TheatreWorks launches fundraising campaign

Pioneering local theater company TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announced last week that it is facing deep financial struggles, and must raise $3 million by November to proceed with the upcoming season as planned.

The Tony Award-winning company has launched “Save TheatreWorks Now,” a fundraising campaign that hopes to raise enough money to ensure the company’s future is safe.

This financial downturn was a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to unprecedented drops in revenue from ticket sales and subscriptions since March 2020, according to a press release detailing the organization’s present financial crisis. While the company has returned to producing full-scale productions in person, audiences have been slow to return to theaters, leading to below-average ticket sales and putting the future of the company’s existence in limbo.

“We have now reached a danger point,” TheatreWorks Executive Director Debbie Chinn said in the press release. “We were fortunate in having COVID funding to sustain operations during the pandemic, but those funds came with the proviso that they be spent during that period to keep people at work. Those emergency sources were spent according to federal regulations, and despite our best efforts to bounce back from this crisis, we are now looking at a dire shortfall in income. We have been and continue to make hard decisions, including deep financial cuts within the company, but frankly, without significant additional funding, we will be unable to continue operations.”

In addition to a traditional donation drive, subscription packages for the upcoming season are available, which enable audience members to attend all six of the company’s shows in the season for $132. Through such fundraising methods, TheatreWorks aims to bounce back from this crisis and continue to present the productions it is known for.

“The time is now,” Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli said in the press release. “TheatreWorks has been such a valuable resource to the community for more than 50 years, presenting top-quality productions of classics and modern plays and musicals, as well as creating new works that have become hits on our own stage, across the country, on Broadway, and in London. From its earliest days, the company has been a leader in supporting playwrights and composers, and now enjoys a national reputation as one of the country’s foremost homes for nurturing new work.”

TheatreWorks has long been recognized as an important fixture in the Bay Area arts ecosystem, bringing together loyal audience members, talented artists and stories reflective of the region’s diversity. The company is scheduled to launch its 53rd season in October, featuring works such as “Mrs. Christie,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Queen,” “Tiger Style!” and more.

“TheatreWorks has been a place for all members of its vibrant community, engaging and reflecting back its rich diversity,” Sardelli said. “Education has also been a hallmark of TheatreWorks’ thriving community, with robust school programs that brought young people into the theatre through student matinees, brought topical plays and accompanying study guides into the schools, and offered winter break and summer classes for youth. We need to pull out all the stops to ensure we can continue this work and look to grow, as we increase community partnerships with other arts organizations such as Montalvo Arts Center, with Silicon Valley innovators, and others.”

For additional information about the fundraising campaign, or to subscribe or donate, visit theatreworks.org.