Merced Playhouse board split triggers canceled shows, resignations

Playhouse Merced’s board of directors has split into two.

The breakdown in the local community theater’s leadership has led to canceled shows, employee resignations, and cast a dark cloud over the group’s future as two factions claim to be in control of the nonprofit’s board.

The board’s differences ’s was on display at their Sept. 10 meeting, which included shouting, cursing and accusations of white privilege.The meeting ended and participants dispersed under the advice of the Merced Police Department.

“I heard from a parent of one of the kids that he’s terrified to even come in the building anymore, which that’s just heartbreaking,” former Playhouse Merced employee Emily McSwain said. She is one of the three employees who have resigned.

Playhouse Merced is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community theater which produces live shows. It also offers youth arts education programs.

Two sides have emerged from the dispute: Sheilah Brooks, Carolina Meraz and Lynn White are in one group.Sam Yniguez, Debbie Bier, Brooke Gutierrez and Stacie Guzman in the other.

Neither side recognizes the other as a part of the board.

Yniguez’s group claims Brooks, Meraz and White were removed from the board because they missed three successive meetings. Section 17 of Playhouse Merced’s bylaws states that any board member who has unexcused absences for three successive meetings will be automatically removed from the board without a resolution, meaning no vote is requiredl.

There are three exceptions to automatic removal: a leave of absence for “health or other legitimate reason” and the leave is approved by Playhouse Merced’s Executive Committee, illness or disability, or board reinstatement.

“This blow up is just where you see four people who are on the board who have decided the leadership that had been in place at the board level was not operating in the best interests of Playhouse,” Guzman said. “And we were trying to do our job, and you’ve seen an emotional, deflective reaction from the people we attempted to remove.”

Brooks’ group disputes the legality of their removal and has called for the state Attorney General to conduct an investigation. They have also requested resignations from the other four board members.

A letter to the other four board members from Brooks, White, and Meraz, asking for the four to resign, accused Bier, Gutierrez, and Guzman of conflicts of interest. The four were also accused of breaches of fiduciary duties and retaliatory, discriminatory, and unethical behavior. It did not lay out what violations Yniguez was explicitly accused of himself.

“I believe there has been an attempt, many times, to overthrow leadership, especially Black leadership, and to deem them unqualified just because of their skin color,” Brooks, who is Black, said. “We see this locally. We see this statewide. We see this federally.”

Guzman referred to Brooks’ usage of “conflict of interest” as an “abuse of the term.”

The state attorney general’s office declined to comment, confirm, or deny a potential investigation. Brooks told the Sun-Star she is awaiting a response from the attorney general’s office. Yniguez said he has received confirmation that the attorney general’s office has received their complaint package.

Yniguez’s group held a Playhouse Merced board meeting on Sept. 24, where he was elected President by Gutierrez, Bier and Guzman. Brooks said she doesn’t recognize the meeting or elections as legitimate.