Chicago Support Group NOT IN OUR HOUSE Combats Sexual Harassment In Theatre

It was almost a year ago when Chicago actor Lori Myers posted this message on her Facebook page:

"It is very discouraging to me to continuously hear stories of sexual exploitation concerning young women in our theatre community. These women were sometimes underage, manipulated, and traumatized. If your friend, sister, daughter, or coworker was working under a sexual predator-what would you do about it?"

As reported by American Theatre, the post received 178 comments within days. Numerous phone calls and messages followed, inspiring the 2015 Jeff Award winning actor to create an advocacy group for victims of sexual harassment in the theatre industry, Not in Our House (NIOH).

Their first meeting, a panel discussion on sexual harassment, provoked lively discussion and soon a support group for survivors was established, along with an initiative to write a code of conduct for the theatre community.

While Myers doesn't claim to have been a target of workplace sexual harassment, she notes having heard rumors about a certain theatre director when her career began in the mid-90s. As she's gotten older, and is cast in more mother roles, she now hears comments from younger women playing her daughters.

"In the last three productions, this particular theatre kept popping up," she says, adding that it "finally hit me in the face: Why isn't anyone doing something about this?"

A few weeks before Myers posted her comment on Facebook, playwright Julia Jordan presented statement to confront sexual harassment in the theatre at an industry-wide meeting held at New Dramatists in New York.

Written with the help of attorney Norman Siegel the statement called for a clearer complaint process and for unions and guilds to adopt mediation. Because of the non-traditional nature of the acting profession, special note was taken to address circumstance when violations take place outside of the workplace, citing that "unions and guilds take the position that "if an act of violence or harassment happens outside of the theatre or after work they have no jurisdiction. However, the two people involved will most likely have to work together the next day or in another production."

Jordan was amazed at how many people, not just women, wanted to talk about the issue. "I got numerous calls from men insisting that they be included," she says, adding that she was particularly shocked by the stories she heard from those who told her how little was done when they did complain.

"Equity understands that sometimes situations occur that are outside our scope of jurisdiction, or sometimes members don't want to file a grievance with the employer or with the union," responds the union's executive director, Mary McColl. "Equity has been working with a small group of industry advocates seeking to create a third-party neutral mediation service so industry professionals would have another resource. When that service is ready to go, Equity will help to spread the word to our membership and the theatre industry at large."

Also, unique to the acting profession is the positive use of tension and sexual friction in creating relationships between characters.

"We don't want that to go away," says Chicago-based actor Laura T. Fisher, who heads the creation of NIOH's Code of Conduct, "but the more people feel safe, the more they can talk about the problem and not ruin the magic."

"If you are 19 or 20 coming out of school, and you enter this business or community with no training at all, you may or may not have a very diverse level of knowledge and experience or know the dos and don'ts of getting into this field," Fisher adds. "For example, a 20-year-old actress may be asked to be naked for an audition and doesn't know she can refuse."

While the cases overwhelmingly involve women, NIOH also considers cases of harassment against men. Fisher notes, "One of the more egregious examples came from a woman toward a man."

In less than a year, Myers has noted positive change. "We are starting to see a sort of shift where we can say, out in the open, that you don't have to do something for your career that will put you in emotional or physical danger."

There has also been a small backlash about a concern that NIOH would engage in a witch hunt, something Myers said the organization had no intention of pursuing. "Those conversations are shocking and a challenge," she said. "But they are welcome."

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Visit notinourhouse.org.