Everyone deserves a second chance, said Gary Smith.
"We have human resources we need in this community," said Smith, co-artistic director of the Theater of the Seventh Sister. And when you have a talented artist, who has made a sizable contribution to the local theater community, it makes no sense to blackball him.
Even if he is charged with possessing child porn.
Steven Anthony Spiese, 56, active in local theater for more than three decades, returns to the stage Friday for Theater of the Seventh Sister's production of "History Lessons," an intimate three-person drama by Maine playwright Eton Churchill, formerly of Lancaster.
It will be the first time Spiese has been onstage since being charged in Lebanon County with three felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing more than five dozen pictures, and two movies, of underage boys and girls in sexual scenes.
Spiese, of Columbia, was fired from his job as an adjunct professor at Lebanon Valley College after investigators seized his school computer, which they say he used to download the porn. According to a police affidavit, Spiese did not dispute the allegations and told investigators he had been viewing child pornography for "several years."
But when it came time to cast "History Lessons," Smith said this mattered less than the fact that Spiese was "right for this role."
Indeed, Smith and his wife, Mary Adams-Smith, founders and co-artistic directors of the theater, say they're taking a stand. They know it's likely to be a controversial one. But they ask: Should the artistic achievements of Steve Spiese be tossed overboard because of the charges? Do the charges invalidate his talent, his body of work?
For the Smiths, the answer was an emphatic "no." The president of the theater board supports their decision, though he says he wishes he'd been advised of it a little sooner.
It remains to be seen how the public will react to the decision.
It's not that Spiese, if guilty, should be held blameless, said Gary Smith. The legal process will hold him accountable for his actions.
"But Steve has contributed a great deal to this community," Smith said.
"For us to pile on doesn't seem to have a lot of integrity."
A life onstageSpiese, who began appearing on regional stages in the early 1970s, said he is "grateful for the opportunity to practice the craft I'm good at."
"Gary called me to find out if I was available," said Spiese, who declined to discuss the court case against him.
Spiese has performed locally at Fulton Opera House, Ephrata Performing Arts Center, Mount Gretna Playhouse and Theater of the Seventh Sister. His portrayal of Scrooge in the Fulton production of "A Christmas Carol" drew rave reviews in 2001 and 2003, and he most recently starred as Capt. Speedy in the Fulton's "Around the World in 80 Days," which closed April 1.
He was slated to play a lead in Theater of the Seventh Sister's production of "Inherit the Wind" in early May, but Gary Smith stepped in to perform the role after the charges against Spiese were announced.
According to the police affidavit, multiple Lebanon Valley College students saw Spiese viewing graphic materials on a computer at the college Nov. 27, 2006. One student reported the incident to school officials, who investigated and contacted the state attorney general's office. The college then fired Spiese.
Spiese is charged with downloading 63 photographs of nude or seminude preteens, along with two movie files, including one that showed pre-school-age children. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, said Megan E. Ryland Tanner, the Lebanon County assistant district attorney handling the case.
Gary Smith says he isn't trying to downplay the magnitude of the charges. But he also thinks there's a double standard at work here: Other members of the artistic community, whom he declined to name on the record, have been accused of similar crimes, or worse, and have not been ostracized. So why Spiese?
"This is a staged reading," Smith said of "History Lessons." It's not a children's show, and there aren't any children in the cast. "There are no circumstances that should preclude his being considered for this role."
"History Lessons" is about a distraught widower (played by Spiese) attempting to organize his wife's funeral after her death. Unexpectedly, her first husband, played by John Rohrkemper, shows up, asking to participate in the funeral. The situation is further complicated when an old college roommate appears with her own story to tell.
According to playwright Churchill, the play is "about masks, and about how we present ourselves differently to people throughout our life.
"It's about learning how to forgive people for the things they've done," he said.
"We looked at [casting Spiese], and we talked about it, and I really felt as if it should not be a problem," said Mary Adams-Smith. "I can't imagine saying there's absolutely no place in this community for a talented artist like Steve."
Soren West, president of the theater board, said he didn't know of the decision to cast Spiese until a reporter informed him Friday. "This is something that slipped through the cracks a little bit," he said. "I'm not saying it's inappropriate; I just wish I'd known about it."
Subsequently, however, he backed the Smiths' decision to cast Spiese. "I think Spiese made some poor choices, but we all have our problems, and to blackball him or label him, that's not something Theater of the Seventh Sister would want to do," he said.
'Not our job'Artistic decisions — like the decision to cast Spiese — are not made by the board, but left up to the artistic director. Former board member Daina Savage said the board was designed this way "so as to not interfere with the artistic process."
Savage, who left the board a few months ago but remains active in the local theater community, said that while some might see the theater's decision to cast Spiese as daring or controversial, "I see it as an artistic community shocked, betrayed, but ultimately recognizing the broken, frail humans we can be and choosing, if not to forgive, to find a way through this.
"Perhaps that means that Spiese will never work with children again ... [but] I just don't think, looking at the totality of this complex, and deeply flawed person, that the community wants to ostracize and blackball him. I believe those who care about him and his future are struggling to support him in the best ways they know how, ways that are both humane and just, yet at the same time, are consciously setting limits."
Danielle Hofstetter, director of "History Lessons," was out of town and unavailable for comment.
At the time the charges against Spiese were announced, he was teaching an evening class for adults at Fulton Opera House. He no longer is. "At the time the students and I met, and they were a little uncomfortable and said they would prefer another teacher," said Aaron Young, managing director at the Fulton.
He said the Fulton, too, would never "blacklist" Spiese, though "he hasn't auditioned for anything [since charges were filed], and we haven't had to make any of those decisions."
Theater of the Seventh Sister is a professional, nonprofit theater company, now in its 18th season. TSS is in the process of securing funds to make Stahr Armory, 438 N. Queen St., its new performance space. The company now operates out of Millersville University's Dutcher Hall, where it has been in residence for several years.
The production of "History Lessons" is part of Seventh Sister's Project Genesis, which gives unproduced plays their first airing. Each performance is followed by a talk-back session with the cast and crew.
The talk-back session after Spiese's performance might be lively. But "it's my job to produce [shows] that stimulate community dialogue and community awareness," Smith said. "If we as a community cannot learn to engage in authentic dialogue about real issues, then we're really doomed.
"The courts can judge. That's not our job."
Sunday News correspondent James Buescher contributed to this story.
Gil Smart is associate editor of the Sunday News. E-mail him at gsmart@lnpnews.com, or phone 291-8817. 
