Andrew Alexander, co-owner and executive producer of The Second City improv hub in Chicago, is exiting the company amid accusations of institutional racism.
In a letter to Second City staff, students, alumni and audiences, Alexander wrote, in part:
“After the
fallout from the closure of the groundbreaking ‘A Red Line Runs Through It,’ The Second City tried to begin to grapple with the institutionalized racism in our society and within our own walls that allowed such a traumatic event to fester and has created lasting pain for our employees and artists. However, we failed.
“White employees of the Second City, myself included, participated in regular sessions taking place over months which outlined in detail the inherent biases in white society, and how those, consciously and unconsciously, oppress BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). ... On stage, we have always been on the right side of the issue, and of that, I am very proud. ... Offstage, it’s been a different story.” Accusations or racism within the company were made by Dewayne Perkins,
who took to Twitter on Thursday to call out the iconic improv company: “You remember when the black actors wanted to put on a Black Lives Matter Benefit show and you said only if we gave half of the proceeds to the Chicago PD, because I will never forget,” he wrote, in part.
“As an administrator, I have not always had good instincts,” Alexander wrote in his letter. “While diversifying the theater artistically, I failed to create an anti-racist environment wherein artists of color might thrive. I am so deeply and inexpressibly sorry. The damage for this failure is done, and it’s part of the legacy of the institution I love.”
The Second City has named Anthony LeBlanc interim executive producer until a new one can be hired.
