts well on his actions. It is good to hear Black talk about how he wants new blood that is fresh in the company to help steer its ship in a new direction. Another positive is seeing that he sees the power of the Alley Theatre. He knows that it change and grow the theatre scene of Houston so hopefully this change pays off and the Alley theatre continues to blossom.
Post a Comment