The arts community in Skagit County, like everyone else, is being forced to reckon with the down economy, but it’s the performing arts groups and venues that are being hit the hardest.

Meantime, artists and galleries are drawing up “prepare-for-the-worst” action plans as their bottom lines, for the most part, continue to hold steady.

Most of the performing arts groups began struggling with their budgets earlier this year, especially those that have to pay performers or rent to perform in local venues.

Northwest Actors Repertory Theatre was forced to cancel its spring and December productions and also two other productions scheduled for this February and April after the group couldn’t raise enough money to produce them.

META Performing Arts, once known as Northwest Children’s Theatre, had to scramble to find money for its spring production of “Alice in Wonderland.”

And Skagit Opera couldn’t scrape up enough money or interest to put on the third production in its season, “Hansel and Gretel,” scheduled for this February. The company pays its performers and others involved in the show.

The company is having to find a less expensive but equally high-quality alternative to substitute for the dropped show, said Ron Wohl, general manager.

“This definitely means we’re going to be doing less (from now on),” Wohl said. “We’re not going to put on two-to-three stage productions a year. We’re talking about supporting one large production a year.”

While Skagit Opera doesn’t rely as heavily on sponsorships as other performing arts groups — corporate and business sponsorships make up between 5 and 10 percent of its budget — individual donations are down, including those donations that help underwrite productions and keep ticket prices affordable.

Ticket discounts help

Another group, Theater Arts Guild, began anticipating the downturn last year. Attendance to its most recent production, “A Christmas Carol,” in November was down overall, although it broke records at McIntyre Hall for the most tickets sold in an hour at the venue, said Bruce Vilders, TAG founder and long-time board member.

But that record was broken on a night when the group was selling discounted tickets of $10 each as opposed to the full price of $16 to -$30, depending on seating. Vilders said the event demonstrated both people’s desire to continue seeing live theater productions and proof that they’re looking for affordable entertainment close to home.

Like many performing arts groups, the bulk of TAG’s revenue — about 90 percent — comes from ticket sales. So finding ways to fill theater seats has been the main goal.

For TAG, that means slashing the price of tickets and more affordable “community nights.”

“We made more money on full house during community night (with discounted tickets) than we would have if we had just half a house with everyone paying full price,” Vilders said.

The group has been experimenting with other ways to raise money for shows, including partnering with other local community agencies to help advertise its upcoming shows in exchange for promoting those agencies’ causes and services, Vilders said.

In addition, the group has successfully come up with a “sponsor an actor” campaign, whereby the actors each gather two or three sponsors at $100 a piece to help raise money.

This allows the group to rely on individual sponsors instead of businesses, which Vilders said are experiencing “sponsor fatigue” from all the groups looking for money.

“We really don’t want to burn out our advertisers,” Vilders said.

Most importantly, the group took a chance and decided to build its own elaborate set for “A Christmas Carol” that it could rent out for extra income to other theater groups across the country.

Some groups still thriving

Other groups are finding that they’re doing well so far despite the economy.

Skagit Symphony is enjoying a record number of season ticket sales and sold-out shows, said Linda Alvarado, executive director.

“Even with the economy the way it is, people are still wanting to treat themselves,” Alvarado said. “When the gas prices were so high, people wanted to stay local — see things locally.”

Most of the symphony’s revenue comes from season ticket sales and individual patron donations. The money for its youth programs is holding steady, thanks to healthy support from local service clubs.

And sales were brisk for the symphony’s holiday concerts.

Wendy Bell, owner of the RiverBelle Dinner Theatre in downtown Mount Vernon, said she began to worry when ticket sales took a dive for her spring and summer productions of “Kitchen Witches” and “Sylvia.”

But sales have picked up considerably for the theater’s winter production of “Cowgirls.” In fact, at least one of the shows is almost sold out.

“People still want to be entertained,” Bell said. “If they can get good food and a good show and they can laugh and forget about things for a while, they’ll spend some money.”

But she said she knows things can change, and has decided to offer three different packages at three prices — one for show, dinner and dessert; another for show and dessert only; and a third for show only — to help draw in larger audiences. If people can’t afford a whole dinner and show, they can still spend just $16 to see a show.

Red ink for the Lincoln

The economic pinch isn’t relegating itself to the players; it’s wreaking havoc on the venues, too.

This year, the historic Lincoln Theatre in downtown Mount Vernon is expecting to end its fiscal year in the red, thanks primarily to a 50 percent decrease in attendance to its weekly film showings, said Carol Hays, executive director.

The theater is still in the midst of calculating its 2009 budget, so it’s not yet clear exactly how much the theatre budget is down this year, she said.

The news is a huge disappointment for the Lincoln Theatre Foundation that operates the theatre and its programs, especially since last year’s revenue increased by 35 percent from 2007.

“We just weren’t prepared for this (year’s) downturn,” Hays said.

Attendance at the Lincoln’s films have been on a downturn since spring. It used to be that film crowds averaged between 50 and 55 people. Now those crowds have dwindled to an average of 25 to 30 per showing.

The theater is known for showing independent and art house films. But the foundation has noticed that its showings of popular films that are routinely shown in other theaters, including most recently “Mama Mia!” have boosted lagging attendance, prompting Lincoln Foundation Board members to consider adding more of these kinds of films to its line-up.

“There’s been a change in attitude, given the economic climate,” Hays said. “If people are going to go out for a night and spend money on a film, they don’t want a thinking film.”

On the upside, the theater is about at capacity when it comes to filling the seats for live shows, Hays said.

The Lincoln Foundation has been looking for ways to boost the bottom line, which could include not filling the recently vacated Development Director position at the theater, and considering what events and programs are most important to Lincoln members — and foregoing the rest, Hays said.

“It’s a time when we’re going to be making some important decisions about what the Lincoln will offer,” Hays said.

McIntyre expansion on hold

McIntyre Hall hasn’t noticed much in the way of economic pressures yet, at least as they affect the operating budget, said Nida Tautvydas, executive director.

“A lot has changed in the past three or four weeks, and in the discussions that we’re having with other people, I think everyone is sort of making adjustments as they can,” Tautvydas said. “I think, in my estimation, that probably next year we’ll really see the effects of what’s going on.”

Ticket sales at McIntyre have been strong, with some shows selling out well in advance, and the conference hall is often booked — good news for the hall’s budget.

On the downside for McIntyre, the Skagit Regional Public Facilities District that owns the hall has been forced to cancel immediate plans to expand it after the portion of sales taxes it collects — .003 percent of Skagit County sales tax revenue overall — dropped by between 8 percent and 10 percent this year.

The district board had hoped to finance the expansion with $2.7 million in anticipated bond sales funded from excess sales tax revenues the district has collected since May 2003. The remaining balance will come from PFD reserves earmarked for the hall.

The board has no idea whether it will have the excess revenue needed to help pay for the proposed $3.1 million expansion.

Now the board is discussing breaking the expansion project into phases, instead of tackling one large project, Tautvydas said.

In western Skagit County, the Anacortes Community Theatre is holding steady, said Jan Trumble, president of the ACT Board of Directors.

The 34-year-old theater organization owns the building where it produces its shows, giving it a distinct financial advantage. Season ticket sales are strong, and seats are often filled for shows, Trumble said.

Individual donations are down, though, by about $1,800 this year from last year, she said. But donations fluctuate from year-to-year, and board members aren’t alarmed, she added.

“I think people are still choosing to see shows at their theatre close to home,” she said.

Art patrons still buying

While the performing arts scene has been struggling, galleries, artists and visual arts organizations are for the most part not overly worried.

Art is typically a luxury that serious collectors are willing to pay for, even in economic hard times, said Bill Dingle, co-owner of Insights Gallery in Anacortes. The gallery hosts the works of about 23 well-known artists.

“People buying art over the past few years at Insights are continuing to purchase art,” Dingle said.

But overall sales at the gallery are noticeably down this year, he said. The weakened economy is the culprit, Dingle said. Insights depends on the local art collector base. Homebuilding is significantly down in Skagit County, and that means fewer locals are wanting to purchase original art to decorate their new walls, he said.

Dingle said he’s looking at original ways to encourage people to visit Anacortes and the gallery and purchase art.

While other regional art museums in the country have been shutting down, the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner has been relatively untouched by the economy — so far, said Greg Robinson, executive director.

Sales during the annual art auction netted close to $200,000 — a healthy amount, although down slightly from last year. And the museum’s programs, including its MoNA Link program to coordinate art education in the schools and other programs, are funded through grants not set to run out for several more years, Robinson said.

Robinson attributes the museum’s stability to its small staff size, cautious budgeting and owning the building where it houses offices, gallery space and a gallery store.

So for now, the museum is counting its blessings.

“With this economic downturn, it’s forcing groups to ask questions: Who are you and what do you do?” Robinson said. “And it’s a time to discuss priorities.”