Woman details how director sexually abused her and theatre mishandled her claims

TW: This story contains descriptions and images of sexual abuse.

In 2013, Samantha Clarke, 13-years-old and passionate for theatre, met director Don Fex. He was the co-director of a youth production she was in with the Lakeside Players located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

What she didn’t know then, was how Don Fex would use her casting in the show as the entry point to sexual abuse and manipulate her over the course of the next three years.

Last week, on August 11th, she posted details on her Facebook page of how Don Fex had preyed upon her starting shortly after they first met. Her post included screenshots of messages she had received from him.

After her allegations were posted, many called on Fex’s current employer, the Gladstone Theatre, to fire him. But new issues have arisen over the way the theatre’s administrators and board handled the allegations leading many to question if the theatre was equipped to handle such issues.

~~~

The messages started in 2016 when Samantha was 15-years-old. Don Fex, the man who had directed her in a youth production a couple of years prior, was now asking if she wanted to do a photo shoot. Thinking that they would be headshots, a necessity for a young actor, she agreed to the request.

But that’s where things took a tun.

According to Samantha, Fex mentioned that they could do two shoots and the second shoot should be sexual in nature. He even sent her images of the types of photos he wanted to do with her and clothing he thought she should wear. He went as far and mentioning how inappropriate it might be, yet doesn’t take back or apologize for the request.

“He sent me multiple pictures he had taken of women in lingerie and women completely naked, Samantha wrote on Facebook. “He told me he wanted to do a photoshoot like this with me, that we would keep it to ourselves and not tell anyone. I told him I did not want to do anything sexual.”

In August, Samantha participated in a photoshoot with Fex. Before they met, he suggested a “spicier” shoot and then again, acknowledged the inappropriateness of it.

Later that day, he messaged her, thanking her for the shoot but also mentioning that a “sexier shoot in the future would be fun.”

After that, she said Fex would often message her, unprovoked, requesting to do sexually natured photo shoots with her.

She says,

“He asked me to buy lingerie and sent me a list of lingerie stores. He acknowledged multiple times that what he was doing was inappropriate because of my age and persisted each time I told him I did not want to do anything sexual. He repeatedly told me not to tell anyone.”

Fex sent messages to Samantha telling her how sexy he thought she was.

It’s unclear when Fex stopped messaging Samantha. But it’s clear from Fex’s own words that he knew what he was doing was wrong. That’s not lost on Samantha.

“Don Fex used his platform as a director and his place in the theatre community to target and abuse me, she said. “He used his position of authority within his own company, Theatre Kraken, and his positions within the theatre companies of others, to target a minor and attempt to create child pornography.”

In addition to Fex’s behavior, what else is outraging the Ottawa theatre is how the Gladstone Theatre staff and board handled Samantha’s allegations.

Don Fex

She mentioned that it was not her intent to make this public, but she was forced to after the theatre apparently mishandled the investigation.

“I was working privately with the organization Don is with to ensure they are aware of the situation and are able to act in accordance with relevant harassment policies. Don decided to make a public post about this with a myriad of false information and an overall tone of severely downplaying his years of abuse. I was blocked from seeing this post and unable to defend myself.”

While it’s not known how Fex found out that Samantha was speaking with officials at the Gladstone, he posted a statement on his Facebook page where he admitted fault and tried to explain his side of the situation.

Fex wrote,

“Actions which I have taken in the past that I am not proud of but which I need to publicly take responsibility for. I asked if she would be interested in doing a lingerie shoot. She was apprehensive at first but we talked about it more and more, and exchanged several pictures back and forth of style of lingerie and photo ideas. This was of course extremely inappropriate due to her age — even if she was agreeing to it I should have known better,” he wrote. “In retrospect now I can see that I was being pushy and highly inappropriate.”

But the screenshots Samantha took show no exchange between the two. It only shows Fex attempting over and over again to lure a minor to a sexually natured photoshoot.

He also went on to explain how Samantha and Fex’s wife were working together to resolve the issue. At the end, he states that he had found out that Samantha had shared this info with her employer, the Gladstone Theatre.

Fex later deleted this post. He also hasn’t responded to any emails or calls asking for comment.

In response to his social media post, Samantha stated “It is disappointing for Don to be claiming to take responsibility while spreading slander.”

Officials at the Gladstone Theatre deny that they notified Fex that Samantha had reported her claims to them. However, it should be noted that before Fex had deleted his post, one of the theatre’s board members reacted to it on Facebook with the “Care” emoji.

The day after Samantha posted her claims on Facebook, the theatre released the following statement which included the update that Fex had been fired:

“Over the last three days, those three Board members conducted interviews with both parties, as well as other Gladstone staff. The accused employee was immediately placed on probation. HR experts and legal counsel were consulted to ensure the appropriate steps, including an internal investigation, were taken, and due process was respected. An important part of this is confidentiality within the process, and as such The Gladstone was advised not to make a public statement until the internal investigation was complete. We recognize and respect the frustration and anger on the part of the victim and the community due to this lack of public communication.

As of this release, the accused is no longer employed by The Gladstone Theatre. The Gladstone will not make any further public comments about this situation.

The Gladstone Theatre is dedicated to offering safe space for the Ottawa indie theatre community to do their work. The theatre’s harassment policy is on our website.”

However, after this statement was roundly criticized, the theatre released a second one the next day. They also included that the board member who had sent the “Care” emoji, had resigned from the board.

Laura Hall and Robin Guy, who are chair and vice-chair of the Gladstone’s board of directors, said in an email to local news

“We regret a great deal about how we handled this incident, particularly our failings in communicating with the survivor. Our volunteer board moved quickly, but also made mistakes,. We were action-focused instead of person-focused. This was a mistake. We are sorry,”

But Samantha states that the Gladstone only took swift action because she posted her claims online.

“The Gladstone did not take the situation seriously until there was public backlash,” she told local news.

“Had I not shared my story, I can guarantee, supported by written correspondence from the board of directors, that Don would still be working at the Gladstone now. They have been clear since I reached out to them that their priority is what’s best for the organization and the Gladstone as an institution.”

She also detailed the conversations she had with Hall and Guy in a subsequent Facebook post.

Samantha says she plans on filing a police report.

~~~

What happened to her is something that has tragically happened to countless others within the theatre industry. Perpetrators use the close confines and intimate trusting relationships to use as access to groom potential victims.

I spoke with a friend who works as someone who specializes in sexual assault cases. They told me that Fex’s behavior is quite common among men looking to sexually exploit minors.

“His line of how this probably isn’t appropriate was a test to gauge the young woman’s sense of right and wrong. Chances are, if she didn’t protest too much, he would press further. Him suggesting they keep this secret is a standard line used by abusers.”

Even worse, most local theatres aren’t properly trained or equipped to handle issues like these when they’re reported. I’ve seen many times where victims report abuses to theatre leaderships only to be ignored or even worse, told that they’re overreacting or misread the situation.

When this happens, the abuse continues.

For Samantha Clarke, whose bravery and strength I am marveled by, she ends with a call to action. In a post accompanied by a picture of her during that performance she did where she first encountered her abuser she states,

“Theatre was a place for me to express myself and do something that I really loved. If I could go back and protect her from what was going to happen, I would, but I can’t. The only thing I can do now is try to help prevent other young girls in the theatre from going through what I did.

The Gladstone's response to everything has been inappropriate, unprofessional, and inadequate. While I would love to take Don’s departure as a win, let this go and try to start healing from here, I am shaken thinking about the other young girls who may have similar experiences. What if they don’t have the amount of evidence I did? What if they don’t have a public admission of guilt from their abuser?

If the Gladstone’s response to a pile of evidence and a public admission of guilt is this inadequate, what is going to happen to the young girl who just has her word?”

In the days since, a number of other women have come forward with their own experiences of abuse within the Ottawa theatre community. This seems far from over.

This story will be updated with any new information that is provided.