Flea Theater Eliminates Programs For Emerging Actors, Directors, and Writers

Prominent Off-Off-Broadway venue, The Flea Theater, has announced that it will terminate many of its programs for emerging actors, directors, and writers, The New York Times reports. The Flea's letter said that the move was necessary in response to the financial effects of the health crisis.

Read the full statement below:

This comes after resident artists accused the Flea of "racism, sexism, gaslighting, disrespect and abuse", as well as of exploiting artists who were paid little or nothing to work there, in an open letter this summer.

The three initiatives that will end as of December 15 include the Bats acting program, a residency program for directors, and a "writers' room" where playwrights contribute to the ongoing and popular series called "Serials."

This will eliminate dozens of positions, which brought about backlash from the company's resident artists.

Adam Coy, a resident artist and a member of the Bats, wrote in an email that the decision "feels directly related to our collective organization and attempts to hold the institution accountable for exploitation of labor and a toxic culture, where harm often fell on the shoulders of BIPOC bodies."

The board noted that it hopes to develop a new, smaller artists' residency program.

Read more on The New York Times.