As many of you know, I am on the Theater J Council and will serve on the search committee for the new artistic director. This information about the firing of Ari Roth is being emailed around so I am putting it out for all my friends to see: · Theater J is one of the crown jewels of the DCJCC. The quality of the art presented by the theater is cornerstone of our community, no matter who is employed as Artistic Director. · Theater J’s strong legacy was envisioned by Martin Blank and later implemented by many talented professionals employed by the DCJCC A search will begin to find a new artistic director to continue to realize Theatre J’s mission. · The DCJCC has a broad commitment to great art and full exploration of important issues related to Israel. Over the past few years, we have invited journalist Ari Shavit, filmmaker Dror Moreh, musicians Yeman Blues, Achinoam Nini and David Broza, playwright Motti Lerner, author David Grossman, and so many others who explore issues related to Israel in often critical ways. Our commitment to continued engagement on Israel issues will continue. Ari Roth’s dismissal related to a pattern of insubordination, unprofessionalism and actions that no employer would ever sanction. His politics were not a factor in his firing. · Ari Roth was dismissed from his role as an employee of the DCJCC for insubordination and disrespect to the organization that employed him. · Ari Roth was planning his departure from the DCJCC for many months and had indicated that the 2014-15 season would be his last. He presented the JCC management with three exit strategies, all of which were rejected as inconsistent with the goals of the DCJCC. These exit strategies would have required DCJCC to abandon its sponsorship and support for Theater J. After requesting new terms of employment, he was presented with the terms under which he would be invited to remain an employee of the DCJCC. He was given until January to accept the terms of employment. · During the interim period while Ari was deciding whether he would accept the terms of employment offered to him, his behavior was in clear violation of his role as a JCC employee. o Devoting salaried time and his energy to his new theater endeavor rather than to the projects prioritized by the organization that employed him. o Damaging the DCJCC’s reputation in the media. o Despite clear warnings about this insubordinate behavior Ari continued to disregard direction from the JCC management. · Once Ari was terminated he was offered an amicable separation with generous severance of six months, positive references and a joint press statement praising his work. He immediately violated this agreement by publicizing his firing and accusing the JCC of allowing politics to motivate the decision to terminate him rather than his lack of professionalism. · Ari’s creative vision – which included significant works of a political nature – was always defended and supported by Theater J and the DCJCC. Our commitment to challenging theater never wavered. But Ari’s failure to maintain basic professional conduct and standards made it impossible to continue his employee relationship of the DCJCC. FAQS Did the Executive Committee make this decision? This is a personnel decision. This, like all personnel and management decisions, was one made by the DCJCC’s CEO. Was this about the content of what Theater J produced? This was always about professionalism and never about politics. The DCJCC proudly presented a diversity of voices in thought-provoking, challenging works of art produced by Theatre J. As a community theatre we see our role as offering the Washington community great art – even when it is provocative and challenging. But increasingly, Ari was focused on political projects, which is why he initiated an effort to take control of Theater J away from the DCJCC . Was the DCJCC under pressure from donors (individuals and foundations) to push Ari out? This was a personnel decision made by the professional management of the DCJCC, not by donors. The decision was made because of Ari Roth’s lack of professionalism and disrespect for his employer, the DCJCC. A clear example of his insubordination was his efforts to split Theater J from the DCJCC, his efforts to get support for a new theater venture from the Theater J council, and his use of paid time to plan his next venture. Did COPMA win? COPMA never has been and never will be a factor in our creative or personnel decisions. COPMA wanted to silence art that presented challenging depictions of Israel’s social, political and cultural landscape. Our stage will continue to present such work. There is no change in our mission to tackle tough issues through art. Theater J will continue to produce work about and from Israel. Explain the “Voices from a Changing Middle East” and what role it played in the separation with Ari Roth. “Voices from a Changing Middle East” was a theater festival (plays, readings and panels) that explored the social, political and cultural landscape in the Middle East. Ari was clearly enamored with this project and he has our permission to take the program to his next venture. Is the DCJCC stifling creative exploration and discussion around Israel? We are proud of the diverse voices we continue to bring to the community, voices that are heard not only through theater but also through film, music and literature and cover many sides of life in Israel, including and beyond the political fray. What will you look for in the next Artistic Director? We are first and foremost looking for someone with an outstanding record of producing great theater. We are looking for someone who will build on Theater J’s strong legacy.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 17:08:45 +0000