Stamford Theatre Works is in the process of discontinuing its programming and dissolving its theater operations after 20 years of producing professional Equity theater in Stamford, Connecticut.
Steve Karp, STW's founder and producing director, said, "Over the last five years, our ability to raise money could not keep pace with our increasing operating expenses, and we found ourselves with an overwhelming accumulating deficit that has left us without sufficient resources to produce the currently scheduled production of 'Almost, Maine' or a realistic projection of how we can produce the rest of the season."
For some time, Karp had explored options within the Stamford community to keep STW open. The theater suffered in recent years from severe reductions in funding caused by the disappearance of corporate support and from major individual donors who have either passed away or moved from the area. Ticket sales accounted for only half of the annual income budget.
"STW's 1,300 subscriber base has remained strong, and our near-90% annual subscriber renewal rate is at the high-end of industry standards," stated Karp. "Our press reviews have been consistently positive, and our 'word-of-mouth' the envy of our theater competitors. Clearly, and despite the fact that not every play we produce is going to be a hit with everyone, we are not closing because of a disappointing product, or because of any appreciable loss of audience interest in our work."
In addition to its 1,300 current season subscribers, STW at one time had approximately 15,000 audience members and students annually for its full-production plays, School for the Performing Arts, Purple Cow Children's Theatre and new play development workshop. Subscribers have been notified via mail that they can convert their subscriptions for the remaining 2008-09 productions into tax deductible donations. The 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization will negotiate a settlement with its creditors.
"At a time when technology has threatened to diminish the relevancy of live theater and the humanly satisfying and important virtues of spontaneous social interaction, my goal with STW, from the beginning, has been to create a theater that is emotionally galvanizing, intellectually provocative, historically enlightening, and abundantly entertaining …and whose capacity for dramatizing issues of strong social relevance is still very vitally powerful," said Karp.
Stamford Theatre Works was founded in 1988 by Karp, a professional theatre and film producer, director, writer, actor and Stamford native. He was inspired to continue professional theatre in Stamford following the demise of The Hartman Theatre in 1987. Over the years, Stamford Theatre Works received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous awards from the Connecticut Critics Circle for outstanding work, including "Outstanding Contribution to Connecticut Theatre" in 1997.
STW annually staged five original productions of contemporary works chosen with sensitivity to issues of social relevance. In its history, STW produced nearly 100 professional productions and attracted over 150,000 audience members. The theatre became known for its diversity of programming, including its annual celebration of Black History Month, its annual Great American Composer Salute and its year-round children's and educational theatre-arts programs.
"If there is any hope at this time for a professional theater of STW's caliber to continue, it resides in some community entity or combination of concerned individuals who believe that such a theater organization should exist," Karp added. "Though I will not lead this producing effort myself, I would be eager and interested, should I be asked, to preside over the artistic programming of such a financially viable enterprise."
STW's 150-seat performance space was the barn on the property of Sacred Heart Academy, 200 Strawberry Hill Avenue, Stamford. An anticipated move to the Stamford Center for the Arts-owned Amy Rich Theatre, located in The Palace on downtown Stamford's Atlantic Street, had been on hold since SCA filed bankruptcy in August 2008. The Amy Rich Theatre is a new facility that was incorporated into the renovation and expansion of The Palace in 2004. The theater, designed for STW following an agreement between STW and the Stamford Center for the Arts in 1999, is yet unfinished.
As Karp left the helm of the longest-running, professional, regional theater in Stamford's history, he noted, "Words cannot describe the creative satisfaction and personal fulfillment I have enjoyed in running STW for the past 20 years. STW will remain the highlight of my artistic and professional life. The generosity of support often accompanied by the truly thoughtful, kind and heartwarming expressions of gratitude - for my work, and for the work of our STW organization - have never failed to move and inspire me."
For further information, contact Stamford Theatre Works at (203) 359-4414.
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