Georgia Shakespeare Seeks New Life, New Directions

When the announcement appeared online last Friday, members of the Atlanta arts and theater community were shocked. After 26 years, Georgia Shakespeare, one of the top repertory theaters in the city, stands on the brink of shutting down for good.

"During the past three years of the economic downturn, we have been fighting valiantly to keep Georgia Shakespeare healthy and moving forward," the letter from Producing Artistic Director Richard Garner reads in part. "In spite of the best efforts of our board and staff, we now face the dire reality of having to shut our doors unless we take immediate action."

Georgia Shakespeare, the letter said, is in the daunting position of raising $150,000 by Friday, September 23, to keep operating. The theater will need another $350,000 by the end of the year to meet its obligations through the end of the 2011–2012 season. The combined campaign includes the organization's regular annual giving campaign.

Through Monday, more than $54,000 had poured in from supporters, with more donations arriving all the time. An additional donor has pledged to donate the last $15,000 needed, leaving the theater with just under $81,000 still to raise over the next week and a half.

"The response has been overwhelming," Garner said Monday morning. "It's not just people responding financially. People are saying, 'We've already sent money but still want to help.'"

Georgia Shakespeare, which operates on the campus of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta's Brookhaven neighborhood, was founded in 1985 and started its first season the following year. For the first decade, performances were conducted in tent theaters, until the current venue, the John A. and Miriam H. Conant Performing Center, opened in 1997. The company combines professional performances with educational programs, offering not just Shakespearean fare but also popular theater and special performances, such as last spring's play Paul Robeson, a biography of the singer, actor, and civil rights activist that starred well-known actor Avery Brooks. The first show of the company's 2011 season would be the Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie, slated for October 6-30.

News coverage of the company's financial crunch has been a great help in raising awareness, Garner said. Articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Creative Loafing, as well as an interview with WXIA-TV, the Atlanta NBC affiliate, have helped get the word out.

But grass-roots efforts are just as critical, Garner said. Word has spread quickly via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and Garner said he's gotten calls and emails from people throughout the theater community, including those at Atlanta's Actor's Express, which weathered its own financial storm a few years ago.

"They want to find out how they can help but also just to offer support," he said. "They want us to know there's life on the other side. It's really been a wake-up call for the community for us to get to this point."

One of the largest efforts will be the Go Big or Go Home Cabaret Fundraiser, which is being organized by Georgia Shakespeare actors and other performers from the community. Scheduled for 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. on Monday, September 19, at Le Fais Do-Do in Atlanta, the evening will be emceed by comedian Rob Cleveland. Musical performers on the program include Joe Knezevich, Allen O'Reilly, Mari Arguelles, Jordan Craig (now starring in the Actor's Express production of Spring Awakening), and Ann Marie Gideon, with more being added.

Tickets for the event are $40 in advance, $50 at the door, with a  $10 discount for artists. All proceeds will go to Save Georgia Shakespeare. The event's location and catering have been donated, and a silent auction will also be conducted.

Garner said Georgia Shakespeare's board and staff have been working behind the scenes for the past six months to try to head off the financial crisis.

"In some ways, it all came down to timing," he said. "Several foundations have told us they want to help but can't until winter, so now we have to make it until winter."

The short-term fundraising goal will keep the theater operating, but the longer-term fundraising will solidify the remainder of the season as well as pay off the company's debt, Garner said.

"We've been carrying the debt through all of this, and it makes it hard for us to adjust to changing circumstances," Garner said. "We had no ability to weather temporary shortfalls. We want to be on more financial footing going into the next year. Once people help us get out of the hole, we intend to stay out of it. In this kind of economic climate, it's the only way to survive."

Long-term survival for all arts organization will depend on a change in thinking and on support for each other, Garner said.

"If we make it through, I feel we have an obligation to help others," he said. "Everyone's kind of at a critical point right now. What can we do to help whoever's next in line? We all support each other, help out when it's needed, but we need to be more organized about being supportive."

One of the issues, Garner said, is that many organizations have had to downsize staff to stay afloat, but the remaining staff works so hard just to keep things going that they haven't been able to look at longer-term issues.

"What's a different model?" he said. "How do we change how we work? Artistically, we're sound, but administratively, we need a broader vision to keep moving ahead. We're doing a lot of planning work, and we'll keep doing more so that we can be healthier over the long term."

Photo credit: Stacey Bode Photography