IMPORTANT! PETER SKLAR'S BEGINNING'S WORKSHOP!

[Mary Smith]

This is a horrifying story. If what you alledge is true, this man is
sick and needs to be put away so he won't destroy other girls lives.
Too bad your parents talked you out of pressing charges. If my child
told me this story I would go straight to the authorities, proof or not.

SinginDiva17 wrote:

>I was a student at Beginning's last summer.
>
>I wanted to tell you...please, PLEASE have NOTHING to do with it
>whatsoever.
>Let me tell you about my experience.
>
>I'll get the lighter stuff out of the way first. The cabins were
>infested with
>spiders, and either freezing cold or extremly hot. You were given 3
>minutes in
>the shower. You got very little sleep at night. Meals were terrible. I
>totally
>agree with eating healthy...I eat tofu, drink soy and rice milk, eat
>organic
>food, and eat soy nuts, etc. I eat very healthily normally. The food
>here was
>pure CRAP. Lunch would be... one piece of soggy spelt bread. With a
>piece of
>plain tofu, plain lettuce, and a lot of raw onions on top. You were
>made to
>eat the entire thing. And maybe some slightly rotton mixed greens
>with no
>dressing would be served. Or maybe overdone, slimy roasted peppers
>filled with
>tofu that made many kids sick and throw up, yet forced to eat the
>entire thing.
>I threw up and was accused of being bulimic, which I am most
>definently NOT.
>
>And lets talk about the classes. NOTHING like advertised. Basically
>you took
>beginner's acting classes and improv classes. Broadway Vocals was
>terrible. We
>sang together like a chorus. Half the kids could barely sing. There
>was no
>piano accompianment. You were grouped by age,and not by talent. There
>was no
>film acting. No commerical acting. No audition preperation classes.
>You all
>basically took the same kind of classes. Beginniners classes. I have
>done
>several professional musicals, taken 6 years of vocal training, and 9
>years of
>acting training and found the classes to be extremely basic. When I
>mentioned
>this I was told "you're nothing spectacular. just stick with the
>classes". The
>chaperones were not friendly and nice. In fact they were insensitive
>and seemed
>more wrapped up in themselves than the campers. And the off-Broadway
>showcase...very few agents attended. Not one person I know out of
>either session (which is very many) got representation or auditions.
>
>I haven't yet started with the bad things yet. Peter sexually harrased
>me and 4
>other girls. He made me come to his cabin, away from the main camp
>part. He
>made me go inside alone even though I didn't want to. He began to hug
>me,
>stroke my face and hair, touch my behind, and knead my shoulders. I
>shrugged
>him away and tried to leave but he wouldn't let me. He called me "his
>baby
>girl" and "baby" and "my sweet baby who wants to be loved". He said
>"I'll be
>your daddy, baby". These innapropriate behaviors continued throughout
>camp. In
>front of people it just looked like affection. They couldn't hear his
>whispers
>and didn't see that when his arm was around my shoulders...it would
>drop lower.
>
>I was terrified of what was happening. I couldn't talk to anyone. I
>tried to
>talk to my chaperone's. They did not care. I basically suffered in
>silence
>until another girl came forward. Apparently Peter had been doing the
>same thing
>to her. I did the same, and told the owner of the camp ground he
>rents. I was
>promised he would know nothing about anything I said. The girl who
>spoke out
>went home. That was not an option for me since I live so far away.
>
>Everything went fine until we were in the theatre in the morning
>before the off-
>Broadway showcase. Peter stood up and said that he had some unpleasant
>business
>to bring up. He made me and 2 other girls stand up in front of
>everyone. He
>said, "These girls are liars. They have been spreading lies about me
>and
>frightening the other students." He said "They are poiseners. They
>have lied
>about me. Don't believe any of it. We will be putting them in a place
>where
>they can tell each other their stories and they can spread their lies
>to each
>other." He then put us in a tiny room backstage with orders not to
>leave.
>Every once in a while a chaperone would come back to take us to the
>bathroom. I
>was scared because I am claustrophobic. I was hyperventilating and
>dizzy. Mr.
>Sklar did not even bother to check and see if we were ok.
>
>We were completly isolated from the other campers. Even the chaperones
>were
>given orders not to talk to us. After several hours, one of the girls
>went out
>to tell Mr. Sklar that I was sick. I felt sick and was dizzy and
>having trouble
>breathing. We had opened the door a crack so it wasn't as bad but it
>was still
>very small and closed in. He moved us up to another room upstairs
>that was
>bigger, and I felt better then. I got a chance to talk to the other
>girls, all
>who had similar stories about what he said or did. People said we were
>lying,
>and no one believed us. But I have to ask...why would 5
>girls...(including the
>girl who left earlier and a girl I knew in the past who went) want to
>lie about
>something as serious as this? We had absolutely no motive! None of us
>were
>upset with Mr. Sklar in any way. Also, 3 of the girls were older. I
>had not
>talked to them at all before this, yet we had basically the same
>stories as to
>what was said or done!
>
>After 10 hours of being completly isolated with each other (1 girl
>left at
>early showcase), we were finally let go. I told my parents what
>happened. They
>wanted to press charges but unfortunatly I had no proof of what had
>happened.
>No addresses of the other girls or anything. We went around and told
>some of
>the places he had visited in the area what had happened. Hopefully
>this will
>not happen to girls around this area again. And hopefully my sharing
>my story
>with you will prevent this from happening to someone you know or your
>children. I have known people who have gone there and loved it. Then
>there are
>people like me who become his victims. I have undergone therapy since
>this
>experience. I have nightmares about him all the time. I am taking a
>self
>defense class so that if this happens again I will be able to protect
>myself. I
>am just begging you...tell everyone you know about this. Please.
>

[KAR]

Where is this camp and how did you find out about it?

More can be done than you think.

"SinginDiva17" <StarT...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:6998db27.02021...@posting.google.com...

[KAR]

Here's the webpage: http://beginningsworkshop.com/staff.htm

"Mary Smith" <mm...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3C675DD7...@earthlink.net...

[Bill491]

SinginDiva17 wrote:

> I was a student at Beginning's last summer.
>
> I wanted to tell you...please, PLEASE have NOTHING to do with it
> whatsoever.
> Let me tell you about my experience.

(snip)

> I told my parents what
> happened. They
> wanted to press charges but unfortunatly I had no proof of what had
> happened.
> No addresses of the other girls or anything. We went around and told
> some of
> the places he had visited in the area what had happened. Hopefully
> this will
> not happen to girls around this area again. And hopefully my sharing
> my story
> with you will prevent this from happening to someone you know or your
> children. I have known people who have gone there and loved it. Then
> there are
> people like me who become his victims. I have undergone therapy since
> this
> experience. I have nightmares about him all the time. I am taking a
> self
> defense class so that if this happens again I will be able to protect
> myself. I
> am just begging you...tell everyone you know about this. Please.

I respectfully urge you and your parents to contact the authorities, both
local law enforcement and those in the jurisdiction where this program is
conducted. Also consider hiring an attorney for advice. I don't know
what the statute of limitations are in a case like this, but since these
incidents allegedly occurred last summer, and since you shared with your
parents and your therapist, you've met some of the conditions of
documentation which might help in criminal or civil action.

If these allegations are true, then my heart goes out to you. You're doing
the right thing, in a proactive way, by talking to your parents and
working with a psychologist. Sexual harassment is a crime. Sexual and
psychological abuse of a teen or pre-teen by a person-in-trust is a worse
crime.

Respectfully, writing a public post like this might create problems for
you. Should the acting teacher get wind of this post, he might take
protective action, just as he did in your explanation.

But if you go to the authorities, it's possible that someone might do some
investigation to track down the other victims and other sources of
complaints, and it's possible that a sopena can be issued to examine the
enrolment records. My point is that you can build a case, using the right
resources, even if yours is the only current voice.

Some personal history: there was a coach in Colorado a couple of decades
ago who used NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) as an actor training
technique. He used NLP not only to train his actors, but also to seduce
his female actors. He was only occasionally successful, and complaints
were rampant. (Some of his former acting students came to me for coaching
in a professional environment.) I was retained as an expert witness....
not to discuss what I had heard in allegations, but to describe in
deposition how an acting coach should conduct himself or herself with
acting clients. The evidence was overwhelming, the case never went to
court.... a settlement was designed.... the coach agreed to financial
settlements and also agreed to cease operations as an acting coach. He
subsequently went chapter 13, but at least he was out of business.

Break a leg,
Bill
--
THE ACTING STUDIO
http://gvtg.com/theactingstudio

[hunnybu...@gmail.com]

Obviously, i wasn't there so i don't know exactly what went down but i can tell you that i went to one of peter sklar's workshops last summer and it was probably the best thing i have ever done. I agree that there was alot of food and they did make us eat it all but the meals were nothing like you described.Most of what i had was quite good and even though there were some things i didn't like nothing was absolutely horrible. As for the sexual harassment i am not going to comment except to say that from the times i have interacted with Peter i don't think that it is something he would do, i am not saying it didn't happen i am just saying it doesn't sound like him. I also agree that we were only given a few minutes to shower but what are you gonna do? I also really liked my chaperones but i have not met the ones you had so i have no idea how they treated you guys.I also don't think they should have told you that your nothing special, I mean if your nothing special then why were you invited to the workshop in the first place?I am not saying that none of the things you talked about are true i am just telling you what happened when i was there. Maybe the workshops have changed? i don't know. Like i said, just giving you my pointe of veiw. -Alicia

[pamook...@gmail.com]

Hey there. So much time has passed since this was originally written, but I have to say...with all of the uncovered harassment confessions that have been hitting the front pages these past few months, it basically dusted off a cobweb of a memory in the back of my mind about Mr. Sklar. I know there have been some other people on here defending Peter and the way he operates his business, and they are entitled to do that. I can only share with you my truth. My truth is I am a guy who went to Peter's workshop many years ago. I'm in my 30's now, but I can still remember most of the experience.

What I 100% remember was Peter taking certain girls back to his cabin for private meetings. We were all kids but we weren't all naive. A lot of the guys in my cabin wondered what was going on with these girls. He never took guys back to his cabin to have "talks," so it struck us as very odd. There were murmurs throughout the camp that he was sexually abusing these girls, and quite frankly, I believe them.

I wasn't in Peter's cabin. I don't know what was said, and I have zero evidence to back up this claim. I do, however, believe that where there is smoke, there is fire. I specifically googled Peter tonight to see if anyone had ever had or heard the experience that I had. It didn't take me long to find this, albeit 15 years later.

I'm still a performer in this business, and truthfully, I've been very lucky and blessed to have a wonderful career. I've done film, broadway, and television, and I say this not to toot my own horn, but rather to affirm that I'm not some ill-informed guy who took this workshop when he was a kid and then never pursued the career. I think many years later, I can have an educated opinion on this workshop. In regards to it, I say keep your children away. Take your children to acting classes, dance classes, and vocal classes. If you're in a city where you don't have access to a good vocal teacher, there are many across the country who offer amazing lessons over Skype. Enroll your children in your local dance school and have them take ballet/jazz/tap/acro. Try and find a studio that goes to dance conventions or brings in people from the business who can offer them the most current training. There are so many better avenues of training you can pursue for your child that don't warrant a week workshop with a "talent scout" (btw stay away from anyone calling themselves a talent scout. That doesn't exist. You have agents and casting directors. You can pay to take workshops directly with them. You don't need Peter to help you with that.

I did Peter's showcase and was chosen to meet with him later, and quite frankly, the connections he has are minimal at best. I specifically remember him telling us all the time how important our health was, yet he would drive around our camp on an ATV smoking cigars and eating chocolate bars in front of the students. I'm old enough now to see that the man was and likely still is a brilliant but tortchered soul. I undoubtedly believe he has done some amazing things for kids all across the world; If anything else, giving them self confidence, encouraged them to pursue the arts, and provided an understanding of a healthy lifestyle. With that said, I personally believe the man molested young girls at his workshop camps for years. I also think there are people who know who aren't saying anything, and I urge you that we need you now more than ever to speak your truth. Now is the time to hold people like this accountable. Just because you knew Peter well doesn't mean what this girl in the post above is a liar. Why would she come forward with such a violating and vulnerable claim? To sit there and type and shame her doesn't really help get to the truth of the matter. I applaud her to having the courage so many years ago to come forward when doing so wasn't as supported as it is today. I hope you've been able to find peace and I hope more people come forward about this man.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

I was molested by Peter Sklar when I was a little girl. I was "scouted" through my dance studio. I went to his home to stay for a few days with other young girls staying there. I was molested several times during my stay in his home.

He represents himself as well connected and reputable in the industry which as an adult I don't believe. He's not an agent or a casting director. Now living and working in Hollywood, I've never heard of a reputable scout for actors.

I didn't say anything to my parents at the time. Years later I reported it to a counselor. The counselor encouraged me to report it to the police which I did. These stories are true of him isolating young women and molesting them. Please do not send your daughter to meet with this child molester.

[madeli...@gmail.com]

I have been doing a few searches on Peter Sklar in the past few months to see if anyone else has a story. Many years ago, I attended the Beginnings Workshop and then was I invited to his home for "further training" a month later, and the entire situation was very uncomfortable. When I first arrived at his house, he took away my cell phone. I stayed in the upstairs bedroom with several other kids who were all younger than me. For the first "acting lesson" he gave us, he had us all take turns massaging him and putting our mouths up to his and breathing in as he laid on the floor. He then did the same to some of the other children there. I don't know what the purpose of this was, but it was enough to make me very uncomfortable. I remember sneaking off later that day to call my parents and have them book me a flight home immediately. When he found out that I was leaving he made me sit alone with him for an hour or so as he attacked my character and called me weak, while blowing cigar smoke directly into my face. Once he finished trying to manipulate me, make me doubt my decision to leave, and question if I was overreacting to what had happened, he didn't speak to me (or look at me) again for the rest of my stay until my taxi arrived to take me to the airport. I am lucky that nothing more happened, but this incident has haunted me. I am now 30 years old and all of these feelings have resurfaced with the recent Me Too movement. I hope anyone else who has a similar story will share as well. This man is disgusting and should not be allowed around children.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

This is almost exactly what happened to me when I went to stay at his home with other young women for acting training. The Me Too movement also triggered my memories of the molestation so I looked online to see if I could find other accounts of sexual abuse by Peter. I was horrified to find he is still holding workshops and recruiting more female children to assault. I filed a police report against him in 2002 but obviously has not ended his contact with children. Please do not send your children to this sick depraved child molester. I am hoping more survivors of Peter Sklar come forward. This man should be in jail. I was less than ten years old when this man stole my innocence.

[tayl...@gmail.com]

Hey guys! How did you find me? I definitely have a lot to say on the matter and would love to get a list of the dance studios he is visiting in the near future to see how we forewarn them.

[katherine...@gmail.com]

Madeline on the post said she reached out to dance studios etc. that were affiliated with him and never received a response. To me it is horrifying that they've been warned by previous students and most likely have not told parents whose children have been exposed to Peter that they've been contacted about the abuse that multiple former students have come forward with.

[jessicath...@gmail.com]

Hi everyone, I do not know how these forums work. I am a sexual assault survivor and fear after reading these. I recently went to one of his workshops and would love to talk to you ladies about next steps to take to finding out the truth and making sure ALL young women are safe. How does communication from these work?

[canopyfo...@gmail.com]

Several posts seem to have been deleted from this forum. If you are aware of any inappropriate behaviors on the part of Mr. Sklar, please contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,(800-843-5678) and also consider emailing canopyfo...@gmail.com to help with independently compiling allegations.

[canopyfo...@gmail.com]

[canopyfo...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 12:28:31 PM UTC-8, katheri...@gmail.com wrote:
> This is almost exactly what happened to me when I went to stay at his home with other young women for acting training. The Me Too movement also triggered my memories of the molestation so I looked online to see if I could find other accounts of sexual abuse by Peter. I was horrified to find he is still holding workshops and recruiting more female children to assault. I filed a police report against him in 2002 but obviously has not ended his contact with children. Please do not send your children to this sick depraved child molester. I am hoping more survivors of Peter Sklar come forward. This man should be in jail. I was less than ten years old when this man stole my innocence.

[canopyfo...@gmail.com]

[John W Kennedy]

On 9/21/18 4:42 PM, emily...@gmail.com wrote:

> Thank you all for commenting! I am not a victim, but I know about this dude and he's got to be stopped. Please send stories to Ronan Farrow, who broke the Weinstein story: ronan_...@newyorker.com

The message you are replying to is sixteen years old.

--
John W. Kennedy
"The blind rulers of Logres
Nourished the land on a fallacy of rational virtue."
-- Charles Williams. "Taliessin through Logres: Prelude"

[nycgi...@gmail.com]

I also had a terrible experience with Peter Sklar. After what I went through, I personally would never send my child to work with him. I also think it's worth noting that it is not common or normal for acting teachers to have children in their home for overnight stays with no parents around. There are many ways to get training in the performing arts that don't include sending your child to a stranger's house for sleepovers. It's very hard to find information or reviews about him outside his own websites, but I urge parents to proceed with the utmost caution with this man.

[Kevin Kolack]

It is with utter dismay and disgust that I saw that a 16 year-old post about my friend and colleague Peter Sklar has returned to the top of Google search results when you look up his name. This fraudulent post was retracted from the rec.arts.dance newsgroup by the misguided young woman who posted it, and only reappeared thanks to Google’s takeover and archiving of old Usenet newsgroups. Its rise to prominence in Google searches, conveniently without the 2002 post date in some cases, is a sad artifact of the well-known fact that Google searches prioritize negative and controversial information over less sensational, factual information.
(See, for example: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/16/google-autocomplete-rightwing-bias-algorithm-political-propaganda)

Let me provide a little background information about myself… I have worked with young children since I was effectively a child myself, as a camp counselor and soccer coach at the YMCA of Cobb County (GA) beginning at age 12. I taught my first college class while still an undergraduate, and am now a tenured member of the faculty of the City University of New York. I met Peter Sklar in 1994 while I was in graduate school, when he invited me to attend his resident acting workshop, Beginnings. I attended the New York workshop several times per year while living in Indiana, and become the Director of Staff for the workshop before I moved to NYC in 1998. While I stepped down from that position in 2004, I have remained a close friend of Peter’s, and have been an invited special guest at both the summer resident workshops and those held at his home office since that time. (By the way, for a small recent sampling of how kids and parents feel about Peter Sklar, you might check out: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/peter-sklar-beginnings-workshop)

To set the record straight, as I did 16 years ago, I attended the workshop that is the subject of this widely discredited post from 2002 and directly supervised the chaperones of the girl who generated the post she retracted as completely fabricated. (My post, along with several others in this 16 year-old Usenet newsgroup post, have interestingly been deleted. If you think Peter is somehow behind deleted posts, which is really funny considering his lack of computer skills, please consider why I’m having to write this now, and that my 2002 post is also gone. Again, the original post by SinginDiva17 was retracted by the girl who posted it long before Google took over UseNet, archived it, and yet permitted additional posts to be made in reply to it.) At that workshop, I interacted with the chaperones multiple times per day and took detailed notes about any workshop participant brought to my attention. As both I and the chaperone in her cabin posted 16 years ago (I have pasted her post below to save you searching for it- feel free to do so to verify it), this student was not noteworthy, perhaps part of the reason she chose to cry for attention by making up a horrific story about one of the most honorable men I know. It was my job as Director of Staff to know everything about every student and staff member at the workshop. We uncovered eating disorders, abusive relationships– the gamut of child/young adult issues– because these universal issues get in the way of living, not just performing. Peter has devoted his entire career to the mental and physical health of children.

This devotion has not exactly resulted in fame and fortune for Peter… when I met Peter, he lived in a very small rented house just outside of New York City. As anyone with a passing knowledge of NYC houses knows, space is at a premium, and Peter’s “bedroom” did have his single bed pushed into a corner of the room, along with a large desk, file cabinets, chairs and the rest of his home office occupying the vast majority of the room. Yes, it was technically a bedroom since that’s where he slept (alone, for the 24 years I have known him), but it was primarily an office and acting studio where he coached pre-teen, teen and young adult actors, myself included. (I haven’t hit the A list, but have had reasonable success as an actor (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0463828/), and credit Peter with starting me in the business.) Fifteen years ago, Peter began making enough money to afford a bigger house and have a separate coaching space. I always told Peter he was being naïve in thinking he could escape a false accusation given the number of actors he interacted with and his often blunt (if not abrasive) attitude toward them and their parents, and I take absolutely no pleasure in telling him “I told you so” again. Twelve years ago, he was able to move the resident workshops from renting a summer camp in their off season to the current more modern facility at a university in Princeton, NJ. I bring this up because while facilities have changed for the better, they were never awful, and what has not changed is Peter’s unwavering devotion to caring for young people. The guy is a piano player from Juilliard who went back to school to get a Master’s degree in education from Harvard.

I am happy to see molesters and abusers being brought to justice as part of the #MeToo movement. So is Peter. I appreciate that the Kavanaugh hearings triggered many people who felt their voices weren’t being heard. I don’t know if the person making wild claims about Peter now actually believes what she is saying, has some sort of implanted memory, or is simply taking advantage of the #MeToo movement to get attention. I know what she claims to have happened in 2002 (strangely the same year as the old revived post), along with the other nonsense appearing on this thread that supposedly happened years ago, could not possibly have occurred with Peter. I was there.

-------------------------------------------------------
Post from SinginDiva’s chaperone, Allison Oliver (12/12/02):
Dear Google Group Readers:
Wow! When I first read these accusations by "SinginDiva17" (by the way, her real name is Amanda), I began laughing hysterically. Then, after I began to think about how twisted they truly are, and when I remembered what Amanda was really like at the workshop, I found the whole situation to be incredibly sad and pathetic. Is your life really so tragic that you have to spread false rumors about people- ESPECIALLY people who truly want to make a difference in the lives of children like yourself?
My name is Allison Oliver, and I was Amanda's (SinginDiva17) personal chaperone during the August 2001 session of Beginnings. I am 20 years old, and a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Theatre at New York University, and I'm upset with the fact that I'm taking time out of my extremely busy schedule from work, school, rehearsals, and FINALS coming up in a week to negate all of the heinous remarks made by this unhappy girl. However, I strongly feel that there is a need to express a few of my own experiences with Amanda and Beginnings.
Amanda was in a cabin of fifteen-year-old girls which I co-chaperoned. Since she has embarked on a little journey to insult Mr. Sklar's character, and mine (very immature, by the way...you should look up chaperone duties- and salaries- to get a reality check), perhaps I should respond in an adult fashion to let all Google group readers know a bit about her, and add a few missing links to her story.
From her first day at the workshop, Amanda seemed to be very unsure of herself and her body image. She expressed some concerns very early in the week that other students were making her feel self-conscious. I do recall asking if she had eating issues, but I never accused her of being bulimic. Asking and accusing are two very different things. We are trained at Beginnings to look for signs of eating disorders, and in fact, Amanda proclaimed more than once that she was "going to throw up" during a few meals. Of course, she blamed it on the food. But why didn't the other girls have major problems with it?
As for the spiders, I recall an evening when Amanda freaked out about a spider in the room. While the initial reactions of a handful of teenage girls were ones of mild fear and disgust, none of them seemed to understand why Amanda continued with her heightened episode for an extensive period of time. The other girls were even more impatient with her than I was. This was a single, solitary spider...not a grizzly bear.
Finally, I'd like to point out that I was also assigned to periodically check on Amanda and her two other cohorts on the night of the showcase, and because she seemed to be having the time of her life, I DID tell her to be quiet a time or two. Also, while other students were patiently waiting for their meals to be passed out backstage, she was under the supervision of the nurse who was provided with food so that she might have the opportunity to take a much deserved break every now and then to grab a bite to eat. Amanda and the other two girls were allowed to help themselves to these snacks as often as they liked. Doesn't really sound like they were roughing it too much, does it?
Most interesting of all, Amanda, how come you NEVER said anything to me or to your other chaperone (her name was Holly, remember?), about Mr. Sklar "sexually harassing" you all week long during the workshop? You say you came forward and "no one would listen". Who'd you come forward to? Not me, and not Holly. And how come not one of the other twenty kids ever heard you complain about Mr. Sklar's "inappropriate behavior"? And why did they never seem to notice anything wrong with you, except your constant, CONSTANT whining and complaining about your weight, the food, the classes, the spider, everything. Hmmm? Mr. Sklar "sexually harrassed" you? All week? "They couldn't see his arm drop lower"? Right.
I've lost count of how many times I've been to Beginnings, but I first started going as a student when I was in the seventh grade. After a few years as a student, I served as an assistant once and a chaperone three times. I also worked for Mr. Sklar the entire summer between my Freshman and Sophomore years of college. Mr. Sklar was constantly working with children and teens at his house on a regular basis, and NOT ONCE did I hear these kids complain of being uncomfortable in any way. Quite the opposite, in fact. ALWAYS. Believe me, in the eight years I've known Mr. Sklar, there were plenty of potential opportunities for him to take advantage of me, and others, if that was the type of person he is.
I'm open for any comments or questions should they be necessary, but now, I'm tired. I have to continue studying so that I'm prepared for class tomorrow. Oh, and before that four-hour class, I'm going to work at a public school for another four hours with a class of twenty-two kindergartners starting at 9 AM.
Yeah, we Beginnings chaperones are really into ourselves, Amanda, and we really hate children. That's why we continue to work towards their development and well-being.
Look, props to you for "going into therapy," but despite your vicious little stories, your problems have nothing in the slightest to do with Mr. Sklar or Beginnings. Hopefully, you'll realize this after enough sessions and come to grips with the fact that your manifestations are merely distortions of the truth.
Allison Oliver

[diva....@gmail.com]

Kevin,

At what point do you realize how odd it is to repeatedly defend someone against many allegations on the internet? I assume he asked you to do this, because I doubt you spend your days googling “Peter Sklar”. And if you do, I have a lot of follow-up questions to that one, too.

[nycgi...@gmail.com]

Mr. Kolack,

I understand that you are just defending your friend, but I think it's fair to assume that you have never been a teenage girl staying overnight in his home, away from your parents, with no access to a cell phone. Your experience with him might be a little different than some of ours.

You call what you read on this board "nonsense" and say that you were there. Do you live with him? Are you there 24/7? I don't recall you being there when I was there.

[marionjm...@gmail.com]

At what point do you stop and realize that pretty much the only negativity that exists about Peter Sklar is on this thread and that you’re a part of it. At what point do you realize that if you research Peter Sklar in an intelligent way, rather than trolling gossip boards like this for dirt, virtually ALL of the commentary you’ll find is positive. I’m so sick of reading the anonymous fiction about Peter that continually feeds on itself here, from the exact same small handful of anonymous people. Stop feeding off the false information here and do your homework. The answers you may be seeking about Peter-- or anyone else--will never be found on irresponsible forums such as this. There are many women who HAVE worked with Peter Sklar 24/7 in his home and observed him with children over and over. Their comments are in numerous emails and letters and online commentary. In fact, one of these is Allison Oliver, in Kevin's post above, a young woman who WAS 24/7 with the girl who published and quickly retracted the "spiders/bad food/sexual harassment" post that started this misleading "IMPORTANT! PETER SKLAR'S BEGINNINGS!" thread sixteen years ago (2002). Yet this thread still appears and because google lifts it up on the page, people who should know better think it's worthwhile "information".

Here's my point: the folly of reading anonymous message forums like this is it's so easy to swallow without question all things negative, and attack the motives and identity of anything that rises in defense. Open your eyes. If you look virtually anywhere else, you’ll quickly realize how off-the-mark the negativity is here. Try it and see.

[madeli...@gmail.com]

Well all I know is I was invited to Peter’s house for acting lessons. He had me and several other young children take turns massaging him and breathing into his mouth as he laid on the floor. That’s weird, gross, and inappropriate behavior. I would never allow my daughter to be alone in a room with him. When I heard claims of molestation, I had no problem believing them. But if the worst he’s ever done was have young children massage his body and take turns putting their mouths up to his, I’m pretty sure that’s enough for most parents to want to have nothing to do with him.

[madeli...@gmail.com]

Peter, we all saw the post by “Marion McCartney” came from your email address (along with your photo). Interesting you weren’t with yourself “24/7” though.

[peterj...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 10:50:56 PM UTC-4, madeli...@gmail.com wrote:
> Peter, we all saw the post by “Marion McCartney” came from your email address (along with your photo). Interesting you weren’t with yourself “24/7” though.

Yep! You got me there! Marion was on my computer. Good detective work!

[peterj...@gmail.com]

Madeline (apologies if that’s not your name, your email address was truncated), again away from home and yes still using Peter’s laptop (he doesn’t use a smart phone) I had a student of Peter’s about fifteen years ago that described to me in some detail an exercise that sounds similar to yours (one detail I recall she said is the kids were not breathing through their mouth, it was through their nose) and definitely did not sound like the sinister kind of thing you and 1-2 others imply. I’m assuming this is what you’re referring to.

For the record, I’ve never heard or read anything anywhere remotely like “young children massaged his body”, and I recall that the girl who told me about that exercise didn’t seem alarmed or weirded out by it and overall enjoyed her week. In fact she went back several times. Again, it was about fifteen years ago, which I’m assuming was around the same time window as when you worked with him.

That said I wholeheartedly believe that the fact that something took place a long time ago does not excuse inappropriate behavior, but honestly as a teacher I’ve “shared” a lot of my students with Peter over the years and the feedback is much more like this thread which Dr. Kolack (who I’ve met) supplied in his post above: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/peter-sklar-beginnings-workshop/o0SCYnFqyFQ

Even though that thread was obviously begun by Peter’s staff, it’s just as obvious that they are real kids and parents expressing real thoughts in their own words. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not challenging your feelings, I believe you when you say you felt uncomfortable, but again, my point is that I can’t find nor have I heard anything significant anywhere that’s similar or negative about him (except maybe getting used to the food at his workshops) apart from this one single thread and its offshoots.

I would love to hear from other people on this board (besides the one (1) person who claims molestation who I’m sorry I do not believe for one split second) who’ve been to Peter’s house when kids were present and had or observed positive experiences. But once again, the problem with satisfied clients, no matter how many thousands there are which Peter no doubt has after fifty-whatever years is that they don’t typically visit message forums and therefore probably aren’t even reading this and don’t have alerts set up flagging them whenever someone posts here.

You know what you recall experiencing, and how you felt, agreed, and I’m not questioning that. I’m just saying the fact is that I’ve known a lot of Peter’s students for the past 20 years and the feelings and experiences you described are pretty anomalous to anything I personally have ever been told and the complete opposite of everything I’ve ever read elsewhere. So, Madeline, I guess we can keep going back and forth here, each insisting and repeating the same things to each other, or perhaps we can both just step back a bit now and let people make up their own minds. Thank you.

Marion

[sandra...@gmail.com]

My name is Sandra Haack. I've known Peter since I was 15 when I attended my first workshop in my early teens about twelve years ago and it was fantastic. I enjoyed it so much I returned for a couple of mini workshops at his home. After that I chose to work for Peter full time as an intern living in his home/office for more than a year. It was the best experience of my life.

I have personally observed and participated in all facets of Peter's work: student, assistant, intern, chaperone, traveled to lectures, etc. I was a part of Peter's business and household 24/7. I lived there and experienced everything, especially Peter's interaction with students. I never saw, heard of, or sensed ANY inappropriate behavior, abuse, or mistreatment of any kind such as the maliciousness on this thread. The students were always happy, and I saw many students return year after year as they still do today.

It makes me extremely angry that a small group of people choose to lie and misrepresent a person and a program that has so much integrity and has made such a positive difference in the lives of so many and that continues to do so. The accusations I've read here are absurd. They are completely out of character for Peter and any of his staff as anyone who has worked with him as long as I have knows full well.

Ultimately, it is up to you. Either choose to believe the accusations of a few unhappy anonymous people on this ridiculous anonymous thread, or the voices of thousands of people like myself (students, parents, teachers, instructors, and studio owners) who have been through/worked closely with Peter and his workshops and have also been a constant witness to his interaction with kids for decades.

"The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool."
Proverbs 10:18

-Sandra

[nycgi...@gmail.com]

Sandra,

I'm glad that you had such a positive experience, but that doesn't mean that those of us who didn't are lying. After my experience, I could not with a clear conscience ever recommend anyone send their child there.

It is interesting to me that the people who come on here to defend him sound so angry and vitriolic. Using words like "ridiculous, nonsense, disgust, maliciousness, and anonymous fiction" in response to a few young women with serious complaints is not a very kind or effective way to respond. If I were a parent considering sending my child there, I would certainly think twice simply based on the responses on this board defending Mr. Sklar. Mocking people who come forward with complaints, however big or small, is not a good business practice. It would certainly make me question how my child might be treated if she did have a problem at the workshop, or was uncomfortable with any aspect of the program.

For any parents out there who are researching this, there ARE places online where you can read reviews that mirror what some of us are saying. A good place to start is the Professional Actors Resource Forum (Delphi Forums.)

I stand by what I said earlier- proceed with caution with this man.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

I was molested while staying overnight for several days at Peter’s home at 16 Second Ave in Pelham NY when I was 11 years old. I’m in contact with the Pelham police department. If you have any information please contact them directly. 914-738-2000.

The police are able to trace email addresses so it’s not really up for debate where everyone is posting from, the IP addresses and our real identities. Detectives have access to that information.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

If you have information to report about Peter Sklar and The Beginnings Summer Camp at 68 Croton Dam Rd., Ossining NY 10562 please report it to The Westchester County Police. Their number is 914-864-7700. You can ask to speak to Lieutenant Jeff Hunt.

[peterj...@gmail.com]

This is Peter Sklar.

Many parents and colleagues have asked me why I haven’t responded myself to this unfortunate Google thread. The truth is that for the past few months I’ve been walking around in sadness and shock; I’m sure that anything I had posted before now would have been overwhelmingly influenced by emotion.

I’ve also been asked why we haven’t simply had this thread removed from the web. As anyone familiar with the internet knows, this is a complex process made even more difficult by the anonymity of the individuals who have posted.

We certainly are pursuing every avenue open to us to make those who have made false statements here accountable, especially in respect to the poster just above, and we will succeed. In the meantime, I appreciate you taking the time to read and consider these comments. They are long and detailed as befits a proper response to a long, misleading, and highly visible message forum.

First and most importantly, I did not commit-- nor thankfully am I capable of committing—any of the behavior described on this thread. I am certain that even if I were such a deeply disturbed individual, my moral compass would have withstood and overcome any propensity toward such horrid behavior. Thank God I have not had that sort of dilemma. The statements here are simply false, despite one of the posters repeatedly imploring you to believe that “others have come forward,” and “please read our stories.”

The truth, as you may have already discovered, is that there are no “others” nor any other “stories” anywhere else on the web except on this thread and its offshoots and perhaps somewhere on another anonymous message forum someone mentioned above.
.
You will notice this thread and virtually every subsequent post begins with a reproduced 2002 post containing an allegation of “sexual harassment.”

Why do I use the term “reproduced?”

You may or may not know that back in 2002, each time someone replied to a post in a Google group forum like this, the post would be automatically reproduced just below the reply. That is what we now see on the above thread--a reproduction of the sexual harassment post over and over following almost every reply to the original post.

There’s a reason why we do not see the original post.

It was published by a workshop student in 2002. I recall that she and I spoke at some length during the workshop about some personal issues she was struggling with, and how she wanted to be a creative writer. Shortly after her week, this student unfortunately published a long, creative but fictional account of her experience.

When I first learned of it back in 2002, I did some research, consulted my rosters and notes, and was fortunately able to determine who the author was. I wrote a letter to her parents who responded and said they would question their daughter, which they did. After she admitted that she had fabricated her allegations of sexual harassment, her parents called me back and informed me they had instructed their daughter to immediately delete her post.

She did, and that is why it is now completely impossible for you, or anyone else, to find the original version of that person’s 2002 “sexual harassment” post anywhere on the web, only the truncated reproductions from sixteen years ago that you repeatedly see above.

Apart from this person’s own admission to her parents and their prompt removal of her post, is there any further evidence that this student’s 2002 allegation of sexual harassment had been fabricated?

Yes. Several people who were present sixteen years ago at the same workshop as this student, and who in fact knew her quite well, have challenged her version of events in a series of posts you may or may not have seen.

One of these is in the link Dr. Kolack provides in an earlier post here. It was written back in 2002 by a young woman named Allison Oliver who in fact chaperoned the above student 24/7 throughout the workshop. You’ll notice that Miss Oliver’s post was written in immediate response to the student’s false statements and has remained unchallenged in its original form all these years on the web.

Unfortunately, when it first appeared, the fabricated 2002 post that we keep seeing above prompted an immediate smattering of understandable but misguided sympathy for the poster. Even after she deleted her post, the thread of initial responses remained visible along with a reproduction of the original post and its young author’s conspicuous title: “IMPORTANT! PETER SKLAR’S BEGINNINGS WORKSHOP” which I’m sure drew your eyes to this thread.

This title also drew the eyes of several subsequent individuals over the years, one of whom naively praised the poster, “I applaud her for coming forward.” Then he seriously asked, “Why would she come forward with such a… claim [if it wasn’t true]?”

Well, first (in my opinion) “coming forward” does not mean posting something anonymously on a Google message board, and then immediately deleting it! Second, as you now realize, this student had a good reason for not “coming forward”. By her own admission, her allegations were false. For reasons she herself may not fully understand-- even now well past her adolescence-- she had simply lied.

Most recently, sixteen years later, as you may have noticed, the reproduction of this deleted 2002 post drew forth yet another individual who falsely claimed, “Peter molested me”.

This person however did more than simply post a false and anonymous accusation.

In an apparent effort to create the illusion that she’s not the first person to “come forward,” you ‘ll notice her above (and I’m sure again following this) linking over and over to the same false, deleted but still visible 2002 post and its misguided responses. Although she knows full well that she’s linking to a post that was deleted long ago, and could only have been deleted by its author, you’ll nevertheless notice that she often accompanies her accusation with a repeated misleading reference to the deleted post: “Please hear our stories…others have come forward…” etc.

There is another major problem with her accusation.

In earlier posts here on this thread and many places elsewhere on the web you’ll notice this individual has repeatedly claimed to have been 8 years old when she was allegedly abused. More recently, as in her post just above, you’ll notice she has now changed this to asserting she was 11. This is a substantially wide developmental age gap in childhood and seems far more likely to be an indication of deceit than confused memory.

That said however, this person stated in an earlier post that she did not tell her parents at the time (certainly understandable at either age 8 or 11) and instead “told a counselor years later.”

Assuming this is true, it may be possible that this counselor applied the widely discredited “repressed memory therapy” with this patient which may explain her false accusations. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/open-gently/201504/we-dont-repress-painful-childhood-memories

Regardless of whatever mode of therapy was applied however, it is extremely unlikely that any legitimate therapist would ever leave a patient so confused about being sexual molested as to be completely unaware years later of whether it happened when she was 8 or 11!

My above suppositions are just that—suppositions. They result from my asking myself for months why someone would say such a thing about me.

Putting aside her reasons for putting forth two largely different ages as to when she was supposedly abused, this is not the only thing this person has been inconsistent about.

You will notice she has repeatedly claimed to have filed a “police report in 2002” both several times above on this thread and elsewhere. My attorney investigated this thoroughly and found no evidence whatsoever of any such report filed anywhere in New York State where the alleged abuse supposedly took place.

When asked about this recently (after attempting to frighten a school into canceling one of my lectures) she falsely claimed to have sent a copy of the report to a specific group of people that consisted mostly of people she was unaware I knew!

When some of these people asked why they had not received a copy of the report, she responded, “I filed the report in Utah”.

Once again, my attorney is investigating this, although he assures me that had such a report of child abuse been reported in Utah, or in any state, it would have been forwarded to the police authorities in New York where the abuse supposedly took place. Again, no such report exists in New York State.

The short summary here is I do not know why this person is making her claims. I only know they are false (despite her disingenuous appeals just above to “call the police in Westchester County”, etc. etc.)

I have a very dear friend who is a psychologist. She told me years ago: “People believe what they choose to believe.”

I agree.

I personally want to believe that most, not all, of the people posting negatively on this thread are basically caring and honest people whose efforts are driven solely by a desire to protect the true victims of child abuse, stop the abuse, and bring the abusers to justice. I could not possibly be more supportive of these efforts.

Unfortunately, that is simply not what’s happening here.

Thank you for listening.

Peter Sklar

[katheri...@gmail.com]

This is Katherine Sands. I was mistaken about my original age when I met you Peter. I have confirmed with people who knew me at the time that I was 11 years old and the molestation occurred in 1996 at your home in Pelham, NY. I am 33 years old now. I didn’t have regression therapy as you suggest. I never told anyone because I was so ashamed and felt like it was somehow my fault. I always remembered it. As years passed I realized as a little girl there was nothing I did to provoke or deserve you molesting me.

Madeline who was in the email thread you’re referring to has seen police communication regarding the police report I filed.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

I listed above the phone numbers for The Westchester County Police and Pelham, NY police. I’m thankful for this forum and this discussion but it is important that if you have information to come forward now and contact the authorities. Also Seth Rudesky, who has a broadway show on Sirius XM, has let me know he is contact with a NY State Senator about Peter Sklar.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

Srud...@aol.com is Seth Rudesky’s email. Feel free to contact him directly.

[diva....@gmail.com]

You are so strong for coming forward! Thank you for being so brave!

[diva....@gmail.com]

He messaged me on twitter too. He said he worked for Peter and wasn’t surprised about anybody this.

Peter, We haven’t even met, but I care a lot about someone who has met you and who had been through some form of hell as a result of your filthy “program”. we know you’re not an idiot (we checked with Harvard), which is why this has gone on for so long. I will never stop caring about this until we all know you can’t lie to credulous Midwesterners that your “Broadway show” is going to happen, and that you’re going to make them into a Star. Hide your face and weep if you have dared to harm a child, Peter. Women aren’t scared to come forward anymore, unfortunately for you. Do your best to intimidate them. Each time you try, we all get more angry, and much, much less afraid.

[diva....@gmail.com]

“Apologies if that’s not your name”. Lol. Look at this fawning, obsequious attempt! Your grooming tactics done work on here Peter!

[emily...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 3:15:25 PM UTC-5, marionjm...@gmail.com wrote:
> At what point do you stop and realize that pretty much the only negativity that exists about Peter Sklar is on this thread and that you’re a part of it. At what point do you realize that if you research Peter Sklar in an intelligent way, rather than trolling gossip boards like this for dirt, virtually ALL of the commentary you’ll find is positive. I’m so sick of reading the anonymous fiction about Peter that continually feeds on itself here, from the exact same small handful of anonymous people. Stop feeding off the false information here and do your homework. The answers you may be seeking about Peter-- or anyone else--will never be found on irresponsible forums such as this. There are many women who HAVE worked with Peter Sklar 24/7 in his home and observed him with children over and over. Their comments are in numerous emails and letters and online commentary. In fact, one of these is Allison Oliver, in Kevin's post above, a young woman who WAS 24/7 with the girl who published and quickly retracted the "spiders/bad food/sexual harassment" post that started this misleading "IMPORTANT! PETER SKLAR'S BEGINNINGS!" thread sixteen years ago (2002). Yet this thread still appears and because google lifts it up on the page, people who should know better think it's worthwhile "information".
>
> Here's my point: the folly of reading anonymous message forums like this is it's so easy to swallow without question all things negative, and attack the motives and identity of anything that rises in defense. Open your eyes. If you look virtually anywhere else, you’ll quickly realize how off-the-mark the negativity is here. Try it and see.

Marion,

Sad to say, this is not anonymous. I sought this out because a friend of mine told me over ten years about how creepy Peter was, and I saw her again and decided to look in to it and see if he'd ruined anyone else's childhood. Turned out he has! And you should be ashamed of yourself for being a part of it.

[katheri...@gmail.com]

https://tips.fbi.gov

Above is the website for submitting a tip to the FBI. Please report any information you have about Peter Sklar’s inappropriate behavior and contact with little girls and young women to the tip line above. If you’d like to find the link yourself just google FBI tip line. He has traveled overseas to work with underage girls as well. The FBI has international offices so they can handle those tips as well.

[Racy2...@icloud.com]

My daughter attended the workshop this past summer and still says this was the best experience. She cam home happier and healthier (both physically and emotionally). She works on what she learned every day. She’s so much more confident now. Also, he didn’t once promise anyone an acting career. His correspondence told us exactly what to expect and my daughter said it was spot on. She also read this thread and is so saddened that these accusations are here. She said that there is absolutely no way that Peter could have done What he is accused of. She says she was never uncomfortable in any way and that Peter was completely professional. I met Peter, and I have talked to him many times over the past year. I just can’t see it. I am a victim of sexual abuse as a child myself and I take that very seriously. It’s just extremely hard for me to believe any of this for several reasons. First, my child and I have a very open relationship and I trust her judgement. There are those she has crossed paths with that she instantly knew there was something wrong. I’ve taught her this. I have taught her to pay attention and to speak up if she feels uncomfortable or if she feels like someone is creepy. Second, my own conversations with Peter. As a victim of abuse, I can usually spot someone with those same characteristics pretty quickly. I go on instinct and my gut and it hasn’t let me down yet. if these allegations were true, he would already be in jail. There are just too many kids that have been in contact with Peter over the years. Thousands of kids and this is the only thread I’ve seen anything negative on. This is the age of the internet. There would be allegations everywhere if this were true. It just doesn’t add up to me. Also, all of these kids have chaperones. They are always around someone and never alone. Again, it just doesn’t make sense. I truly believe that anyone that hurts a child should be locked up for life. I just don’t believe for one minute that Peter is one of those people. For the record, I have no reason to back Peter. I am simply a mom who believes in doing the right thing and speaking up for what I believe to be true. I am
The mom who protects her child too much sometimes. So much so that she is only allowed to stay at a few peoples homes that we have known for years. I did my research before I allowed my daughter to attend Peter’s workshop. This is the only negative post I was able to find and I am very thorough. I encourage other parents to do the same before coming to any conclusions. I also encourage them to talk to other families who have children that have attended these workshops. I think you will come to the same conclusions I have if you truly do the research and don’t automatically believe what you read on one thread. It took a lot for me to send my child across the country for this workshop. It would have never happened had I not 100% believed she would be safe. As it turns out, she was completely safe and had and amazing experience that gave her so much.

[cskar...@gmail.com]

Madeline I'm so so sorry for what you had to go through.

I was sexually abused for years by someone employed by Peter. A former teacher at beginnings. I also had an inappropriate and uneasy conversation with Peter, at 13 being asked what I was wearing, if I can keep a secret, if I had a boyfriend, how far have I gone with a boyfriend.

I would love to connect with you. I've been searching proof of abuse within beginnings and with my abusers "friends" for years.

Please email me cskm...@gmail.com

[nycgi...@gmail.com]

I'm glad your daughter had a positive experience. However, based on my own personal experience with Peter's creepy and inappropriate behavior, I have no trouble at all believing the accusations on this board. In fact, not a single person that I've talked to who has met or had any experience with Peter has been even slightly surprised by these accusations. I've heard the phrase, "I had a feeling about him" more times than I'd like to count. Yes, people should be considered innocent until proven guilty, and it would be terrible to be falsely accused of something as heinous as hurting a child, but I truly do not believe that is what is happening here. At the very least, I strongly suggest that parents do not allow their children to attend any workshops or classes that he holds in his home.

[nouvell...@gmail.com]

I had an urge out of the blue to search the internet and see if Peter was still around or perhaps registered as a sex offender. I barely remembered the name of the workshop, or even his name. But it started coming back to me, and when I found this thread it confirmed what I had feared, that I had been messed with by a bad man when I was 13. I'm 39 now.
I feel so impressed with those of you who had the strength to stand up to him while it was happening. I didn't have any of that awareness. If anything I felt flattered that an older man found me interesting and mature, and believed in me as an actress.
Of course now I see he didn't believe in me. Or he wouldn't have had me cleaning his house and cooking for him. He used to force me and another girl who was staying with him at his house to suffocate him until he passed out, and if I tried to get out of it he got angry, so I did it. I felt dirty afterwards, but I didn't want to disappoint him. He saw me as special and mature, remember?
Once he asked me to tell him something about the other girl. I don't remember what, but I avoided answering him directly because it was something private between her and me. He said in a really condescending way that I was "so loyal."
I wanted to be near NY, to be away from my parents, to be beginning my career so badly. And he took advantage of that. He used me. I remember cleaning his kitchen floor alone one night, singing along to some Madonna song, thinking about some boy. And he surprised me and said, boy you really love that song. He was making fun of me.
None of this is a report of rape, or even that he touched me. Maybe he did but I don't remember. He used to call me baby though. And I remember how he treated me like...there was a weird romantic, possessive vibe that I only now can name.
I'm not going to file any police reports because there's nothing concrete here. But I'm here, if any of you brave young girls wants to organize something count me in.
If anything Peter has made me a strong motherfucker. Girls, you are powerful, or a grown ass man wouldn't go so far out of his way to make you feel like nothing. He's intimidated by you. You're best revenge is to go out and prove him right. Go have successful acting careers and loving healthy relationships, and don't let him ruin your opinion of men. Have great lives, if anything because of the likes of him.

[catsti...@gmail.com]

What year were you there? I visited his home in 2003 and the details you've shared sound very familiar to me.

[catsti...@gmail.com]

Never mind, I re-read the post and realize you said you were 13 and are 39 now. I also just realized that we both had the same out-of-the-blue urge to look him up on January 19th, one year apart.

[C Speaks]

We need to keep posting about Peter. He is a pervert and a pedophile. I posted a negative review about the Beginnings Workshop on Google Reviews, and my review was deleted. I posted it again, and again it was deleted. Now you can't post any reviews at all about the Beginnings Workshop. Peter works overtime to make sure no one finds out about the pervert that he is. Keep talking. Keep posting.

[Jesse B.]

On Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at 9:01:16 PM UTC-4, C Speaks wrote:
> We need to keep posting about Peter. He is a pervert and a pedophile. I posted a negative review about the Beginnings Workshop on Google Reviews, and my review was deleted. I posted it again, and again it was deleted. Now you can't post any reviews at all about the Beginnings Workshop. Peter works overtime to make sure no one finds out about the pervert that he is. Keep talking. Keep posting.

Wow. I randomly decided to do a Google search on Peter this evening and am sadly unsurprised to find this thread. I attended Beginnings in 1996. I was 12. Peter struck me, even then, as being very creepy. And I remember other girls alluding to this. At one point, he suggested that I should come to his cabin with him, and I don't remember how, but I avoided doing so. It just seemed like a very bad/wrong idea. I didn't trust him, and had been in the acting business for a few years at that point, and even though I was only 12, I knew there were some shady characters in the acting world. I am so so sorry to hear about all of your experiences, and I believe them 100%. Though I was not a victim of his, I easily could have been. I don't know how I could be of help in this case, but I can attest to the shadiness of his character. If anyone else was there in 1996, please feel free to reach out. My memory is hazy on a lot of the details but perhaps chatting with someone else would help jog some memories. I do remember that there were a number of girls who either went to his cabin with some other girls, or alone. And as a previous poster said, he NEVER asked the boys to go; only the girls.

[Allison Oliver]

Yesterday, I was confronted by a stranger via social media for the comments (embedded earlier in this thread) that I, Allison Oliver, originally posted in 2002. Although I realize that it does not undo the damage, I deeply regret my comments and would like to offer my sincerest apology to anyone affected by them.

To be clear, I do still stand by my original statement that I was never physically or sexually assaulted by Peter Sklar, nor did I witness him physically or sexually assaulting anyone else. It is also true that I was never approached in any capacity by any participant of the Beginnings workshop or individual in Peter’s care regarding a claim of sexual harassment or assault.

Despite this, reading my own harsh words so many years later is embarrassing and I am ashamed. If I could take it back, I would, but unfortunately, nothing on the internet truly ever goes away. As a 20 year old at the time, I did not understand this concept, nor did I ever conceive that something I wrote on a message board would later be purchased, archived and have the ability to haunt me 18 years later. So to Amanda – and anyone else hurt but my statement – I am so sorry for any pain my words may have inflicted upon you. If it is any consolation at all, I have experienced more than my fair share of adversity since that time (poetic justice, perhaps?), which has made me a much more compassionate person. I realize this does not absolve me, but I am truly sorry.

[Kristen Frick]

Hi there,

I relate so much to many stories being shared here, so I thought I would chime in with my own experience. I too did an out of the blue google search, after some reflection due to the MeToo movement and out of curiosity to see if anyone else has been left with lingering uncomfortable memories of time spent with Peter Sklar. This is what I remember.

I met Peter around 2003 when he came to my dance studio. After his presentation, I was invited to attend his summer-camp style Beginnings Workshop. He also invited me, along with one other girl, to attend acting workshops at his home in New York on weekends. There were maybe 3 or so other girls at his home during those workshops as well. I remember we all slept on the floor together in a room in sleeping bags. I was young, I think about 13 and desperately wanted to be a performer so I did not see red flags at the time. I remember very strict rules about what we ate and wore, such as any kind of make-up even lip gloss was forbidden. Our cell phones were taken immediately upon our arrival and weren't returned until just before our departure - so no contact with the outside world while there. I think I attended for 2 or 3 weekends total, and Peter paid all of my travel expenses each time. I remember he took us girls out to dinner one night in Times Square in a limo, as well as on a shopping trip where he bought me some clothes and shoes -- at the time it felt so glamorous! But now I see it as something more like grooming. I remember the mouth to mouth acting exercise, where he laid on the floor with us all around and we took turns covering his nose and mouth and pressing our mouths up against his and breathing heavily to "save" him or something, and that it felt really weird and uncomfortable in the moment. We would have private coaching sessions too where he would do scenes with me and ask me to treat him like he was my boyfriend, and though no explicit sexual attack occurred, there was hugging, touching and massaging. I also recall him asking about my "experience" with boys and if I had ever had sex before.

I can't remember how my involvement with him ended or why I stopped going. But it's only recently looking back through my now 31 year old eyes that I can see how inappropriate this behavior is. Thank you for opening me up to share my experience!

[Paula McArthur]

[Katherine Sands]

So everyone is aware, Peter Sklar is now going by Peter Seidman on Tik Tok and other places online/social media. He is also calling his Sklar Principles Seidman Principles now. Peter Sklar is Peter Seidman. This "acting coach" is a child molester. Keep your kids away from him.

[Lisa Cover-Tucci]

I just came here to warn you all that Peter Sklar has changed his name to Seidman... But it looks like someone posted that.
He's been desperate to get a speaking gig at our public high school. Last year he emailed relentlessly and when i let him know that our public school theatre program cannot promote something that is paid, he verbally attacked me, my principal had to step in and ask him not to contact me anymore because he wouldn't stop. And now he's back at it again under this new name contacting theatre teachers all over our county at the middle and high school levels.