When Actors Theatre lost two key grants in December, production stopped for two months.
The theater depends on revenue from donors because ticket sales only garner 45 percent of production costs. For ticket sales alone to cover shows, admission would have to exceed $100 per show.
Now, Actors Theatre has decided to leave the Herberger Theater Center, where it has been the anchor tenant for more than 20 years.
“When you do ‘Grease,’ you know it’s commercially viable,” said Matthew Wiener, producing artistic director of Actors Theatre. “Shows like ‘The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs’ are harder to support, but we believe (they) are more relevant.”
That being said, Actors Theatre’s work is thought-provoking and edgy and attracts a select audience, Wiener said, but this can also be a risky business move.
“We have a diversity of offerings that add to the vitality of such an urban area,” he said. “A lot of the work we do relates to the lives of people who see our shows.”
Primarily a contemporary theater, Actors Theatre presented mostly unique shows before it paused programming in February. These artistic risks, along with economic pressures, are part of what led Actors Theatre to revise its business model.
“We were able to weather the recession for several years, but it just continued,” Wiener said.
Actors Theatre isn’t the only venue facing major structural changes. Rough economic times are pressuring many local theaters — Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre and Arizona Jewish Theatre, among others — to redesign their operations or close down altogether.
Actors Theatre is now “homeless” in a sense, Wiener said, “but change is possible.”
“Being involved in any art form is an expression of optimism, and in theater in particular, it’s important for people to remember that it’s possible to change one’s life and very possible to change other lives,” Wiener said.
One of Actors Theatre’s main goals is to create a “sense of place” as it continues to contribute to downtown Phoenix’s arts culture. But this poses a challenge, as the theater plans to hold its 2013-2014 season in four different downtown venues.
But some theaters have still found a way to thrive, despite waning financial support from corporations, the government and foundations.
Phoenix Theatre has managed to keep its doors open while building a new facility, but that success has more to do with business maneuvering than waiting for the economic trend to improve, said Phoenix Theatre director of development Laurie Lemley.
“Phoenix Theatre implemented a really serious approach to data-driven decision-making,” Lemley said. “A powerful database analyzes ticket sales patterns, house filling and donor activity.”
Like Actors Theatre, Phoenix Theatre revamped its business model to account for economic hardship. Because the theater business depends on its donors, it reorganized its departments around serving its patrons.
Vincent VanVleet, the managing director of Phoenix Theatre, said the goal of the patron experience is to “create exceptional experiences for our audiences.”
Phoenix Theatre’s mission statement previously focused on telling stories from the moment the curtain went up. Now the experience begins with the first time people hear about the theater, VanVleet said.
Phoenix Theatre remodeled its website and updated customer service to target patrons. A new answering system features Phoenix Theatre staff encouraging donors to support the theater when they buy tickets over the phone, and active patrons are reminded how to renew their contributions. Phoenix Theatre now engages its donors at every level and informs them how and where their contributions are being used in the program.
“Ninety percent of giving comes from a personal relationship,” VanVleet said. “Benevolence is not just a drive-by and drop-off contribution.”
Phoenix Theatre’s capital campaign to build a new facility is an example of their shrewd business ventures.
“You can’t just cut your way to fiscal health and still sustain yourself,” VanVleet said.
Phoenix Theatre chose to open an expanded lobby and new 250-seat black-box theater in October of this year. As a result, on-stage programming has increased by 50 percent, allotting extra space for rehearsals.
But the building project does not benefit just Phoenix Theatre.
“The rising tide floats all boats,” VanVleet said.
Phoenix Theatre, as a community partner, believes in investing in the community’s culture.
“We are not in competition with the other theaters of downtown Phoenix,” VanVleet said. “Their existence is key to everyone’s survival because it creates a cultural experience for all interest levels.”
Phoenix Theatre has a scholarship rental program that began 12 years ago, which offers spaces to smaller arts organizations.
VanVleet said that by aspiring to be involved in something larger than itself, the theater strives to serve its patrons, audiences and fellow theater companies.
“The arts help me see the world as it could be,” VanVleet said. “It keeps me going.”
Debby Wojitas, a downtown Phoenix performer who makes her living as a professional actress, is also driven by the arts.
Wojitas, who has performed with both Actors Theatre and Phoenix Theatre, said the level of performance that audience members enjoy is still on par; what the theaters lack is the funding.
As an actress who has personally experienced the bond between performer and audience member, Wojitas understands how theater is an integral part of downtown Phoenix culture.
“We must make an effort to keep the arts alive in the fifth largest city in the country,” she said.
Contact the reporter at katherine.sitter@asu.edu
