11/19/21-Positive Change for Westmoreland Youth

On August 8, Stage Right Survivors initially reached out to the Board of Directors with stories of abuse and bullying of students going back almost 20 years perpetrated and encouraged by the former Artistic Director that was repeatedly ignored by the Board. At that time, we offered to partner with the Board in working to make Stage Right a place where all children could be safe. We published this website because, after 20 years of chances to rectify the situation, the Board had failed to demonstrate that they could be trusted to do the right thing and remove the former Artistic Director. Although the Board has inexplicably still not made a public statement regarding our allegations, we can now confirm that Tony Marino is no longer employed by the Stage Right School for the Performing Arts and Professional Theatre Company. While we may never understand why it took 3 months, 11 days for the Board to do this, we are grateful that they have performed their duty as Directors of a public nonprofit and as guardians of children's safety. In addition to this crucial change, we are also happy that Stage Right has brought on new Board members, published a first ever student code of conduct, hired a school counselor, and implemented a whistleblower protection policy. We applaud the Board for taking these crucial steps to create a truly safe and creative environment for all children. We remain committed to our belief in the mission of Stage Right, and it is our fervent hope that it will safely serve the children and artistic community of Westmoreland County for years to come.