Author Spotlight
Lyda Cosgrove
In wake of recent sexual assault allegations against an influential director in the Kansas City theater community, actors, directors and producers alike are grieving the loss of a mentor and sparking conversations around conduct policies in professional environments.
Making national headlines as “Kansas City theatre’s worst-kept secret,” the 30 years of alleged sexual abuse, grooming and manipulation by now-former Coterie Children’s Theater Creative Director Jeff Church surfaced at the end of December.
On Dec. 20, actor Dashawn Young, who worked under the direction of Church at the Coterie until 2017, was the first to come forward about being assaulted by Church in a Facebook video. Since then, four more men have publicly shared similar stories, dating back to 1991. The Coterie began their private investigation Dec. 23, and the KCPD confirmed Church took his own life on Dec. 26.
But these aren’t the only victims, and youth theaters aren’t the only ones with these cases.
The theater industry’s hierarchical nature between established directors and vulnerable actors creates an environment revolving around power, according to long-time local actress and director Krista Eyler, who’s worked with a variety of community and professional theaters throughout Kansas City for over 20 years from both the acting and directing perspectives.
Many of the victims described how Church sought eager young adult actors, earning their trust and promising them career advancement in their statements. The allegations range from subtle, suggestive comments and touches, to years of harassment and even rape. Many of them mentioned that with a desire to succeed, the threat of ruining their reputation after coming forward ultimately silenced them.
Eyler also believes that many incidents go unreported because of the desperation for work and experience in the industry. The tight-knit nature of Kansas City’s theater community means that everyone knows everyone, according to Eyler, so when directors label actors as “difficult to work with,” reputations spread quickly to other companies.
“There’s no young performer who wants to make waves in an organization where they just got in the door,” Eyler said. “It makes it uncomfortable in a company. You’re working together for three or four months and the performer is the one thinking, ‘I don’t want to mess this up for everybody else.’ A lot goes through your head.”
KKFI 90.1 radio host and former Coterie actor Mark Manning — the second to speak out about alleged sexual assault by Church in 1991 — watched three generations of plays and actors pass through the Coterie, all under the control of one man. He says it’s this dynamic that contributed to him staying silent.
“By putting so much power into that one person, and making them almost the ‘God’ of that theater, no one can question and no one wants to insult [them] in any way,” Manning said. “A lot of times the Board of Directors knows nothing about theater, so they give up so much control to that one person and people are almost afraid of the gatekeepers because they could possibly get blacklisted or not have a chance to work.”
As Creative Director, Church determined the casting and payment of every show produced by The Coterie. He also advised productions at The Unicorn Theatre, UMKC actor’s training program and Pembroke Hill’s summer theater camp. Under his direction, The Coterie was named one of the best five theaters for children in the country in TIME Magazine.
The majority of Kansas City theaters, including the Coterie, share policies with the Actor’s Equity — the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional Actors and Stage Managers — in the form of a handbook, displayed publicly and included in a contract for all company employees. Theaters are required to have written etiquette and conduct policies that meet both the Equity’s standards and state law requirements.
When it comes to reporting uncomfortable situations, policies state the means of reporting, whether to a supervisor or a board member, as well as the “zero tolerance retaliation” — actors cannot be retaliated against for reporting anything. The managing director of a local theater, who asked to not be identified, discussed the importance of actors’ safety in a work environment, and that they feel safe to become vulnerable as it’s necessary to the art form.
“We want to make sure that no matter the situation, whether it’s a contractor or an employee, that people feel they can report something that they feel is either illegal or unsafe, or unethical, or is actual harassment,” she said. “We also make it clear that any report will be confidential and it will be investigated.”
Sexual misconduct in the theater industry doesn’t just occur through the abuse of power, but also actor-to-actor, according to Eyler. Throughout her career, she’s witnessed and experienced several accounts of misconduct between older and younger actors, but found it difficult to report them for the same reasons.
“It’s a strange world that we inhabit in theater, because it’s often a very touchy-feely world where you’re trying to imitate actual human interactions, which encompass a broad spectrum of emotions and physicality,” Eyler said.
Despite the clearly-outlined policies, Eyler says it’s late night cast parties or intimately staged scenes that may blur the line between acting and a sexual misdemeanor.
It can start as a subtle brush of the body. A cast member skims an inappropriate area when adjusting a mic pack. Maybe it gets worse. A co-star walks in unannounced in the opposite gender’s dressing room. An innocently staged kiss-on-the-cheek turns into an unconsented kiss on the lips. In Eyler’s experience, the actor is often so taken aback that they play it off as a joke.
“Harassment happens so quickly, sometimes in a moment that you don’t expect,” Eyler said. “I think most people are good, and you go into contracts really acting for your fellow actor, and you’re there to work hard, so you just don’t expect it. That’s why it kept shocking me.”
Though four men have come forward publicly, a dozen Coterie employees and actors have reported stories to The Kansas City Pitch, and Manning says over 20 people have now confided in him privately about their situations with Church.
And if reported, situations are often brushed off before they can make it to a higher level in the company, according to both Eyler and Manning. In fact, Manning remembers telling a close group of friends about a previous harassment experience in his college theater who simply told him “That’s the way it is, that’s how theater is, you just have to get used to it.” Though this was in the ’80s, Manning doesn’t think much has changed since then.
Since story after story of harassment and abuse unfolded through victims’ social media posts, even those who weren’t victims of Church are feeling the impact of the allegations. Freshman Eliza King was selected by Church over the summer to join the Coterie’s Young Playwrights Roundtable. Having heard only good things about Church, the news left her and fellow playwrights to grapple with learning the actions of their long-time leader and losing him to suicide, all in one week.
“It’s such a shock to just have that [trust] ripped from you,” King said. “You never really know about a person, and it’s definitely affected the way I think about trusting adults and leadership roles within life.”
Young and Manning agree that social media and the #MeToo movement have opened conversations about sexual assault, but that it’s only the beginning. Manning regrets not publicly coming forward sooner, but never felt that there was an opportunity to do so until he saw other victims open up online.
“We have to live in a different world where victims feel comfortable and safe speaking up and know that they’re not alone,” Manning said. “There has to be some kind of place that everyone knows about within their organization that allows people to report this when it happens. People are kind of loathe to talk about it, loathe to bring up what happened to them, and take on the judgment from people who may or not believe them and be victimized by it again, so there has to be a safe place.”
The Harbinger was referred to the Coterie’s Board of Directors’ statement explaining that they’d be reviewing their policies and procedures to “remain unequivocally and passionately committed to a safe and healthy, supportive working environment.”
Other local theaters, like The Unicorn, released similar statements around the same time. They discussed their own longstanding policies against sexual harassment and other forms of discriminatory harassment, as well as their promise to frequently review, share and follow them in order to provide a safe environment.
Eyler, King, Manning and Young agree that this tragedy is generating needed conversations about the deep-rooted issue within theater communities, and the importance of advocacy.
Manning hopes companies will update outdated policies to be clear and strict — defining consent, eliminating any blurred lines of what’s considered assault or harassment and holding all employees to the same standards of respect. Eyler encourages employees in the workplace to look out for one another. And Young emphasizes the value in advocating for yourself and others without fear of repercussions.
“I think everybody — actors and producers, directors — we were all kind of shaking in our boots, but it’s a reckoning that everybody, myself included, needs to have,” Young said. “Using your voice can help create some change and help healing for not only yourself but so many people. Don’t wait till tomorrow to advocate for yourself.”
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