"This has economic repercussions across the board," Rosenbaum says of the current troubles. "Certainly, the state budget is in serious distress and state funding for the arts will probably reflect that distress. We're also finding the banking industry is in distress, small businesses are in distress, private foundations that support the arts and individuals who support the arts are in distress."
The most striking result so far was Providence Black Repertory Company's announcement in early November of plans to layoff five full-time employees (from a staff of 16 full-time and 25 part-time workers) and suspend the remaining two plays of its season. Executive director Donald King now says that funding is in place to produce one of the canceled productions, A Time of Fire, in February. He's hopeful that he'll be able to line up funds to restore Gem of the Ocean, originally scheduled for April.
"We are not going anywhere. We are definitely not closing our doors," King says. "It's a scary time, but what it took from us is responsible leadership." The company's plays, he says, have struggled to break even in recent years, so maintaining business as usual during the economic crisis could have meant disaster. "I felt like we had to pre-empt the fact that it was going to get worse before it gets good."
"The cavalry is not coming. Nobody is coming to save Black Rep. There is very little corporate interest in supporting theater," King says. "We're going to find a sustainable model to support the organization."
Ticket sales for Festival Ballet Providence's production of Giselle in October were "about 50 percent of what we hoped for," managing director Lisa LaDew says. But Up CLOSE on HOPE shows since September are "slightly ahead of budget," its dance school tuition is on budget, and subscription ticket sales are on target from previous years. Still, to save money, Festival Ballet Providence cut the live orchestra from its December Nutcracker performances.
"We are conscious that it's highly likely that we won't meet all our budgeted expectations," LaDew says. But they plan to keep the season intact, and retain all its dancers under contract. "We're cautiously optimistic."
David Beauchesne, executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, says, "We have seen ticket sales dip, but so far we're doing well on contributed income." And since the Philharmonic opened a new East Providence facility for its music school in September, student enrollment is up 10 percent.
But the Philharmonic is looking to cut costs "in anticipation of what we expect to be a difficult couple years for the state," Beauchesne says. Spending on professional development, travel, and conferences has been reduced. The orchestra consolidated free music lessons from two Pawtucket sites into one to save administrative staffing costs. It has no plans no change its concert programming or musicians "at this time." Beauchesne says, "Cuts to artistic or educational programming would be the very last place we would go."
Art galleries are also feeling a crunch. "The last three months we have felt a softening of the market, but we have our collectors who collect specific artists we represent, so that hasn't been affected," says Berge Zobian, director of Gallery Z in Providence.
