loyaltyVSintegrity
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SD Junior Theatre teacher going to prison
Probably because they think they have it all under control. If you've met any of them you'd know how delusional they are. They're probably having a toast and patting themselves on the back for how well they've handled the situation. In all seriousness, any real Board of Directors and ED would have had this PR nightmare addressed when it all started to unravel in January. Not JT, they like to keep things swept under the rug until it gets pulled out from under them.— June 24, 2017 6:32 p.m.
SD Junior Theatre teacher going to prison
On to the story at hand, a victim is a victim is a victim. There is no excuse for what Eric VonMetzke did. NONE. The the mothers of all victims: help your daughters heal. If your daughter feels ERic VonMetzke is the love of her life, help her know her value and teach her to have more respect for herself. To the fathers of the victims, please do the same. He's serving time for committing an inexcusable crime. I know the current executive director and I'm sure he considers me a friend, well, Jimmy Saba, it's time to move on. Any good you have done for this organization will forever be tarnished by the incidents over the last year. The lesson here folks, once you leave the organization as an 18 year old, go do big, beautiful things and cherish the time you had at SDJT. No need to come back for a job, or to be on the board, some things are better left behind. If you want to continue to support the place, write a check, see a show. I did that for many years but sadly, even that has come to an end due to the fact that I will no longer support the organization. My kids never got to be a part of the place but maybe that's for the best. Lesson in all of this, LOYALTY is worth nothing is there's no integrity, accountability or ethics involved. Mr. Bauder, I applaud you for your diligence on the news regarding the organization. I'm curious, have you continued to reach out to Mr. Saba and the board for thier side of the latest story? How can the organization possibly survive?— June 23, 2017 4:42 p.m.
SD Junior Theatre teacher going to prison
The board has always had it's own motives and anyone wanting to help for the greater good has been pushed out by the JT alumni crowd who came back because they had nothing better to do. Thier cool alumni events draw the same crowd of people and they never seem to attract the folks they like to brag about having been in the program. Anyone who has ever had any real success post JT wouldn't come near that place these days. The board felt the need to fire a previous Executive Director because they didn't like him and felt JT needed a way to bring in more development revenue. I'm sure the former executive director is sitting back, thanking his lucky stars he's no where near this mess. Then there's the executive director who was hired because the board fell in love with him and thought he would fix all the financial problems. Well not only did he not last long but JT paid him a wad of cash to go away. In comes the current executive director who chose to keep the production manager around over the current interim artistic director. Yes, he was given an ultimatum and the executive director chose Mr. Cucuzzella. If the current executive director had not been friends with board members he would have never been hired for the job. It's also no secret the board was pleased to see the current interim director leave a few years ago because they were aware of the favoritism game she played. I won't go into much detail about the current 'Communications Director'. The one that only has experience in serving former underage JT students alcohol in her home.— June 23, 2017 4:39 p.m.
SD Junior Theatre teacher going to prison
Where to start. For those who have been involved with San Diego Junior Theatre for more than 5 years or so you'll know that scandal has always found a way to penetrate the SDJT community. For those of you who have been around less than 5 years, sit down, shut up and read on. All incidents that have happened more than 5 years ago: It's no secret that a former JT artistic director was FIRED by the board because he was a drug addict who had a serious problem, such a problem that they were smoking crack in the theatre. The board likes to think they kept this dirty little secret tucked away but they didn't. It's also no secret that a former director, who only directed the teen shows, would smoke pot with students and flirt with any of the male students who would give him the time of day. He was known for making crass and inappropriate comments in front of the students and the artistic director he worked for did nothing about it. Why? Probably because she was having students sleep over at her house. All of these things are FACTS. To the student who claims to have fallen victim to Tony Cucuzzella, I'm sorry this is the forum in which you feel the need to divulge that information. Your parents have failed you because if any child of mine had come to me with such information, Mr. Cucuzzella would have been fired on the spot and be serving time in jail. If anyone had known such information, shame on them for not protecting you. I was a part of the program and Mr. Cucuzzella was a mentor to all of us. Did he teach us to work hard and did he set a high standard? Absolutely. Did we ever see his blood boil? Absolutely. Did he ever abuse me or my friends in any way? Absolutely not. Would I trust my own children with him? Absolutely. It's been years since I've even spoken to him so I'm not taking anyone's side, just stating my own feelings.— June 23, 2017 4:38 p.m.