Public Theater Planning Town Hall On Sexual Harassment

EAST VILLAGE, NY — With the entertainment industry's sexual harassment problems becoming public, the Public Theater reportedly wants to talk about lingering issues on the stage. The East Village mainstay will hold a town hall-style discussion next month about sexual harassment, assault and abuse in New York City's theater community, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The event offers a space for the city's theater practitioners to share and listen to each other's stories and experiences, the theater told the Times. The Royal Court Theatre in London held a day of similar talks last month.

The discussion is a reaction to reports of sexual harassment and abuse by famous and powerful men such as movie producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Louis CK and Hollywood and Broadway star Kevin Spacey.

"Given the moment we are in nationally I think the public are very aware of the pervasive nature of the culture of sexual harassment, including in arts and culture," Stephanie Ybarra, the Public's director of special artistic projects, told the Times. "So it feels very appropriate to be talking to our own community about how we can shift this culture ourselves."

The Public held a similar discussion after the 2016 presidential election called "Public Forum: A Town Hall Meeting on What Comes Next."

The Public is among New York's top off-Broadway institutions and the original home of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton." Known for its sometimes provocative politics, its production of "Julius Caesar" this summer stirred controversy for depicting what looked to some like the assassination of President Donald Trump.

The town hall discussion, open to anyone working in theater in New York City, starts at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette St. in the East Village.

Read more at The New York Times.

(Lead image: The Public Theater produces Shakespeare in the Park each summer at Central Park's Delacorte Theater. Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)