Recession forces arts organizations to regroup

Pacific Northwest Ballet is consolidating some ballet classes and cutting back on advertising.

Seattle Repertory Theatre is requiring its full-time employees to take two weeks of unpaid leave.

Seattle Art Museum has cut back 5 percent of its staff and is facing a $3.8 million annual shortfall if it can't find a new tenant for the space Washington Mutual had been leasing from it.

It should come as no surprise that the dismal economy is buffeting local arts organizations — a situation made worse for some by the December snowstorms.

"We face daunting challenges in the months, and perhaps years, ahead," wrote James Tune, president and CEO of ArtsFund, in a recent survey on the impact of economic conditions on Puget Sound area arts organizations. ArtsFund is a local nonprofit that raises money from corporations and their employees to give to the arts.

A majority of the local arts groups that responded to the survey said contributions and ticket sales are falling, and more than half of the groups are cutting expenses. Many are putting expansion plans on hold. They're already seeing corporations, which are facing their own tough times, cut back on giving.

ArtsFund is unlikely to draw much, if any, earnings from its endowment, which provided upward of $450,000 each of the last two years.

Tune said it's too early to tell how ArtsFund's 2009 campaign, which began earlier this month with a goal of $3.6 million, will go. Of its two top corporate donors, Microsoft has already committed to giving somewhat more than last year, and it's not time yet for Boeing to make its commitment.

Pacific Northwest Ballet took a hit when the December snowstorms came during a run of "The Nutcracker." Revenue from the Christmas-time ballet, which typically provides about a third of the company's annual budget, fell short of this year's $5.9 million goal by about $525,000.

The company had been on track to reach its "Nutcracker" goal but the storm forced it to cancel one performance. It allowed ticketholders to that show, and those who couldn't make it to other performances because of the snow, to exchange their tickets for later performances or other shows.

Over the last few weeks, the company has planned about $330,000 in cuts for the rest of the season — mostly nips and tucks, such as postponed equipment replacement, said executive director D. David Brown.

In hopes of generating additional revenue, PNB is adding a performance of "Swan Lake" in April. "It's the most highly recognized ballet name in the world," said Brown, who hopes the addition will generate about $100,000.

The Issaquah-based Village Theatre said its holiday show, "Beauty and the Beast," was on track to meet revenue goals until the snowstorm hit.

Now "our general motto around the theater is: Save wherever you can," said spokeswoman Michelle Sanders. "Everyone's tightening their belts in every department."

The Seattle Symphony also fell a little short of its revenue goal in December, in part because it had to cancel a performance of Handel's "Messiah" during the snowstorms. Otherwise, December was strong, said executive director Thomas Philion.

Nevertheless, the symphony is looking for ways to cut about $300,000 to $500,000 by the end of the season, and it is considering, for example, repertoire changes that would require fewer musicians.

Not all performing-arts groups were hurt by the snowstorms.

A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) reported a revenue record of $600,000 for its 33-year-old annual show, "A Christmas Carol." And Intiman Theatre's "Black Nativity" met its projected goal of $350,000.

The holiday shows might even have benefitted from the bleak economy. "Maybe people were buying fewer things but doing more things together," said Intiman managing director Brian Colburn.

Seattle Art Museum, which is already facing a challenging time, was dealt an additional blow when JPMorgan Chase announced last week it wouldn't be assuming Washington Mutual's lease of 240,000 square feet of office space it rents from SAM.

That means the museum will have to find a new tenant to make up for the $5.8 million a year WaMu had been paying for the space. JPMorgan bought WaMu last year.

Helping somewhat will be a $10 million grant JPMorgan is giving SAM, to be paid out at $2 million a year over five years. But that still leaves SAM with a potential annual budget shortfall of $3.8 million — a sizable amount of money for an institution whose annual budget is $26.4 million. On top of that, its endowment and corporate support are down.

Bellevue Arts Museum's budget this year of $3.26 million is about the same as last year's.

But it's planning to operate at 90 percent of that budget "until we know better how the economy is doing" and whether contributions and ticket sales are going as planned, said interim executive director Mark Crawford.

Seattle Repertory Theatre's holiday show, "You Can't Take It With You," exceeded its goal of 187,500 single-ticket sales by almost 20,000.

But its endowment has fallen below principal, and the theater, which had layoffs last year, is anticipating a shortfall this year.

It's already identified $500,000 in cutbacks, including some reduced hours for seasonal workers in later shows and requiring two-week furloughs of full-time employees.

"I've gone through cycles — but not as bad as this," said managing director Benjamin Moore.

Still, he believes there are ways for arts organizations to do well even in such bleak times, if they are "smart, sure-footed."

The theater did well after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he points out. "I think people need a way to connect, gather. ... We, in this business, have to be terminally optimistic."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com