News & Record front pager on Triad Stage’s financial difficulties, which will force the downtown Greensboro nonprofit theater to scale back its upcoming season and reduce its staff.
N&R reports the ’14-’15 fiscal year ” was one of the theater company’s most difficult as it faced an operating deficit of $409,985, or 15 percent of its budget.” And added competition in the form of a city-funded performing arts center won’t help matters:
Triad Stage also has to consider the planned opening of Greensboro’s Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in 2018, Whittington said.
That new downtown venue will host touring Broadway shows, comedians, concerts and some local events.
“We want to take steps now to strengthen Triad Stage, so that whatever may be the impact of the performing arts center, we are prepared to withstand it,” Whittington said.
Mind you Triad Stage has received city money to help out. By the same token the fate of smaller arts organizations was an issue as plans for the Tanger Center began to take shape. It became an even trickier issue as construction estimates came up $10 million short, and funds from a ticket surcharge designated for those arts organizations were “repurposed” to help close the gap.
Arts organizations now receive $120,000 annually—-Greensboro Coliseum director Matt Brown said back in December the “uncertainty of not knowing what they were getting has been vetted by the fact that they know they’re getting $120,000.”
We’ll see how far that small pot of money goes.
