SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Muni voted to permanently ban the subject of an investigation by the local theatre, in a letter posted to its Facebook page June 5.
Marc Wilson, who had been cast as “Pabbie” in a Muni production of “Disney’s Frozen” and was involved in other past shows, was banned from “participating in, volunteering for, or otherwise engaging in The Muni’s productions, programs, events, and activities.”
The statement, along with previous statements from The Muni, didn’t refer to Wilson by name, but correspondence obtained independently by The State Journal-Register detailed that the investigation centered around him.
The June 5 letter said The Muni’s board of trustees “carefully considered the totality of the circumstances…following the appeal process by a complainant and a review of additional information presented.”
The board of trustees is charged with the long-term viability and overall financial stability of the operation, according to its website.
The trustees “determined that the conduct and actions brought to their attention following the initial investigation, including information concerning compliance with directives issued with the original determination, were inconsistent with the standards and expectations of the organization.”
At least one of the original complainants about Wilson, William Gregg Acton, said he planned to appeal The Muni’s original finding of no violations by Wilson of The Muni’s “Code of Conduct.”
The decision to ban Wilson “reflects The Muni’s commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment for volunteers, performers, staff, and patrons.”
Supporters of local theatre had vowed boycotts of The Muni, a staple of Springfield summers since 1950, and several actors announced that they were leaving Muni shows later this summer.
Some also called for the resignations of board of managers president Kevin Burke III and board of trustees chair Randy Ragan.
“IÂ think one of the biggest things that’s been an issue for me is the focus on policy over people,” Acton told The State Journal-Register May 31.
Acton dropped out of The Muni’s “All Shook Up” because The Muni “has unfortunately show that they’d rather promote the pattern of protecting predators and belittling the narratives of victims.”
While Friday’s letter didn’t mention specific allegations against Wilson, the producer of “Frozen” and a member of the board of trustees suggested that Wilson was investigated for allegedly making inappropriate comments to cast members.
John Baker, addressing cast members and others May 28 in a recording obtained by the SJ-R, said none of the complaints against Wilson involved minors and there was “never an allegation that somebody was touched, adult or child.”
Acton told the SJ-R that he was aware that a minor last year reported to their director and stage manager that there was an issue with Wilson.
“The Muni claims that this never escalated to a formal complaint and therefore, they’re stating there was never an issue with a minor,” Acton said. “There’s a discrepancy in there as far as what do they consider to be a formal complaint. Just because they may say no formal complaint by a minor was made doesn’t mean that no complaint by a minor was made. It did not follow in their eyes the proper channels to get reported. That is also an issue that should be addressed.
“As far as that individual who reported it was aware, (they) had followed the proper channels to report it to the higher ups. Somewhere along the way, the policy failed and this overreliance on saying the policy said this and therefore we are fine, when we are clearly seeing with our own eyes that this policy had led to these behaviors happening again. The policy needs to be changed. It needs to be abandoned. A new one needs to be put in place.”
Burke told the SJ-R earlier that he understood that some members of the community were concerned that recent communications “did not specifically address (victimized) individuals or details.”
Another Muni actor, Nate King, praised Andrew Maynerich and Morgan Kaplan, directors of the current show at The Muni, “Mamma Mia!” who partnered with the Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault (PCASA) to make sure there are resources available for volunteers during their shows.
“Those are great steps towards building a better community,” he said.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788: sspearie@sj-r.com: X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: After fallout, Muni permanently bans actor who was investigated
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
