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OUR STORY

Students and alumni from the Dawson College Professional Theatre Program have been coming forward about the abuse of power, misconduct and sexual harassment since 1994. These complaints were consistently met with silence, inaction, and in some cases, threats of expulsion. 

 

In light of the 2017 wave of #metoo and spearheaded by Amber Goldfarb, 22+ alumni from Dawson College sent complaints and testimonials to the institution regarding the misconduct of tenured professor Winston Sutton. These testimonials showed patterns of inappropriate touching, grooming, sexual harassment and psychological manipulation. Winston Sutton was briefly suspended pending an investigation. Without any notice to those who bravely came forward, the college decided to reinstate him while following no further disciplinary action.

 

In July of 2020, the conversation resurfaced after seeing that Winston Sutton was slated to direct multiple plays at the college. Led by Kayleigh Choiniere and supported by the power of social media, we received an overwhelming response from the public. This encouraged more people to come forward with their stories, encouraging the Montreal theatre community and various news media outlets to further vocalize their support. With pressure from ACTRA, CAEA, The Quebec Drama Federation, Imago Theatre, The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, and many other independent theatre companies and individuals within the industry, Dawson College could no longer ignore the voices of these survivors. As of September 2020, Winston Sutton is no longer teaching. 

 

In November of 2020, we held a panel discussion with the support of Imago Theatre where we openly talked about our experiences as students and how our education influenced our professional careers. This panel discussion allowed for further reflection on how creative institutions can provide safer spaces for all students. The six of us were inspired by the overwhelming amount of support and community outreach that we decided to organize ourselves in a more formal capacity in order to best continue this work. In December of 2020, Acting in Good Company was founded. 

 

We can not police predators, but we can empower artists. We can galvanize conversations that challenge destructive power structures. We can highlight positive teaching methods and place importance on policies that will further protect the vulnerable. Through our work, we hope to support both current students and alumni by providing them a space to be heard, to heal and to grow.

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