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Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Mr Bauder: What initially stirred my interest was the firing of Tony and Rayme. I know both of these fine men. I had volunteered, chaired committees, chaired fund raisers at JT for over a decade, so I had the opportunity to see these men in action and get to know them personally. Tony was widely regarded as the backbone of JT. He was the first one there & often the last to leave. If you needed to find, fix, manage, handle (fill in the blank) something, the answer you often heard was, "Ask Tony." I watched Rayme work with young children & teens & I witnessed the admiration & respect in the faces & in the voices of those children. The way these men were fired & escorted out of the building like common criminals was meant to make them appear guilty of some horrendous crime & ruin their reputation. I knew in my heart there was something very, very bad going on at JT. It didn't take long for truth to get out. I spoke out on Facebook stating I was withdrawing my financial support & would no longer be volunteering my time at Junior Theatre until Jimmy Saba was removed from Junior Theatre and the complete SDJT Board of Trustees resigned. It didn't take long until the IM's and phone calls started coming my way. People in the know & those quite concerned asking what they could do to help. The SDJT Board of Trustees sent a message to anyone else thinking of speaking up. Gil Cabrera was involved early on. He sent a very intimidating email to a 15 year old JT student demanding he remove the Facebook page he began asking for the SDJT Board of Trustees to reconsider & rehire Tony & Rayme. He sent a cease & desist letter to another JT employee & witness when she continued to voice her concern of the firing of Tony & Rayme. When that didn't work, the president of the SDJT Board filed a complaint with the SDPD accusing this employee & another of theft of JT property. They were both cleared by the SDPD stating the accusation was unfounded & a waste of the police departments time. My question is how were Gil Cabrera's actions in the best interest of the non profit Junior Theatre? It looks a lot like his actions & legal guidance were in the best interest in covering up the lack of mandated reporting & the firing of two highly regarded, long term employees because they were whistleblowers. The Mayor's office & the District Attorney's office needs to follow the money. If the fired individuals were paid a settlement, where did the money come from? SDJT receives funding from both the City & the County of SD. These are tax payer dollars. As a tax payer I'd like to know if my funds were used to silence & cover up the actions of Jimmy Saba.— May 3, 2017 8:38 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
KourtneyReynolds2017: First of all, thank you for want you do on behalf of the children you are helping. Thank you also for your interest and passionate support of our cause to protect the children at SDJT. My best, Linda— May 3, 2017 3:47 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Mr Bauder: The San Diego Junior Theatre is a 501 C-3 non profit and as the attorney for the SDJT Board of Trustees, Gil Cabrera duties are to the non profit not to the board. Correct? His position is he is representing the board "pro bono" but I think he may have missed the memo that "pro bono" not only means without pay but means "for the good" I fail to understand how any of the actions taken by the SDJT Board under the legal guidance and perhaps design of Gil Cabrera --not reporting battery of a child as mandated reporters, covering up such battery, firing whistle blowers, intimidation and witness tampering of other JT employees and threatening a 15 year old student, is "for the good" or safety of the children at SDJT or "for the good" of the future of Junior Theatre. If Gil Cabrera's actions are in the best interest of his wife, a SDJT Board of Trustees member, or other friends on the SDJT Board and not the 501 C-3 non profit, San Diego Junior Theatre, the California State Bar Association might want to take a close look at Mr. Cabrera's behavior.— May 3, 2017 2:59 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Mr Bauder: Good question. Follow the money.— May 3, 2017 2:42 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
JustWondering: The mayor may want to look a bit more closely at the actions of attorney Gil Cabrera, the "pro bono" legal representative for the SD Junior Theatre Board of Trustees. Mr. Cabrera, whom is married to a SDJT Board member, sent a threatening email to a 15 yr old boy who started a Facebook page to rehire the two fired whistle blowers. Yes, you read that correctly; 15 years old. He threatened a minor, because this young man had the audacity to voice his concern over the firing of two much admired and highly regarded employees at Junior Theatre. Mayor Faulconer may want to take a closer look at who is has standing next to him when in discussions regarding our Convention Center.— May 2, 2017 4:08 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Paola_V: When these two fine gentlemen were fired & immediately escorted out of Junior Theatre how do you think that looked to parents of children at JT? I know many individuals went to that very dark place, thinking the worst of these men. I was very active as a volunteer at JT for almost a decade. I saw these men interact with both children and parents & sometimes adult patrons who were being rude to young crew members. They protected the children. Neither of these men would harm a child. The way they were fired & escorted out was meant to humiliate them & damage their reputation. The theatre community is a very tight knit group. Can you see how their future in children's theatre was damaged? If they sued Junior Theatre it not only would hurt the institution they loved but also the children they cared about. What theatre company wants to hire a plaintiff suing another theatre company? The children were left confused & afraid, looking to their parents for answers the parents didn't have. Some of the children who witnessed the assault in the dressing room haven't returned to JT. The children needed to be assured men who had mentored them, encouraged their creativity, had cared for and supported them were ok and didn't do anything wrong. When individuals stepped forward to ask questions of the Board, the board moved the planned monthly board meeting to an undisclosed location. Attorney Gil Cabrera, the SDJT Board's "pro bono legal representative" and also husband of a board member, with less than 24 hours notice, in his downtown office (he didn't offer to validate), on the night of final dress rehearsal for the current production, when parents of the cast and crew are invited to see the performance and videotape their child's performance, at 5:00pm (most employed individuals work till 5:00pm) offered to meet with us. I think he was shocked when a dozen individuals showed up. I noticed he became very uncomfortable when he realized he was facing an informed, educated, aware and prepared group of parents asking him pointed questions about the board's behavior. In fact, he recorded the meeting and assured us we would all receive a copy of the recording. To this date he has refused numerous requests for that recording. During the meeting he tried to dodge a question, stating he wasn't sure if employees of Junior Theatre were mandated reporters. Several voices were raised at this comment insisting of course they are because they are working with children. He also stated he wasn't sure what was written in the SDJT by-laws. I asked him how he could possibly be legal counsel for SDJT if he hadn't read their by-laws. And then asked him to please stop insulting our intelligence with these ridiculous responses. We asked him to remove himself from legal counsel for SDJT because of his conflict of interest. He responded with the same answer he gave to several questions, he would discuss it with the board.— May 2, 2017 3:43 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Mr Bauder: As a Mom, I know my son wouldn't have wanted me to know if he got in trouble at school or Junior Theatre, etc. because he would have been punished at home as well--of course not shaken or physically abused as was the case with this young girl. But it also should be known the children attending SDJT are told they are held accountable for their behavior. They can be asked to leave and not allowed to return. So this young girl may have been if fear of this happening. Her continuous apologizing and downplaying the incident to the staff member who checked on her well being and questioned her after the incident may be indicative of her fears of being thrown out of Junior Theatre.— May 2, 2017 2:36 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Don: I don't know many youngsters who will run home and tell their parents they got in trouble at school, camp, Junior Theatre--fill in the blank. They hope Mom and/or Dad don't get a phone call reporting their behavior. As one of the other JT employees was checking to see if she was injured, the young girl repeatedly apologized, fearing she was in trouble. Plus when the father was notified, months later, he was told the incident occurred "backstage" not in the girls dressing room.— May 1, 2017 1:18 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
JustWondering--let's hope it doesn't get to the point of withholding funds. The future of SD Junior Theatre is at risk--it could lose its home. I hope the Mayor and City Attorney's office take into consideration the safety and well being of the children of San Diego. How could this possibly be a black mark on their reputation? If it means they need to take a closer look at those working under them, well then they should do so. The stench surrounding those on and involved with the SDJT Board is getting pretty strong.— May 1, 2017 1:09 p.m.
Brouhaha or foofaraw at San Diego Junior Theatre?
Mr Bauder, Thank you for reporting on this. You're correct; there needs to be a full scale investigation, starting with financial reports or lack of them, self serving by board members, etc. The battery of a young girl by the executive director and the cover up is a result of much bigger problems at SDJT. Thank you again, Linda Turner— April 30, 2017 10:49 p.m.