This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 14, 2009 - The economic Grinch has stolen some cheer from local theater companies this holiday season. On Dec. 8, the Regional Arts Commission had a heart-to-heart with about 50 arts organizations including heads of theater companies, telling them that grant money will be cut by 15 percent or more beginning June 1, 2010.
"Our revenues have been down up to 15 percent or more from what we projected a year ago. Right now we could finish the year potentially down anywhere from $400,000 to half a million -- we just don't know," said Dan Tierney, RAC's deputy director. "And what we're projecting for the next year is for it to be flat, which would essentially be down 15 percent again. It's a double whammy."
Theater companies rely on RAC funds for up to 50 percent of their funding.
Tierney said he wanted arts groups to get the bad news with as much as advance notice as possible, so they could plan accordingly.
"We're trying to be forthright in saying, 'It's going to be down, expect it, we're going to go through this'," Tierney said. "A lot of them appreciated that forewarning."
Nancy Larson is a freelance writer who, among other things, writes regularly on theater.
