Syracuse Stage, a central New York theater company that works with Syracuse University Drama, announced last week that they will lay off four employees and remove three unfilled positions in response to the current economic recession. The contracts of those employees laid off will run out on June 30, the end of the theater’s season.

Jeffrey Woodward, managing director, said employment is the largest expense for the theater company.

‘Labor, unfortunately, is the largest percentage of our expenses.’ Woodward declined to comment about which positions will be cut, but said that they are ‘spread throughout the organization and the administration.’

Syracuse Stage’s budget will decrease next year by 10 percent from $5.1 million to approximately $4.6 million. Woodward said that this half million cut is ‘comparable’ with other theater companies. ‘Some theaters are better, and some are worse,’ he said.

SU provides 40 percent of funding to Syracuse Stage. The effects of the recession will not only influence the stage but students at SU, Woodward said. Syracuse Stage encourages student involvement in the shows and interactions between professional actors, he said.

Syracuse Stage is also trying to save money by trimming administrative and management expenses and by co-producing a number of shows with other theater companies, Woodward said. Co-producing a show allows theaters to collaborate and send fewer actors to the hosting venues, saving the companies money on multiple actors. Four of the seven shows of Syracuse Stage’s next season will be co-productions.

Syracuse Stage is a part of the Theatre Communications Group, a not-for-profit national theatre organization. TCG has members fill out fiscal surveys to gather information about the economic trends among theaters around the country, as well as show attendance and numbers of performances.

TCG has been monitoring the economic impact on theaters, Woodward said.

‘I can tell you that most theatres have seen a decline in ticket sales and contributions,’ he said. ‘Most theaters have made cuts. If the market keeps going up, it’s a good sign. Most people say that we’ll probably be in this for about a year; we can only hope.’

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Published on March 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm