Over the weekend, a D.C.-area theatre terminated the employment of its artistic director due to allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women. However, questions are now arising about how the theatre’s board handled similar allegations against the former director three years ago and failed to take proper action.

On June 22nd, the board of directors at Flying V Theatre in Silver Springs, MD, announced that they had terminated the employment of Artistic Director Jason Schlafstein and accepted the resignation of their Associate Artistic Director, Jon Rubin.

This came after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment on the part of Schlafstein. Following the allegations, the theatre put Schlafstein on administrative leave and within 24 hours, he was fired.

However, what is being called into question is how the board handled previous allegations against Schlafstein and failed to remove him from the theatre.

By their own admission in a statement, the theatre board stateed on their Facebook page:

“When members of the Flying V community came forward in the past with accounts of their interactions with Jason, the view of the then-Board of Directors was that they warranted investigation. The Board, chaired at that time by Melissa Wiley, immediately convened a committee to investigate the allegations and speak with the women who made them to determine whether disciplinary action – up to and including Jason’s termination – was appropriate.
The result of that investigation was a determination that Jason had inappropriately crossed professional and personal boundaries by expressing romantic interest in female members of the community in a way that could reasonably be understood as an abuse of power. After a series of meetings with Jason and other Flying V stakeholders, the Board decided that the issues identified did not warrant termination, but that any future recurrences of similar behavior could alter that decision. This determination was made in significant part due to a serious commitment by Jason to do the work necessary to understand his position of power within Flying V and to avoid actions that could cause any member of the Flying V community to feel that he was using his power for personal gain.
We also determined that Flying V needed a formal process for individuals to raise these and other issues with Flying V and to have those concerns heard, understood, investigated and acted upon. In 2017, we established a formal Code of Conduct and Conflict Resolution system to allow anyone within Flying V to bring forward concerns regarding any form of workplace discrimination, harassment or abuse. Since that time, while our Conflict Resolution system has been used by members of the company and participants in individual projects to address various issues, the Board has not received any further concerns or complaints regarding Jason’s conduct.”

Many in the community are beginning to post their outrage that despite the fact that the theatre board had found Schlafstein’s behavior as an abuse of power towards women, they failed to remove Schlafstein from his position. I have not seen whether or not any of the allegations made against Schlafstein occurred after 2017.

While this occurred before the heightened awareness of the #metoo movement, it is shocking that the theatre board failed to act.

Questions Surround D.C. Theatre's Firing of Artistic Director Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

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