Economic downturn doesn't play well for the Arts

We all know that the economy is hurting just about everyone. I think that we are at our worst in a very long time. People who love theatre are also at risk as well.
The good news, so to speak, for many nonprofit L.A. theaters is that they've long been accustomed to lean budgets. Making do with less is a permanent habit in a city whose greatest theatrical asset may be its wealth of small, scrappy companies wedged into converted storefronts in places like North Hollywood and strung along once-forsaken blocks of Santa Monica Boulevard.

But for some local theaters, years of thrifty budgeting may no longer provide a sufficient defense against looming calamity. Many are watching with mounting concern as other theaters around the country go broke and shut down. They're worried that even if they survive 2009 relatively unscathed, the foundation, corporate and private donor dollar flow that supports them is drying up.

Although the $825-billion stimulus package proposed by House Democrats includes money for the National Endowment for the Arts, it's unknown whether that item will make the package's final version or whether any of that money might reach L.A. theaters. In any case, local theater managers aren't holding their breath for a federal bailout.

"Nobody that I know of is thinking, 'I'll look to the government to help me get out of this,' " said Elizabeth Doran, managing director of the Actors' Gang in Culver City.

At Westwood's Geffen, Cates said, the situation is "drastic," both for the 522-seat main stage and the Audrey Skirball Kenis space, which can seat up to 114. The theater's contributed income, which accounts for 45% of its budget, is down $250,000 from last year. Subscribers have declined from more than 12,000 last year to 10,600, and single-ticket sales have fallen 25% from last year, despite such tantalizing offerings this season as the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies' "Time Stands Still," with Dan Sullivan directing a cast that includes Alicia Silverstone, and a musical fashioned from the cult film "Nightmare Alley."

Cates said he's putting out "a call to action" to help the Geffen raise $1 million by the end of this season. "I don't know how many more cuts I can make before this plane doesn't fly."

Part of the Geffen's problem is that it lacks an endowment; a campaign to create one had to be put off because of this year's stock market tumble. But even debt-free, well-endowed theaters such as South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa have been stricken with shrinking-portfolio syndrome.

"We've lowered our sales expectations and we've reduced the budget by $400,000, and we're not done," said Paula Tomei, SCR's managing director. "We have to do all this without compromising quality, and that is very challenging."

So far, SCR hasn't needed to shake up its show lineup for financial reasons. However, Tomei added, "I don't expect there'll be a large-cast show on next year's season."

In recent interviews, some local artistic and managing directors spoke with determination about the need to raise their game artistically, explore creative new marketing and fundraising strategies and find ways to inspire and serve their audiences even better.

"At a time like this, you have to talk about reducing ticket prices and providing more services to the community," said Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins, artistic director of the Actors’ Gang. "Things are falling apart, and you can sit and whine and complain about it, or you can get out there and volunteer."

To help its audiences cope with lighter wallets, the Actors' Gang is considering adding another pay-what-you-can night per week. All performances of its last show, "I Am Not a Racist, but . . .," were pay-what-you-can, which Doran called "a direct response to the troubled economy."

"I don't want to say it's radicalizing, but it is turning up the desire to do bigger, greater, stronger art with the members of the Gang," Doran said. "If you're creating art that boldly reflects your society, it will give strong identity to your theater."

At many theaters, caution, not panic, is the prevailing attitude. Laura Zucker, executive director of the L.A. County Arts Commission, said an end-of-season analysis showed that attendance at the county-run John Anson Ford Amphitheatre didn't decline appreciably last year. In spite of that, she said, last season a number of producers "were getting extremely nervous, so they began discounting and dropping prices," leaving them unable to meet customer demand for last-minute full-price tickets.

Original Article