{"id":1436,"date":"2025-08-12T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/?p=1436"},"modified":"2025-07-17T06:03:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T06:03:42","slug":"arts-organizations-laughing-yelling-insanity-and-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2025\/08\/12\/arts-organizations-laughing-yelling-insanity-and-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts Organizations: Laughing, Yelling, Insanity, and You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nonprofit arts organizations are dropping like flies. Got a problem with that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
One guy is not the problem.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re at the park, sitting under a tree, drinking cola out of a can. A wasp buzzes toward you. You get a little startled, but you get up and walk over to a nearby bench, swatting at the air to make sure the wasp doesn\u2019t follow you. The wasp seems curious about your sugary drink, but ultimately leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It flies back to the nest, telling its best buddies that you have something they don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten minutes later, two wasps buzz toward you. You think they just want your soda. You get a little frightened, but you sit still, hoping they\u2019ll go away on their own. They don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, four more wasps show up. Then eight more after that. You run, but they just follow you. Finally, you throw your cola can as far away as you can, hoping they\u2019ll follow it. Some do. Some stay. Your heart is racing. 16 more wasps arrive. They think of you as a barrier to their happiness, not as a disinterested bystander. Hundreds more arrive. Thousands. It\u2019s a swarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That little horror story is brought to you by the people that brought you the Loner Angry White Man of the 1990s, the not-taken-seriously Tea Party of the 2000s, the cross-burning We-Didn\u2019t-Elect-A-Black-Man-You-Did republicans of the early 2010s, and now the majority \u2014 all those current red-capped folks who believe that the US is just for them because, hey, it says \u201cus\u201d right there in the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re running a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The population in The City is 850,000, give or take, making it the 17th<\/sup> most populous city in the United States. The unemployment rate is low, about 3%. The median household income is about $142,000. The population of the Bay Area is about 7.8 million people. 4% unemployment. The median income is the highest among all major United States metropolitan areas, at about $120,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

49% of the population of the San Francisco Bay Area has at least a bachelor\u2019s degree (the national average is 33%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your company is in the middle of an area with a lot of educated, wealthy, creative people. And yet you\u2019re just about to close the doors. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As San Francisco Chronicle theater critic Lily Janiak<\/a> explained in a June 27 episode of KQED\u2019s The Bay<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSo we, in the nonprofit theater world, rely on a model that is really not working for anybody. It wasn\u2019t working before the pandemic. The warning signs were there. Nonprofit theater relies on subscribers and grants to invest in a season before it opens. Ticket sales alone typically supply 50% of an organization\u2019s budget. And there\u2019s a lot of variance in there, but you\u2019re never going to support a theater with ticket sales alone. And so getting someone to decide they want tickets to all six of your shows more than a year in advance, and making up the rest of the difference with increasingly dwindling government and foundation support. That just isn\u2019t working anymore. It\u2019s not penciling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It’s critical to notice that she primarily talks about a decidedly for-profit metric \u2014 ticket sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aurora Theatre in Berkeley, long known as a cultural touchstone for the theater community in the Bay Area, is about to close down for good. Artistically speaking, it\u2019s a damn shame. The Aurora is just the latest in a long line of Bay Area theaters closing their doors. California Shakespeare (\u201cCalShakes\u201d), Cutting Ball, Bay Area Children\u2019s Theater, Piano Fight, Theater First, etc. And more are on the way, no doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The curtain is rapidly closing on the Aurora Theatre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An educated, wealthy, mobile, creative, and curious populace \u2014 all aspects of a community that used to tie directly to the artistic success of a theater company. The San Francisco Bay Area has all of that, and yet its theaters continue to close. Or worse, they go on \u201cemergency\u201d funding drives, as we\u2019ve discussed in earlier articles (and in the book Scene Change) <\/em>about the Oral Roberts School of Fundraising<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s throw in some other facts. Among symphony orchestras. 90% of first-time audiences are not returning, no matter how good the concert was. Of the 10%, half of those don\u2019t come to a third concert. Today\u2019s customers are more apt to \u201cunsubscribe\u201d to something than to subscribe, relegating the idea of ticket dollars as a backbone of the financial model in shreds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that\u2019s a predictable question, it\u2019s the wrong<\/em> question. In a world where the swarm of MAGA cult members rule the day, will there suddenly be a renaissance of the nonprofit arts sector based on \u201cexcellence\u201d or \u201cartistry\u201d? Before you answer, let me just interject with a quick<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s going to take special weaponry to tackle the problems created by the current administration. The economy is taking a nosedive, America is even more roundly hated by its friends in the world, and the president is ruling by edict, just like the arrogant, sociopathic king we fought a war against about 250 years ago. And because he\u2019d still win the election if it were held today, he spends his days laughing, yelling, and insanely ranting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put it in a way Bogie would understand, it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of nonprofit arts organizations in America don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Now, now. Here’s looking at you, kid. (Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But where does that leave San Francisco? For that matter, where does that leave the whole nonprofit arts industry where, in other parts of the country, there are nowhere near as many potential arts patrons? After all, it’s worth noting that KQED, the source of that program, has run a shortfall of $20 million over the last two years<\/a> and is about to lay off another huge chunk of its workforce. When these cultural wasps attack, it’s not pretty and it adversely affects even those charities that do charitable things. If they can do that, imagine how easy it would be to cut funding from charities who don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer lies not in the wringing of hands about ticket sales and earned revenue. It doesn\u2019t lie in most of the back-room discussions about pleasing an audience more, or better, or with less dissonance. It doesn\u2019t lie in the social clubs where Muffy and Chad used to speak often of \u201ccivic rent\u201d and place their compatriots in hammerlocks to attend the next gala. And, as we\u2019ve seen clearly now, it doesn\u2019t and won\u2019t lie with the people\u2019s government, where along with national funding rescissions and eliminations, we\u2019ve seen the New Hampshire state budget cut its arts funding to 10% of its previous allocation (and artists cheering that it wasn\u2019t cut out altogether) and the Missouri governor executing line-item vetoes on just about every cultural institution in the state, to the tune of a $300 million buzz cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fight this particular fight, to be obvious, we\u2019ll need fighters with wasp-like cunning and persistence. We\u2019ll need strategies that do a public<\/em> good that is measurable and repeatable. And then repeat them. And get more organizations to repeat them alongside you. And build, and build, and build. We have to get out of our boardrooms, our green rooms, our offices, our performance halls, and, like the wasp, not stop until we prove indefatigable and inevitable. And, if successful, never stop ever again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if your company started announcing that it was now performing in places in your region that get no attention? What if you ask nothing for admission in these neighborhoods because the most important thing is to use art as a tool for them, not as a showcase for you? What if you weaned your company off the poisonous teats of fame, elitism, and a vague search for excellence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what if you showed all the other companies how to do it, too? Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta<\/a> figured that out and is doing exactly that. Why not your company? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or are you just waiting for some fairy-tale magic to happen all on its own?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"
It’s your nonprofit arts organization. If you want to make it thrive, pick up the trilogy at your local bookshop or just click on the image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Just click on the cup. And thank you for supporting truth-telling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nonprofit arts organizations are dropping like flies. Got a problem with that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,20,22,100,32,29,25,28,23,19,18,17,99],"tags":[55,85,10,146],"class_list":{"0":"post-1436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-culture","8":"category-board-of-directors","9":"category-board-of-trustees","10":"category-book-recommendation","11":"category-charity","12":"category-dei","13":"category-development-and-fundraising","14":"category-diversity-equity-inclusion","15":"category-executive-director","16":"category-leadership","17":"category-nonprofit","18":"category-nonprofit-arts-organizations","19":"category-scene-change","20":"tag-backlash","21":"tag-community","22":"tag-impact","23":"tag-support","24":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/a-wall-of-trump.jpg?fit=800%2C494&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1782,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2026\/04\/02\/doing-the-right-thing-with-nonprofit-arts-organizations-like-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":0},"title":"Doing the Right Thing With Nonprofit Arts Organizations: \u201cLike Walking in High Heels Through Meat\u201d","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"April 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"...while the attention to charity has evolved, the nonprofit arts behemoth class has not.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Three-women-walking-in-high-heels-through-meat.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":757,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2024\/02\/13\/nonprofit-arts-organizations-you-missed-the-point-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":1},"title":"Nonprofit Arts Organizations: You Missed the Point. Again.","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"February 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, you're a nonprofit. Big deal. Like tennis, if you don't serve well, it's your fault.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tennis-ball-into-the-net.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":543,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2023\/09\/19\/if-your-nonprofit-arts-organizations-audience-is-comprised-solely-of-ticket-buyers-you-missed-the-point-the-boat-and-your-chance\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":2},"title":"If Your Nonprofit Arts Organization\u2019s Audience Is Comprised Solely of Ticket Buyers, You Missed the Point, the Boat, and Your Chance","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"September 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you stuck by your audience? 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Would you like to get unstuck?","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ripped-ticket1.jpg?fit=1100%2C648&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ripped-ticket1.jpg?fit=1100%2C648&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ripped-ticket1.jpg?fit=1100%2C648&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ripped-ticket1.jpg?fit=1100%2C648&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ripped-ticket1.jpg?fit=1100%2C648&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":291,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2023\/03\/28\/nonprofit-arts-organization-boards-an-epilogue\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":3},"title":"Nonprofit Arts Organization Boards: An Epilogue","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"March 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are a nonprofit arts board member, you have a chance to build something great. And no, the best way is not to copy your fellow arts organizations.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Build-a-Board-Workshop.jpg?fit=1200%2C643&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Build-a-Board-Workshop.jpg?fit=1200%2C643&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Build-a-Board-Workshop.jpg?fit=1200%2C643&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Build-a-Board-Workshop.jpg?fit=1200%2C643&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Build-a-Board-Workshop.jpg?fit=1200%2C643&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1517,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2025\/10\/07\/a-punchy-outspoken-argument-for-how-nonprofit-arts-organizations-should-be-run\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":4},"title":"“A PUNCHY, OUTSPOKEN ARGUMENT FOR HOW NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE RUN.”","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"October 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"An example-driven new map to success in the realm of nonprofit theater.\" \u2014 Kirkus Reviews.","rel":"","context":"In "Arts and Culture"","block_context":{"text":"Arts and Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/category\/arts-and-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scene Change, Scene Change 2, and Scene Change 3 - 3 books to improve your arts organization","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-book-titles.jpg?fit=1200%2C606&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1352,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/scenechange\/2025\/07\/25\/advocacy-for-the-nonprofit-arts-sector-is-currently-meaningless\/","url_meta":{"origin":1436,"position":5},"title":"SUMMER RERUN: Advocacy for the Nonprofit Arts Sector is Currently Meaningless","author":"Alan Harrison","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lost amid a string of inside-baseball phrases and ideologies, officials have little idea as to why they would possibly fund institutions that serve themselves first. 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