Please share with the education staff that until I see direct actions from CTC leadership supporting the survivors of abuse, I am not comfortable being a face of the organization to the community and teaching with Bridges. Specifically, I need to see more than public statements, I need to understand the timeline and budget of resources CTC is putting behind those words, and need to see an assurance that the aggressive and inhumane legal tactics used in the first trial will never be used against another survivor.
In the 14 years I have taught with the Bridges program, I have seen firsthand the transformational impact it has on students, teachers and parents in the community. I have seen the incredible and beautiful diversity the program brings into what would otherwise be a mostly upperclass white organization, and the powerful lessons that come out of children and youth learning to examine and question the structure behind seemingly simple stories.
Despite current denials by the CTC leadership, I have received numerous written and verbal requests over the last year to “not speak” about the CTC lawsuits or abuse that occurred. This tacit gag order is antithetical to an organization dedicated to healing from past trauma, and antithetical to the Bridges practice of pushing beyond a given narrative to hear the voices that have been silenced.
From the moment I first began working in the Twin Cities theater community over 25 years ago, I heard stories about the atrocities that happened at CTC. The message I clearly heard was “stay away” from this organization. When I was recruited into the Bridges program a decade and a half ago, I entered the program with considerable trepidation because of the negative reputation of the Theatre. So many people I know in my generation of Twin Cities artists were hurt by this organization, I could not ignore the traumatic impact it has had on my peers in the artistic community.
At the same time, working within the Bridges program has been one of the highlights of my career as a teaching artist. From the development of curriculum, to the recruitment and training of teaching artists, to the supportive working environment, the attention to detail and the care behind every facet of the Bridges program make it hands-down the best managed, most thoughtful and impactful program I have encountered anywhere in my career. The Bridges program has taught me as an artist to value integrity and honesty and to place the well being of children above all else. These factors make it a very difficult decision whether or not to return this year.
As you well know, being a Bridges Teaching Artist means representing the institution of the theater to the larger community, and responding to questions and inquiries the community has about CTC. For many years, this has mostly involved talking about upcoming shows and events sponsored by CTC, but this year seems to be quite different because of the attention created by the upcoming lawsuits and the CTC leadership’s responses. Although I am very proud of the work Bridges does, I cannot justify crossing a picket line of survivors demanding to be recognized. I cannot stand behind leaders who first claim ignorance to the abuse that occurred, prevent healing by silencing employees from discussing it, attack survivors in court, and then suddenly claim to care about survivor’s concerns when the artistic community holds them accountable.
CTC as an organization needs to acknowledge the harm caused first by the organizational culture of predation and abuse and then by later decades of organizational denial and silence. There needs to be both formal and informal processes of healing on all levels of the organization, and it needs to be transparent.
Until I see this acknowledgement and this process in action, I am not able to teach in a Bridges classroom.
I know you understand how difficult this decision is, and how much I value the work that Bridges continues to do.
Thank you.
-Chris Griffith