Overture Center
Overture Center is one of the many struggling arts venues hit hard by COVID-19.
As part of Overture Center’s survival plan, board president Betty Custer is talking with the city of Madison and Dane County about obtaining additional support, including potential funds from the HEROES Act, a second national COVID-19 relief package currently being considered by Congress.
“The door is open for more discussions,” Custer said at a June 25 news conference. Overture announced earlier that day that it was canceling its fall season. That is on top of recent news that the arts center was cutting 60% of its staff. At the news conference, Custer and Chris Vogel, Overture’s chief financial officer, said they were taking these steps to protect the organization so it is financially stable enough to open again in 2021.
About 10 years ago Overture was $27 million in debt. In December 2010, after the facility was able to dispense with the debt through additional philanthropic relief and bank forgiveness, the city council signed off on a plan that gave ownership and management of Overture to a 501(c)(3) organization and promised an annual city subsidy of $2 million, adjusted for inflation.
In an email, Custer says that the facility expected just over $2.2 million in support from the city this year but has been informed that it will not receive that amount. “In the past we have absorbed this shortfall, but this year, it will be a tremendous hardship,” she says.
In spite of the decreased financial support, Custer says she has spoken with Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway on the issue and that she is “supportive of Overture.” Custer says in other conversations the mayor has often spoke of Overture as a “critical part of Madison’s cultural and social identity, adding to the quality of life for residents, aiding in employee recruitment, and advancing equity and diversity through its programming.” Rhodes-Conway could not be reached for comment.
Custer says Overture recognizes the challenges currently facing the city as a result of the pandemic and other issues. “But we are continuing a dialogue about how Overture can continue to be supported,” she added.
In early May the city announced it was expecting a $30 million budget shortfall this year due to decreased revenue resulting from the pandemic. As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, the revised projections showed “huge drops in fines, fees, investment performance, hotel room taxes, Metro Transit fares, parking revenues and more.”
Custer and Vogel said at the June 25 news conference that they are also monitoring a projected shortfall in the portion of city of Madison room tax funding normally allocated to Overture.
Katie Crawley, a deputy mayor, confirms in an email that the city is predicting that room tax revenues will decline by 50%. “That will mean some very difficult choices for the Room Tax Commission,” she says. She also notes that the city is “not counting on” getting HEROES Act funding.
As for Dane County, it provides $10,000 to Overture for the community ticket program, which provides ticket vouchers to nonprofits and social service agencies that serve people who would otherwise not be able to afford a ticket, says Custer.
Vogel emphasized that the facility’s survival plan, which includes reducing staff costs by $100,000 per month, was implemented to maintain the financial health of the organization, to preserve as much existing talent as possible, and “to make sure that there’s an Overture to come back to,” when it is safe to gather in groups again. Even with these measures in place, the organization is projecting a $7 million loss for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
Vogel emphasized that Overture’s planning process has considered multiple scenarios for reopening, including resuming programming in January, March or even the summer of 2021. Many Overture staff members are in contact with their colleagues in performing arts centers across the country, to formulate best practices going forward. Tim Sauers, vice president of programming and community engagement, described ongoing conversations with booking agents, Broadway presenters and other theater professionals, working together as the industry struggles to adapt to these unprecedented circumstances.
Similarly, Jacquie Goetz, vice president of operations, has been in constant contact with Overture’s resident organizations, working together to navigate the current crisis. “We’re partners with them,” she said. “We want to make sure they can emerge from this period in a good position.” Although the performing arts center is not in a position to help its tenants financially, it will not be enforcing their rental contracts while the building is closed. Overture has also been flexible about rearranging potential performance dates, trying to fit postponed concerts and plays into the 2021 calendar.
The center is also formulating new operating policies, to be implemented when performances resume. They include new cleaning protocols; engaging and training adequate staff and volunteers; stocking up on disinfectants and hand sanitizers; installing shields to separate customers and staff; and formulating a comprehensive communications plan.
In the meantime, Overture Center will launch several fundraising campaigns to offset lost revenue over the next six months, and potentially address capital projects. As the building enters its 15th year of operation, maintenance is necessary, particularly on the center’s 26 roofs.
And in the coming weeks and months, box office staff will also contact every ticket buyer individually to discuss their options going forward. Patrons have the choice of receiving refunds for canceled shows, putting the amount of their ticket purchase toward future performances, or donating the amount of their subscriptions to Overture as a tax-deductible, charitable gift. Communications will primarily be done through email so the box office phone lines are not overwhelmed.
“Things will look different when we return,” Vogel said. “We won’t reopen until it’s completely safe for our patrons, our staff and our performers.”
