Panel to evaluate Alley ‘environment’
Theater board plans workplace review amid accusations of abusive culture
The board of the Alley Theatre announced plans Friday to create a special committee to evaluate “the workplace environment” after the Houston Chronicle reported that more than a dozen current and former employees said former artistic director Gregory Boyd had fostered a toxic, abusive culture for decades.
In a 79-word statement, the board did not mention Boyd by name and did not directly address the Chronicle’s report, published Friday, which included interviews with actors and actresses who said Boyd had screamed obscenities at them during rehearsals. Two actresses alleged that Boyd also touched them inappropriately on their buttocks. “During this transition to new artistic leadership, the Board of Directors has renewed its commitment to providing a dignified and respectful workplace,” the statement said. “The Board has also appointed a special committee to assess the workplace environment and deliver recommendations to ensure the Alley Theatre continues to be a destination for world-class talent.”
Boyd, 66, did not return a reporter’s phone call.
He announced plans to retire on Tuesday and officially ended his 28-year Tony-winning tenure at the theater two days later.
In Friday’s Chronicle article, Emily Trask, a member of the company for nearly two years, said she quit her “dream job” at the Alley in April after reporting to three members of management that Boyd had bullied her at rehearsals and called her a “stupid c---” while giving another actor stage direction. Trask and another actress, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported being touched inappropriately on their buttocks.
Other current and former employees described a hostile environment tinged by fear of Boyd’s outbursts.
After the article was published, more former employees came forward with allegations of abusive behavior that they said were ignored by management.
“I think the Alley owes Houston a tremendous apology for misusing the community’s trust and for covering up reprehensible behavior,” said Michael Dragoni, who was Boyd’s assistant from 1996 to 1998 and described the job as “an almost nonstop abusive situation.”
He said he saw Boyd berate actresses and touch a former staff member on her thigh inappropriately until she stood up and left a rehearsal.
“They have known about the toxicity from the beginning, and multiple leaders over the years have turned a blind eye and allowed things to get completely out of control,” Dragoni said.
‘Conspiracy of silence’
Greg Lasley, who worked at the Alley from 2006 to 2011 as a bartender, described a “conspiracy of silence there.”
“People would complain, the board would show up and squash the complaint,” Lasley said.
Tony Bradfield, co-owner of Tenenbaum Jewelers, a longtime supporter of the Alley, expressed dismay at the accounts of an oppressive environment.
“I don’t think anyone of either gender, women mostly, should have to go through any of that,” Bradfield said. “I feel strongly about that.”
The Alley’s administration has not offered any response to the allegations against Boyd beyond Friday’s statement.
The Chronicle reached out to all 20 members of the board’s executive committee listed on the Alley’s website. Those who responded declined to comment or referred reporters to the Alley’s public relations firm.
Nancy Sims of the public relations firm did not respond to a reporter’s emailed request to interview the theater’s managing director, Dean Gladden.
Sims did confirm that board members had attended a retreat Friday, which she described as “long-planned.”
Friday afternoon, theater employees were summoned to an emergency meeting at the Alley’s offices to hear from board president Butch Mach, chief operating officer of Mach Industrial Group. Mach told employees about the special committee and said it was designed to keep watch over the theater and make employees feel safe, according to someone who was present.
Sims said the committee’s members have not been selected.
Long-term impact unclear
Boyd, widely considered the most influential figure in Houston’s theater scene, was just one year into a five-year contract and was paid at least $420,000 in the fiscal year that ended in June 2016, according to tax records.
During his tenure, the Alley rose in national and international prominence, breaking attendance records, attracting big-name stars and producing premiere plays that went on to New York and elsewhere.
On Dec. 6, American Theatre magazine published an article based on 100 interviews and emails with actors and staff in theater companies across the country about their experiences with workplace harassment. It did not mention the Alley, but the next day, Gladden and Boyd sent out an email that reiterated the Alley’s policy against harassment and pledged “to make the Alley a better, kinder place to work.”
On Dec. 8, Boyd seemed to offer a general apology at a staff meeting, according to a recording obtained by the Chronicle.
“I recognize, and I hope all of you do too, that criticism in our business is a good thing. It’s how we deliver the criticism that we need to work on …” he said. “I know I need to get better on this point. I can’t say I’m going to be 100 percent successful but I think it’s time to make the best effort.”
The Chronicle started interviewing Alley employees in November as the “Me Too” movement spread nationally and current and former employees complained about Boyd.
The Alley’s news release on Boyd’s retirement, issued Tuesday, said Boyd had planned to step aside in the fall but delayed the announcement because of Hurricane Harvey.