Shakespeare Santa Cruz to close its door forever on December 22nd

I don't think it is accurate to say "UC Santa Cruz will take away their place on campus," just that UCSC will no longer be able to cover the large operating deficits in SSC given its need to protect its own instructional programs and staff during these huge budget cuts from the state. With the big cuts all of our cultural and educational institutions in this state are facing, now is definitely the time for all of us to step up and support the things like SSC that are important to us. Pointing fingers at others who are also dealing with big challenges doesn't help anyone.

... compared to the salaries of higher officials at UC and UCSC. Inflated salaries and bonuses is commonplace while the food staff is $10/hr. Dumping SSC is one in a long string of bad ideas that UCSC has dreamed up recently.

How much for the generator floodlights and stepped up security on red hill these days? Litigation from expansion plans? Hmm. SSC sure has to go. I mean, they have a theatre among the redwoods. UCSC wouldn't want the outside world to know that they still have a few of those standing, would they?

December 14, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dana Werdmuller, Director of Marketing and PR

Office: (831) 459-3160 • Email: dwerdmul [at] ucsc.edu
SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ AT RISK, SEEKING SUPPORT FOR 2009 SEASON

SANTA CRUZ, CA – Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the nationally renowned professional theatre company in residence at the University of California, Santa Cruz, faces an uncertain future as the current economic downturn takes its toll on both the 27-year-old organization and its host campus. SSC has been hit especially hard by the 2008 recession but this is not the first season to end with a loss - the organization has not enjoyed a profitable season for several years. Shakespeare Santa Cruz (SSC) Managing Director Marcus Cato is projecting a $500K loss for 2008, primarily due to shortfalls in ticket sales and contributions. The current budget crisis gripping the State of California compounds the problem.

As the host organization, UC Santa Cruz’s Arts Division has been absorbing SSC’s accumulating deficit and the University has been working with the theatre company on proposals to address the deficit. UCSC has in the past afforded SSC the opportunity to continue its operations in the belief that SSC can eventually reach independent financial sustainability while it continues to provide an invaluable artistic and cultural experience to both students and the wider community. However, with the dramatic impact the current economic climate has had on all sectors, and on the State of California in particular, UCSC can no longer offer SSC this financial fall back position.

Despite restrictive budgets, UCSC leadership believes in the value of SSC and has been working closely with SSC board and staff to ensure its survival. After two months of discussions regarding SSC’s 2009 season and its future, an agreement was reached on Friday, December 12, 2008. SSC staff and Board of Directors, the UCSC Arts Division and the UCSC Chancellor’s Office have committed to jointly pursue this agreement: in order to present a 2009 season, and to ensure that any financial risk to UCSC is minimized. In addition to its regular annual campaign, SSC must raise $300,000 by 12:00 noon on Monday, December 22, 2008. Should SSC not succeed, the organization will be required to go dark for 2009, and therefore permanently.

The loss of SSC would have long-term and irrevocable repercussions in the Santa Cruz community’s ability to grow and thrive culturally and maintain its reputation as a world-class destination for arts and culture. Based on a formula put forward in a 2005 economic impact study by Americans for the Arts, SSC had an overall impact of $4M to the local economy in 2008.

At today’s UCSC Friends Reception, Chancellor George Blumenthal expressed his support of SSC’s future. “I want SSC to continue to be a jewel in the crown of our city and campus, a place where the nation's leading actors and directors can do their best work for the enjoyment of our community, the education of our students, and the excitement and enrichment of Santa Cruz audiences to come. I personally support SSC and urge you to continue to support it too.”

The SSC staff and Board of Directors is grateful to the Chancellor’s Office and the Arts Division for recognizing the importance of SSC’s survival and are poised to do everything within their power to succeed and thrive in this challenging climate. For the pending 2009 season, SSC Artistic Director Marco Barricelli has proposed a slate of three plays to be produced within the framework of both a conservative expense budget and realistic revenue goals. SSC has proposed a reduced 2009 budget of $1.45M, down from $2M in 2008. This budget allows SSC to continue as a professional repertory company, hiring Equity actors and talented union designers, directors and artisans to maintain the level of artistic excellence that is its hallmark. The proposed season includes one of the most endearing of Shakespeare’s comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the edgy, political tragedy, Julius Caesar, both performing in the outdoor Festival Glen. Rounding out the Shakespeare offerings, Artistic Director Barricelli continues to showcase contemporary American works with the Bay Area premiére of the family-friendly Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) by Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Donald Margulies, to be performed on the indoor Mainstage Theatre.

Barricelli acknowledges the challenge ahead: “These times are hard. We are facing the very real danger of shutting our doors forever. But I’ve always thought (perhaps perversely) that hard times are when we need theatre the most. I am reminded of a small but touching scene in the film version of The Dresser with the great Albert Finney. Finney’s "Sir" is walking through the bombed out streets of London after the blitz. Everything around him is ruin and devastation. He comes across a desperate couple - starving, trembling, devastated, without hope or home or family. He stops and gazes at them and wordlessly reaches into his pocket, handing them two tickets to the theatre for that evening’s performance. ‘This can help,’ he simply says.”

There are several ways to support Shakespeare Santa Cruz with an immediate donation of any size by check or credit card:

What can I do to help?

The immediate need is to ensure that we can go forward with the 2009 season. There are several ways to support Shakespeare Santa Cruz with an immediate donation of any size by check or credit card:

Online: http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org/support

In Person: Call SSC Development Director Ann Gibb at (831) 459-5507 and she will arrange for checks to be picked up. Checks are payable to “SSC/UCSC Foundation”

By Phone: Call the UCSC Ticket Office. Hours: Monday - Friday, 12:00 noon - 4:00 PM. Phone: (831) 459-2159.

By Mail: Due to the pending deadline, we can no longer accept via mail.

If SSC does not reach its goal of $300,000 by December 22, 2008, your gift will be refunded.

PLEASE NOTE: If SSC does not reach the $300,000 goal by December 22, 2008, your gift will be refunded.

Dear Friends,

The precipitous budget cuts inflicted upon the University of California have now impacted SSC. We are on the verge of permanent shutdown. It is tempting to think that UCSC is more than capable of sustaining SSC. However, in his speech to the Regents on November 19, 2008, Chancellor Blumenthal stated that UCSC “will have no choice in this next round of budget cuts but to cut deeply into our academic programs; and this raises the specter that the progress we’ve made as a campus will be arrested (and perhaps even reversed) and that cuts to academic programs will erode the quality of a UCSC education.” As recently as last week, the Arts Division, our home on campus, was required to cut an additional $1.1 million from its budget, on top of previous cuts.

Following arduous and passionate negotiations with the campus over our existence, SSC learned that it could launch its 2009 season if and only if it could demonstrate the support of its friends by raising $300,000 in cash (not pledges) by noon on December 22. If it cannot, SSC must be and will be extinguished.

The University’s condition is intended to create a buffer for SSC in the event the balanced budget we have proposed is in deficit at season end for any reason. Although we were shocked by the enormity of this challenge, this buffer is in fact prudent. Our Board and a few early responders have begun to meet this challenge through their unstinting generosity. We know from political fundraising efforts that small amounts raised from large numbers of supporters can make the difference. Coupled with major gifts from those who can make them, we can reach our goal.

Our challenge is simply put – raise $300,000 in a week’s time or cease to exist. Talk about “to be or not to be”? The question is, can you help? Yes you can. Click here to donate immediately, or keep reading to get further energized! Do it NOW or forever hold your peace.

We ask you to give as generously as you can. Giving to a theater, or the arts, to education, or to a myriad of other vital non-profits, may seem to be an unaffordable luxury in this economic climate. It is not, and your generosity to SSC will be appreciated all the more, knowing that you are likely to be considering many compelling and deserving charitable requests at this time of year. To preserve SSC, and feel the power of philanthropic action, please immediately go to http://www.shakespearesantacruz.org and forward this page to all you know.


On behalf of the generations of artists, audiences and donors who have contributed millions of dollars and tens of thousands of hours to building SSC over these last 27 years, on behalf of the generations that have laughed and cried, found inspiration and provocation in the Glen, and on behalf of all future generations of audiences and artists whose lives will be enriched by the donation you make today, please accept the profound thanks of this Board, Artistic Director Marco Barricelli, Managing Director Marcus Cato, and the tireless SSC Staff for your bold stewardship of our mission.

THE SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bill Richter, Board Co-President

Scott Hawkins, Board Co-President

good shakespeare santa cruz sucks !

They should have stuck with Shakespeare... and is it really necessary to fly in actors from New York? Are they really that much better than an actor in the bay area?

It really is great that the community is financially supporting Shakespeare Santa Cruz, but what the Beach Flats Community Center?

"At the Santa Cruz City Council meeting on December 9th at 3:00pm, the Beach Flats Community Center, Harvey West Pool, Museum of Natural History and Surfing Museum were cut from the city budget. In light of the current fiscal crisis the city faces, closures of these facilities and reduction in the employee workforce are scheduled for February, 2009."

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/05/18553749.php

December 22, 2008

To: UCSC Community
Fr: Chancellor Blumenthal
Re: Update on Shakespeare Santa Cruz


I applaud the successful efforts of the many friends and supporters of Shakespeare Santa Cruz who, as of noon today, have raised $416,417 since their first public appeal on December 14.

This is an important first step in reversing the program’s significant operating deficits and helping it become truly self-sustaining. Clearly, SSC’s future viability requires stronger private support, increased revenues from ticket sales and other sources, and reduced operating costs.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz has brought superb performances to Santa Cruz for 27 years. Throughout, UCSC has offered Shakespeare Santa Cruz financial and operational support. In recent years, the university has also absorbed the program’s mounting budget deficits.

In a period of dwindling state support, we must focus limited resources on UCSC’s core mission: preparing students to be engaged citizens while seeking solutions to global challenges through cutting-edge research.

To the many friends of Shakespeare Santa Cruz who have worked tirelessly on behalf of this treasured campus and community asset, I commend and thank you. The outpouring of recent community support, especially in these difficult economic times, is impressive.

Seriously, this is really excellent news for the community. In spite of what some of the trolls here might say.

SANTA CRUZ, CA – Given a 10-day deadline in which to raise $300,000 or close its doors, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the nationally renowned professional theatre company in residence at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has met its goal. While the final count may not be available until all gifts are processed, the UCSC Gift Administration office has confirmed a preliminary total of $416,417 from over 2,050 individual donors. This means the non-profit company, with its core staff of seven, can now begin the hard work of producing its 2009 summer season in the outdoor redwood Glen and on the indoor Mainstage theatre.

SSC Artistic Director Marco Barricelli sees this extraordinary outpouring of support as a validation for the arts. “We have been sent a very clear message, and that message is: Theatre matters.  The arts are an important and integral part of our lives, and though times may be difficult, we refuse to live without the inspiration and grace afforded us by great writers, actors, directors, and artists. Through their efforts, we are able to relish this precious gift of life in ways otherwise impossible.”

SSC Managing Director Marcus Cato acknowledges the thousands of supporters who responded to the challenge. “We at SSC are so grateful to the many, many people and organizations who have stepped up to say that we are important, especially in these difficult economic times. We now have the opportunity, and obligation, to respond in kind to our supporters with a commitment to both artistic integrity and fiscal responsibility. The next steps will be equally challenging as we set out to produce an exciting season, launch our annual fund campaign and get ticket sales off the ground. We are ever grateful to be able to do so.”

The urgent campaign to save Shakespeare Santa Cruz from going dark received doantions and messages from across the country, including a statement of support  from National Endowment of the Arts, with Chairman Dana Gioia saying "The generous public support to save Shakespeare Santa Cruz has set a shining example for the American arts. This may be a local event, but it has national importance."

While SSC has proposed a reduced 2009 budget of $1.49M (down from $2M in 2008), the budget preserves the level of artistic excellence that is its hallmark. The newly-minted season includes one of the most endearing of Shakespeare’s comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the edgy, political tragedy, Julius Caesar, both performing in the outdoor Festival Glen. Rounding out the Shakespeare offerings, Artistic Director Barricelli continues to showcase contemporary American works with the Bay Area premiére of the family-friendly Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) by Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Donald Margulies, to be performed on the indoor Mainstage Theatre. The season will run from mid-July through August, 2009.