ACT Theater. Photo by apete.

Arts Funding

Marcie Sillman
02/10/2010

Most nonprofit arts groups get their money from season ticket subscriptions, donations or grants. But that money has been harder to come by in the past couple of years. There's more competition for entertainment dollars, and charitable giving took a nosedive after the recession. One Seattle theater company has come up with a strategy it hopes will attract new audiences, and keep them coming back for more.

TRANSCRIPT

In early 2003, ACT Theater was down to its last $3,000. Only an aggressive fund–raising campaign and ruthless budget cuts kept the theater afloat. Despite the belt tightening, over the past five years ACT has piled up another big debt: more than $2.5 million. On top of that, like every nonprofit arts group in town, ACT has had to cope with the recession, a downturn in season subscriptions and a drop off in corporate giving.

Scandiuzzi: "A lot was riding on us balancing the budget this year."

That's Carlo Scandiuzzi, ACT's Executive Director. With his jaunty orange scarf and wide smile, Scandiuzzi radiates enthusiasm, even when discussing the theater's troubled economic situation.

Scandiuzzi: "There is a tremendous amount of fatigue in the community to see us losing money year after year. We were losing faith and face throughout."

When Scandiuzzi took over the business side of the organization a couple of years ago, he realized it was time to make some major changes to the traditional arts funding model: selling subscriptions to a six–play season and soliciting donations.

Scandiuzzi: "The model of regional theater the way I think it worked for the last 50 years has to change, there is no question about that."

The first thing Scandiuzzi and his staff scrutinized was ACT's downtown home. The spacious building houses four different stages. But ACT doesn't have enough money to produce plays on more than one stage at a time. Scandiuzzi says the obvious move was to invite other local arts groups to share the space.

Scandiuzzi: "What was perceived in the community as an albatross turned out to be the best asset we can have. Without the building, we couldn't do what we're doing. We could not do the programming that we're doing."

ACT has teamed up with everyone from dancers and musicians to smaller theater companies. It also started a new works series. Those initiatives helped the company increase artistic offerings from 12 shows in 2006 to 45 last year. Adding so many performances freed up ACT to try something new on the business side of the operation. In addition to its traditional season subscriptions and individual ticket sales, ACT launched a membership program. For $25 a month, members can see anything at ACT, as often as they like.

Scandiuzzi: "Like a gym membership. What it does, it appeals to a younger constituency that wants flexibility, doesn't want to be tied to let's say, I have to be here every other month. It frees them, they can call the day before, see a play, a dance, whatever."

It's like an all–you–can–eat art buffet. 350 people have become members since July 2009, when the program started. The company would like to bring in a total of 1,000 members by the end of 2010.

Scandiuzzi: "It seems like it's a fire sale, but when you really look at the numbers, we come out far better in the long run than we would otherwise."

It's probably too early to call the membership program an unqualified success, but ACT is doing something right. In January, the company announced it ended 2009 with a small budget surplus. That's a ray of light in Seattle, where every arts group has money troubles right now. But membership programs like the one at ACT aren't a one–size–fits–all solution, according to Jim Tune. He's the president of Arts Fund, a kind of United Way for the arts. Tune says to stay financially healthy, most organizations need to focus on their primary mission: making quality art.

Tune: "I applaud ACT for developing this model, they've got the ideal facility for doing that. But for the most part, I believe the appetite for theater is based on what the theater is doing."

Jim Tune believes if the work is good, audiences will come. Even though new studies found a drop off in arts attendance nationwide over the past ten years, Tune says for some reason, Seattle has bucked that trend.

Tune: "Our most recent economic survey shows participation is holding up very well. But people are opting for less expensive tickets."

And that's a catch–22 for arts groups. Even if they sold every seat in the house at full price, they wouldn't necessarily cover all their costs. Arts groups depend on donations to pay at least half the bills. Since the recession, many of those donations have dried up. At the Seattle Symphony, that's been a particular problem, according to Leslie Jackson Chihuly, the board chair.

Chihuly: "Donors are holding back on funds, waiting for things to turn around before they make other large gifts. Donors are also more demanding. They want balanced budgets, not only great art, but that you are managing your business."

And that's the big challenge. ACT's Carlo Scandiuzzi warns you can't sacrifice the quality of the art to the bottom line.

Scandiuzzi: "That is the real danger. As long as the art is thriving, excellent, then the product is good, then we can sell it."

Carlo Scandiuzzi says he'd love to extend his membership program to other local theaters. In his mind, it takes more than one healthy arts organization to make a healthy arts community. I'm Marcie Sillman, KUOW News.

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