“Take Me Out” Theater Continues to Sue and Add More Staff After Jesse Williams Nude Photo

A day later, a nude photo of Jesse Williams performing a Broadway revival. invite me to go out It started to spread on the Internet, Second Stage Theater announced that it was taking steps to eliminate the dissemination of photos on the Internet and add staff to further implement the no-phone theater policy.

Directed by Scott Ellis and written by Richard Greenberg, the play stars Williams as Darren Lemming, an orbital black quarterback who struggles for personal and professional results after publicly coming out as gay. During the show, several cast members, including Williams, appear naked on stage as part of various backstage scenes.

To protect the show’s actors, the second scene established a phone policy requiring viewers to lock their phones when entering the theater to prevent actors from filming during these scenes. Audience members can unlock their phones when they leave the theater.

This policy was violated earlier this week when photos taken by a naked member of Williams on stage were posted online. It started to circulate almost at the same time as the previous one. Gray’s anatomy The star, along with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Michael Oberholzer, was nominated for a Tony Actor in the Play category.

In a statement released Tuesday, Phase Two condemned the posting and sharing of images, sharing that it was shocked by the “violation of our operating company’s policy and unauthorized posting of images.”

“It is deeply regrettable that an audience member chose to disrespect the production, its audience members and most importantly the actors in this way,” the statement said. “Taking nude photos of someone without their consent is highly controversial and can have serious legal consequences. “Publishing it on the Internet is a serious and unacceptable breach of trust in the theatrical community between actor and audience.”

pic.twitter.com/jqlPDhQS7k

– Second Stage Theater (@ 2STNYC) May 10, 2022

The announcement concludes by confirming that additional staff will be added to the show to enforce the policy and ensure that no electronic recorders are used during the live performance. The theater also announced that it was “actively pursuing takedown requests” and asked the public to refrain from distributing previously released footage.

In a statement on social media, Williams Costra Ferguson also condemned the public’s decision to post photos of any of the cast members when they appeared naked on stage.

“I am appalled at the disrespect shown to the actors in our company, whose vulnerability on stage is always crucial in bringing me out,” he wrote on Twitter. “Anyone who applauds or appreciates this behavior has no place in the theater, which has always been a safe space for artists and spectators.”

I am appalled at the disrespect shown to the actors in our company, whose vulnerability on stage is always crucial in bringing me out. Whoever applauds or welcomes this behavior has no place in the theater, which has always been a safe space for performers and audiences. https://t.co/eYEqbQBrc6

-Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) May 10, 2022

In a statement, the Actor’s Equity Association condemned “the strongest condemnation of the creation and distribution of photos and videos of our members during the nude scene”.

“As actors, we regularly agree to be vulnerable on stage to tell challenging and difficult stories,” continued President Kate Schindle. “This does not mean that we agree that these vulnerable moments should be widely shared by anyone looking to steal a movie recording device. “Whoever did this knew not only that the actors were being hired without their consent, but that they were clearly violating the theater’s ban on recording and broadcasting.”

Director Scott Ellis spoke ahead of the show’s official opening. the hollywood reporter On how the show’s nudity was handled with the actors’ safety in mind. This included discussions between the actors about what to expect to feel safe in the situation and a wrestling instructor who helped choreograph a particular scene between Williams and Costa Oberholzer, which the director said were intense rehearsals.

The actors also didn’t know they were naked before going on stage, instead the actors played around in bathing suits during rehearsals. “We worked a lot before nudity came along, on what was happening at the time and what the challenges were,” Ellis said at the time.

The director also told him THR That his goal for these scenes was to ensure, regardless of nudity, that audience members followed the nuances of the sensitive conversation going on between the players.

“It was important for me to feel the truth that there are still some guys, a team, in the locker room talking and you can see this A conversation? he said. The viewer may be seeing what they’re seeing, but are they seeing what’s going on between these guys?

In his response, Ferguson echoed Ellis’ mood. “And indeed, if nudity is what you’re after, you’re going to have a long, boring night.” wrote on twitter. “This is a challenging 2 hour game with great ideas, beautiful language and excellent acting from a company of 11 actors that you will have to sit down with. You will be bored. “Confidence.”