Ryan Bowie quits Roxy Theatre, demands full pay, retirement, benefits, severance

#BREAKING: In a resignation letter today from embattled Roxy Regional Theatre Director Ryan Bowie, he details reasons he says he must quit, including his professional headshot being displayed “amid convicts.” As he resigns, he makes demands for a lump sum payment of the remainder of his yearly salary, a severance package, full health insurance, and a retirement package…

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City won’t investigate touching/sexual harassment complaints on Roxy’s Ryan Bowie; he will continue working with children & the theatre

In the time since a half-dozen complaints have been received about Roxy Theater Director Ryan Bowie, alleging inappropriate touching, assault, sexual harassment, stalking, and inappropriate relationships with actors under his employ, two members of the Roxy’s Board of Directors have now resigned in protest as its own executive committee cleared Bowie of any wrongdoing, despite making changes including an HR director position and an “intimacy choreographer.”

Bowie’s name is closely associated with the Roxy Theatre, the City of Clarksville, and the Children’s Theatre programs; however, the city, led by Mayor Joe Pitts, says they can’t investigate the allegations because he’s not actually a city employee and isn’t bound to any ethics rules the city may have in place.

Emails obtained by Clarksville Today show the Roxy Board determined that “any of the allegations made against Mr. Bowie do not rise to the level of liability from a legal standpoint,” so they would no longer investigate the matter, either.

Citizens have been clear, whether there is a legal liability or not, where there’s smoke, there is likely fire, and this many complaints didn’t happen overnight or from single incidents. Citizens, actors, and even the APSU Threatre program professors have all made it clear — The Roxy can’t continue on its current path with the city and the children’s theatre program with Ryan Bowie at the helm, and if we’re waiting on a “legal liability,” the damage will have already been done to the Roxy & the City of Clarksville. Bowie is an agenda item on Thursday’s City Council Meeting at 4:30 p.m. [more documents inside full story…]

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Actors say Roxy Theatre Director Ryan Bowie harassed, stalked, touched without consent

An actor at the Roxy Regional Theatre says he and a dozen others have been victims of harassment and inappropriate conduct by Director Ryan Bowie for at least the past year, with some complaints going back much further. In January, after several actors detailed formal complaints, the theatre’s Board of Directors & the Executive Committee admitted “mistakes have been made” and determined that Bowie, along with other staff, would enroll in “extensive HR training,” and someone on-site would be trained as an “Intimacy Choreographer.” Additionally, an HR Director would be appointed. Now that the city is directly involved with the theatre and its liability, the actors, and some city council members, are still concerned about ongoing issues at the downtown Clarksville landmark and are calling for action — they want Bowie removed as the Executive Director, weary of several lawsuit threats involving his actions.

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CLOSED: Miss Ashley’s Tearoom ordered to close by State Department of Health

#BREAKING: A Clarksville restaurant that has been operating illegally in Stacey Steetman’s 10th Ward for nearly a year was closed today by order of the State on Friday afternoon. The restaurant, which was operated by Anissa Finney-Gold under the name “Miss Ashley’s Tearoom” was in a nondescript residential home, in the middle of a neighborhood, with 100% residential zoning on the property. The residential kitchen, which functioned as a commercial kitchen selling to-go orders for pick-up/curbside, DoorDash, GrubHub, and other delivery services had never been inspected by the state, as it’s illegal to have a commercial kitchen in those conditions.

Conditions which some delivery drivers reported as being “filled with pets”, primarily cats. According to state, county, and city records, there was no business or tax license on file, and no tax was being paid to the government, despite it being collected by the business. Multiple agencies have now confirmed open investigations into the operations of the business. #developing

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