Vancouver children's theatre cuts director after bullying, harassment allegations

A Vancouver theatre company specializing in productions for children has cut ties with its artistic director following allegations of a toxic work environment by dozens of former staff and crew. The theatre has also promised that they would institute changes in their work culture.

The uproar began after the Carousel Theatre for Young People posted a message of support for the Black Lives Matter movement on their social media pages. Former staff and crew began to respond to the statement, calling out the theatre’s hypocrisy given the way they treated BIPOC there in the past.

BIPOC actor Kaitlyn Yott stated on Facebook that on a production of Peter Pan, she says she was pressured into performing stunts and ignored when she would voice concerns over her safety.

After Ms. Yott’s post, a petition began to circulate, calling on the theatre to improve its working conditions and leadership. That petition generated more than 400 signatures.

Former Carousel contract workers Dani Fecko and Kayla Dunbar have been urging those who were bullied or harassed to speak out. More than 60 people had written letters to Carousel's board detailing negative experiences at the company, Fecko told local news.

"We would be used against each other," said Fecko. "Inevitably, in every production, there would be one staff member or one artist that was the scapegoat for everything, and would be pulled out and bullied. There was a lot of bad mouthing of each other to each other behind closed doors. There was a lot of manipulation."

Fecko says many contract workers were afraid to voice their concerns to management out of fear of not being hired back.

"I always knew that was happening, I just never knew how bad it was," she added.

Following the growing calls for change, the theatre announced that they have parted ways with their artistic director, Carole Higgins.

In a statement posted on July 8th, the theatre leadership said

“Over the past week, we at Carousel Theatre Society have received many responses to our earlier statement on racism and oppression, including workplace environment, in our organization. It is clear from those responses that there are problems with our organization that are having a negative impact on our community. We recognize that change needs to happen.

We and Carole Higgins, Artistic and Managing Director, have mutually agreed to part ways, and the board of directors is reviewing and will be restructuring our leadership team. We will be working to rebuild a theatre that is inclusive, creates opportunity, and provides a safe place for everyone. We are consulting with labour relations specialists to help us reach that goal. Real change takes time, thought, and commitment, and we need to take that time to ensure we are conducting this process properly. We want our organization to be a place we can all be proud of and we are sincerely committed to doing better. We will update the community as we continue on with this restorative work.”