After The State article, Trustus Theatre says it will not work with sexual harassers

A Columbia, S.C., performing arts center is promising to not work with artists who have “a known history of harassment” following allegations against a University of South Carolina theatre professor.

Trustus Theatre, in a statement posted to Facebook Wednesday afternoon, cited a report by The State newspaper that exposed allegations of sexual harassment at USC’s theatre and art departments.

“In a continued effort to provide a safe experience for our artists and audiences, Trustus Theatre will not contract artists who have a known history of harassment and will not tolerate harassment should it occur,” the statement said.

One of the professors accused of harassment, Robert Richmond, admitted to sending multiple texts to a student asking her to sleep with him, asking her what she was wearing, telling her to “take it off!!!” and more, according to documents obtained by The State. He described the texts as “witty banter” between friends.

After investigating the text messages and other complaints about Richmond, the university determined he did not violate any school policies. Following The State’s report, which was posted online Friday, USC President Robert Caslen announced several changes in how the school investigates sexual harassment allegations.

While Richmond had previously worked with Trustus Theatre, he has not been involved since 2016, said Sumner Bender, the president of Trustus’ board of directors. While Richmond was collaborating with Trustus, there had been no allegations against him of inappropriate conduct, Bender told The State.

The statement said this is not the first move Trustus has made to combat sexual harassment.

In 2018, the organization began adopting the Chicago Theatre Standards, a voluntary program that aims to curb sexual harassment in the theatre community. One of those standards calls for a designated person to coordinate intimate scenes while making sure those involved with the scene are comfortable, Bender said.

Harassment is a particular concern in any artistic community because in order to create art, people need to be vulnerable, Bender said. Sometimes, others exploit that vulnerability to harass artists, Bender said.

This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 12:48 PM.