‘We’re overjoyed.’ Response to urgent money plea saves Actor’s Theatre from closing

Last week, Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte issued an urgent plea that it needed donations, fast, or it would fold.

Since then, more than $71,000 have come in, the group’s leaders say, putting them on firm enough footing to announce a 32nd season later this week.

“We’re overjoyed,” executive director Chip Decker said Wednesday. “It’s been everywhere from large donations to people coming up after (the current show) ‘Lady Day’ and putting a check in my hand — people I’ve never even met before.

“It just shows that the community as a whole gets it, and that they understand the importance of the arts and theater,” Decker said. “It’s been a big boost to our morale around here.”

Last week, Decker and general manager Laura Rice sent an email blast to Actor’s Theatre’s 15,000 subscribers, single-ticket buyers and others with its dire funding message, stating, “We are at a critical point.”

The group isn’t running a deficit and has paid all of its bills, Decker and Rice said. But its reserves have been exhausted, making it impossible to plan and create new shows, they said.

They’ve set a goal of $200,000, to replenish the group’s reserves. If they reach that goal, they said, that would ensure enough stability to continue operating indefinitely, but the $71,000 that already has been raised is enough to plan for next season.

“We want to hit that $200,000 mark so we don’t have to be here again,” Decker said.

Decker and Rice said the company’s 2016 move out of its longtime location on Stonewall Street, and the 16 months of having roving locations for their productions that followed, caused attendance and financial support to drop.

Now, they’re hopeful that their permanent location on the campus of Queens University of Charlotte will lead to more stable footing, along with the infusion of cash.

Actor’s Theatre, a professional theater company with paid actors and technicians, employs six full-time workers, most of whom hold multiple roles in the organization.

Outreach campaign

Decker and Rice have posted thank you messages to the group’s Facebook page in recent days thanking donors by name.

Since last week, they’ve started a “100 conversations in 100 days” campaign, aimed at having members of the theater’s board and staff reach out to community members who could be potential partners.

“It’s our fault as arts organizations. We assume everybody knows what it is that we do and how we do it, and that our audiences assume that if we’re not asking, we’re OK,” Decker said.

“It’s as much friend-raising as it is fundraising,” he said, such as letting an interior designer know that unused fabric could help with costumes.

“It’s little moments like that,” Decker said, “that we hope will present opportunities for both parties.”

Arts funding problems

Last week’s announcement by Actor’s Theatre was the latest blow to Charlotte’s arts and culture community. Also last week, Opera Carolina laid off its executive director in the midst of budget problems.

Problems for arts groups intensified last November after county voters rejected a referendum to increase the local sales tax to benefits arts, parks and other groups. Had it passed, the quarter-cent increase in the tax would have meant an annual influx of $22.5 million for arts groups.

Arts leaders warned that big cuts across the arts and culture sector were likely if the referendum failed.

The discussion intensified on Tuesday when Jeep Bryant, president of the umbrella arts organization the Arts & Science Council, went before county commissioners saying he plans to request $12 million in city and county taxpayer funds to help arts and culture programs.

It’s unclear whether city and county leaders would grant that request, or what would happen to arts groups if the funding does not come through.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 2:53 PM.