Artistic funding

Published 1:42 pm Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Driftwood Players, a community theater company in Edmonds, are in their 50th year of entertainment, but it doesn’t mean everything is business as usual.

The non profit company is struggling during the economic downturn and is trying new things to bring in revenue.

The theater company is offering two more main stage performances in its 2008-2009 season and brainstorming ways to use their greatest asset: the Wade James Theatre at 950 Main St. Alternate shows consisting of riskier material or one act performances have been performed on the theater’s stage for several years when the main stage shows aren’t in rotation, according to managing director Gregory Magyar. Last December, for the first time, Driftwood Players performed several midnight showings on Friday and Saturday nights. In May, the theater will take another new step by kicking off the Blue Wall Cabaret performances and offering appetizer pairings in the theater’s lobby.

All steps in the right direction, according to Magyar.

“It’s been a few years since alternative stage (performances) began and they opened the door to try other things,” he said.

The midnight shows brought a younger demographic to performances. Then snow led to the cancellation of four showings of “Fiddler on the Roof” in December, and the loss of revenue during the theater’s busy season hurt the company during an increasingly financially difficult time.

A resulting decline in operating revenue is a challenge for the Driftwood Players, who have traditionally covered 80 percent of their $200,000 per year operation with ticket sales. That’s why the Driftwood Players need to aggressively pursue ways to secure a sustainable presence as Edmond’s community theater, according to Julie Mains, the fundraising chair for the board of directors.

“We’re going to do more to model what every other theater company does for fundraising,” she said. “Over time we would like to build an endowment. Our personal goal is at least a million dollars so we have some endowment to help create some security for our artistic endeavor.”

The approach will mean theater patrons will be asked to make contributions in letters and during curtain calls.

“Patrons are going to be hearing from us more, asking ‘Say, do you want to keep theater going here? We’re going to need your help then,’” Magyar said.

Sold out performance are not uncommon in Edmonds, according to Magyar. An estimated 18,000 people attend a performance every year. Approximately 11,000 people have attended a show so far in the current season, Magyar said and often dedicated volunteers range in numbers from 80 to more than 100.

But the goal is to see every seat filled in every undertaking, Mains said

“The theater has to be about inclusion and making people want to be involved,” she said. “People don’t know you’re in trouble until you tell them and people don’t know what you need until you ask them.”