/ Modified jun 27, 2016 7:21 p.m.

Arizona Theatre Company Warns of Financial Crisis

Professional arts group says it must raise $2 million by Friday.

Goldstein ATC Long-time Artistic Director David Goldstein

The Arizona Theatre Company says it must raise $2 million by Friday or it will have to pull the plug on its 50th anniversary season, scheduled to start this fall.

"It’s important for people to understand that we’re not crying wolf," said David Goldstein, ATC's long-time artistic director. "It’s been 28, 29 years that we've really said this to the community. So it’s a serious problem, it's a real problem and we hope people will help us out."

ATC is Arizona’s only statewide professional theater company.

Goldstein said the past two seasons have been the company’s most successful, but ticket sales cover only about 60 percent of its revenue. The rest comes from grants, sponsors and individual donations.

Like many nonprofits and arts organizations, its recent money troubles began during the financial crisis. Since then, ATC has cut its budget, although it still has significant debt.

Goldstein said most operations are based in Tucson, so a hiatus would be felt most acutely here.

"Our economic impact on this city is enormous," he said. "And we want to continue to be here for everybody and to grow and to thrive."

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona