Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Pittsburgh CLO, Public Theater and City Theatre are all reducing their budgets or showing structural deficits in the face of rising costs and erratic attendance. A draft of a report by the New York City-based arts consulting firm Keene Consulting obtained by the Post-Gazette found that, “All three organizations are on the self-reported brink of financial failure in the near or mid-term future based on their own financial reporting and projections.”
2 comments:
As a student studying theatre at a local Pittsburgh University it's such a disappointment to hear about the struggling financials of the theatre world. Behind the defunding of the arts by our local government, and the shadow of the pandemic the industry has been struggling. These recents struggles have made me incredibly concerned about the future of the industry. I mean this is the industry that I will be soon be working in, and it will be so detrimental if I go in at a time where acquiring work becomes difficult. However various ini natives have been giving me some hope. Especially programs in states that are less than excited about funding the arts. My home state of Kentucky is one of them. A program called GSA which has been publicly funded has been fighting to not only continue schooling for the arts but to also keep artists around in Kentucky considering how vital they are to the culture and community of the state
I knew the pittsburgh regional theatre scene was in trouble when I saw the Pittsburgh CLO drastically changed their season. From producing around six full scale musical’s on the Benedum Center stage, to this summer producing only one independent full scale musical at the Benedum. I think the merger is an interesting idea, there are plenty of pro’s and con’s as expected yet I am not sure I have a strong opinion on which would be better for the institutions. The dilemma is really based in what is one willing to sacrifice to stay alive. The merger would come with a large amount of cuts to year-round employees. Which as someone who would love a full time job in a regional theatre, is disheartening to hear that there would be significantly less job opportunities. However, if that is what it takes to keep these arts organizations alive, then it has to be better than loosing one in its entirety.
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