Your Email:

Friend's Email:

Note: (optional)

Subject:

Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/35234/full/35234/final-act-budget-crunch-puts-traveling-jewish-theatre-in-peril/ <br /><br /> <b>Final act?: Budget crunch puts Traveling Jewish Theatre in peril</b> <br /> Friday, June 27, 2008 | by dan pine <br /><br /><p>Is it curtains for Traveling Jewish Theatre?<br /><br /> It might be, unless an emergency fundraising effort goes according to script.<br /><br /> A Bay Area cultural institution for 29 years, TJT is facing a dire financial crisis. Saddled with debt and rising costs, the theater curtailed its 2007-2008 season. A 2008-2009 season, which would begin this fall, might never come.<br /><br /> TJT's leadership decided to go public — and fight.<br /><br /> "It was in our best interests to stop producing plays and start dealing with the financial concerns of the company," TJT Executive Director Sara Schwartz says. "For a long time we had not wanted to say we're in a financial crisis. Then we hit a point [when] we had to accept it and tell the public."<br /><br /> To cut costs, administrative staff has been reduced to one full-time and one part-time employee, down from eight. All actors are now on a contract basis, including founding members Corey Fischer and Naomi Newman.<br /><br /> In recent weeks, letters and emails have gone out to TJT subscribers appealing for $100,000 to keep up with payroll and debt payments. So far, Schwartz says, progress has been made, with $78,000 collected as of earlier this week.<br /><br /> Unfortunately, however, even $100,000 isn't going to get the job done.<br /><br /> According to TJT's blog, ticket sales account for only 30 percent of the company's $700,000 annual budget. The rest comes from gifts and grants. But skyrocketing expenses and a $400,000 debt -- much of it from cost overruns on renovations at its San Francisco theater -- maxed out TJT's resources.<br /><br /> "We are seeking to raise $100,000 from individuals by June 30 and another $50,000 by Sept. 30," Schwartz says. "We still have a fair amount of fundraising to do. The response to the first phase has been excellent. People want to step up."<br /><br /> TJT is also seeking from its institutional funders an additional $150,000 beyond what they normally give. Schwartz and TJT Artistic Director Aaron Davidman already have presented those major donors with a comprehensive recovery plan.<br /><br /> Schwartz says those philanthropic institutions have given generally positive responses to the theater — but no additional funding as of yet.<br /><br /> Founded in Los Angeles in 1978, TJT has performed in many Bay Area venues and in more than 60 cities around the world. The company's original purpose was to create new works grounded in the Jewish experience. Many of their original productions had a touch of avant-garde surrealism, but TJT also revived classic plays such as "The Dybbuk."<br /><br /> In 1982, TJT relocated to San Francisco, eventually obtaining its Florida Street theater. In 2002, Davidman was appointed artistic director. He directed last year's well-received revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman."<br /><br /> It's not as if the theater had failed in its core mission of presenting vital Jewish-themed works for the stage. Most TJT productions in recent seasons have met their box office goals.<br /><br /> So what went wrong? According to Davidman, the fiscal problems have been brewing for years. <br /><br /> "We grew too fast," he says. "We started producing at bigger venues like the [350-seat] Julia Morgan Theater [in Berkeley], which was a great model initially. We went gangbusters. The problem is, it's expensive to move a show around. If you don't get a hit, then a 350-seat theater can be a lonely place."<br /><br /> TJT co-founder Corey Fischer notes that a bad review in the San Francisco Chronicle of any given production could have horrendous consequences for the company. "We're at the mercy of the little man," he says, referring to the Chronicle's arts review cartoon icon. "If he's not flying out of his seat, you're in trouble."<br /><br /> The company's cascading problems became self-perpetuating. Facing daunting deficits, TJT would cut back on productions, which would in turn limit community enthusiasm, driving down receipts and momentum.<br /><br /> "It was a structural problem, slow in coming," adds Fischer. "We had never had a cash reserve, so when anything goes off at all, we're stuck. Most businesses do not have to be 100 percent accurate, but not having an endowment, basically living hand to mouth, we had no margin."<br /><br /> While grateful for the support they've had over the years, Schwartz, Fischer and Davidman would like to see the local Jewish community make the arts a higher priority.<br /><br /> "It stings because of what it says about our whole culture," laments Fischer. "Here I am, 63, I put 90 percent of my working life as an artist into this one company and now I'm at a point where it can't give me a retirement or a salary. So that feels awful."<br /><br /> "There's a perception in the Jewish community that art shouldn't cost much," Davidman adds. "But it's incredibly costly. There's also a tendency to contribute to buildings and less interest in the more ephemeral work. We want to put it to the community: This is your theater. We can't carry it anymore."<br /><br /> Looking on the bright side, Schwartz and Davidman have already outlined a 30th anniversary season for this fall, including works by Don Margulies and Woody Allen. <br /><br /> At the same time, the two know there's a chance TJT could go under. In that case, the company would sell off its assets -- including its Florida Street theater in San Francisco -- to pay off its debts. If that were to happen, they say they would go out with heads held high.<br /><br /> Two remain optimistic.<br /><br /> "For both of us, there is this combination of feeling responsible for a cultural treasure, and it's incredibly deep," says Schwartz. "The other factor is a passion and dedication to what we do."<br /><br /> Adds Davidman, who is growing weary of playing the role of perpetual fundraiser: "I can't wait to get back to my real job."<br /><br /> <br><br /><br /> <b>Contributions to TJT</b> can be sent to Traveling Jewish Theatre, 4099 Alabama St. No. 127, San Francisco, CA 94110. For more information and a blog about the theater's woes, visit <a href="http://www.atjt.com">http://www.atjt.com</a>.</p>

Please enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below: