Thursday, November 17, 2011
Arena Stage’s funding outlook prompts cancellation of spring play
The Washington Post: In a drastic move for a major regional theater, Arena Stage is dropping one of the spring plays from its current season, an action prompted by the anticipated cancellation of $500,000 in federal funds for the year.
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3 comments:
This does go to show us that no matter what we do in life diversification is goal number one in fund raising. No matter how much getting money to fund the art is important we need to be wary of donors that make up a substantial part of the operating costs on any project. Also this does not bode well for the little theatres that rely on grants and other aid from the government. It will be interesting to see if any of the other big regional theatres are affected or do similar cancellations as the deadline for sequestration in the congressional budget approaches.
As if any of us needed more terrifying examples of how Arts' funding cuts are indeed cutting, here's Arena Stage. Arena's a GIANT in the Washington Area theatre scene. The theatre has been around for decades and has [almost] always produced fantastic work. If THEY are running scared because of funding difficulties, I can only imagine how the rest of the city's theatres are holding up.
When Congress can't even agree on their disagreements, I just don't see how arts' funding has much of a chance. I hope I'm wrong - REALLY wrong - but in the face of it all, Arena's managing director made, I think, the right move.
I am from the area where Arena Stage is and I know that many of the theaters in this area of the country are definitely struggling. If Arena Stage lost a lot of funding they are going to struggle it seems like they are doing things to make it so that they won’t feel it quite as much. But this shows how theaters adapt to what they are given to survive and make things work. I hope that this does not affect them in the long run. I hope that congress stops cutting funding for the arts organizations and maybe up the amount that they are spending so that the arts can be an outlet for the people. I hope the best to Arena Stage in their upcoming season and hope to see them next season.
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