I no longer recommend this group to families.
My children…read moreparticipated in several productions with this group and the most recent experience we had will stop me from ever trusting this organization with my children again.
In my opinion, I do not believe that child safety is a priority for the leadership of this organization, and when my child and I tried to communicate safety concerns to members of leadership, we were ultimately made to feel unwelcome by the organization. This left my kids devastated as they had come to love and trust these people.
To anyone with children participating in their programs, I would strongly recommend being present with your child at all times, especially backstage during performances and dress rehearsals.
Hopefully, for the sake of the other children in our community, what happened with my family served as a wake up call to them and changes will be made in the future to prioritize child safety. I personally don't feel comfortable or trust the organization enough to give them more chances with my own children. Since I promoted this organization to other families for years, I feel compelled to share this information despite the organization bringing up legal counsel, defamation, and having a lawyer email me to set up a meeting with me and my child. The second-to-last thing I want is to get sued for trying to protect kids, but the last thing I want is for something to happen to any kid because I didn't say something.
*UPDATE: Since the organization representative decided to respond dismissively and misrepresent the situation, I will clarify the situation from my child's and my perspective.
First, my daughter was not the only preteen girl who was uncomfortable being forced to change in a high traffic area around teen and adult males while only wearing a nude-illusion undergarment. My child was simply the only one brave enough to stand up for herself and the other girls.
Second, the "accomodation" of bringing in 2 changing pods when there were more than 2 children needing to change at the same time was not a good enough "solution," especially because nobody addressed the bigger problem of the assistant director-now a board member- dismissing my daughter's concerns all week, forcing her and the other girls to change where they weren't comfortable, and telling these girls that anyone under 18 could watch them change.
Other parents thanked me and my daughter for bringing up this concern and getting the changing pods for the other girls, so I am happy that our sacrifice helped other children.
My child did not insist on changing in the adult changing room, she was initially told by staff that it was an option if she was uncomfortable changing in the open green room. Then that option was rescinded when staff deemed the adult dressing room to be "too toxic." Then my daughter was given the option of changing in a bathroom stall, as her only request was not having to change around boys and men. She accepted this option, but then that was also rescinded.
My daughter and I both tried to walk away from the situation on good terms, but a board member then proceeded to start sending me texts accusing my child of only having a problem because one of the boys in the production had a disability- something my daughter didn't even know. She's just a pre-teen girl with very healthy and normal boundaries regarding changing in public. I responded with how hurtful of an accusation that was and tried to explain again that the issue was that the children did not feel comfortable, told the assistant director they weren't comfortable, and then that adult made my daughter feel punished for speaking up. I tried reaching out to that adult directly first, and she ignored me. Then I sent a message in the cast chat about it, and the director -now a board member- deleted my message. It took bringing it to the board's attention for anybody to care and all they did was bring in 2 changing pods when there were more than 2 children needing to change.
A staff member told me they suggested putting up a room divider or sheet to provide some privacy for the girls, but were also dismissed.
The board member eventually backtracked their disparaging texts, and I hoped the negativity would end there. But the next day, I received a long, disparaging email from the board member attacking my daughter even more and saying that they had gathered testimony from other cast and staff and parents agreeing that my daughter was the one with a problem. And that's when I realized I had to say something to try and protect other families from going through this. I feel like my daughter's reputation has been irrevocably damaged.
It's never okay to dismiss a child when they say they aren't comfortable, or retaliate against them for it.
I hope this situation inspires positive change. Why not give the children the safety and privacy of the dressing rooms? I believe if child safety had been their priority, none of this would have happened.
