Can relief campaigns keep Houston’s Theater District companies afloat? - HoustonChronicle.com

The leaders of Houston’s leading performing arts organizations find themselves "re-predicting." During the COVID-19 pandemic, such budgets have become all too familiar, but companies in the downtown theater district are still piecing together the jigsaw puzzle caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when the pandemic plunged them deeply into red.

This kind of closure exists more than Harvey. No one can predict exactly when the artists and spectators will be brought back to the venues in the theater district, the number of which is sufficient to maintain the main company in the city.

John Mangum, chief executive of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, said: "The worst thing is to get out of the predicament and realize that all your hobbies in life are gone."

The data collected by the Houston Art League shows that each organization has different needs, but in the 2019-20 season, each organization's revenue and contribution revenue have fallen by about 50%. Although layoffs, vacations and too many cancelled shows cannot be counted, they expect the virtual 2020-21 season beginning in September to suffer even greater losses.

Everyone is busy raising funds through their own relief campaign. "This is not our final decision," the Houston Ballet greeted the donors. The Hutong Theater adopted a similar method, "Light up! This is only an intermission."

This is the way to donate money to arts organizations in the downtown theater district.

For tickets

To perform or broadcast live, or donate to a "listen now" event, please visit

The goal of the Lights Up campaign is $6.5 million; donate, visit

Supporters can click "become a fundraiser"

Options for starting a campaign as an individual or joining a team.

It is on vacation until February; the organization provides viewers with video content once every two months. For information or donations, please visit

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Art Foresight Fund

Seek relief and respond to the crisis. To donate, please visit

Charitable foundations and individuals responded to this. The Houston Ballet has raised $3.27 million of its $5 million goal. In mid-September, Alley's goal was $6.5 million, and its goal was $5.2 million.

The Houston Grand Opera launched the HGO virtual series in September. Long-term donors Sarah and Ernest Butler donated $1 million and will share it with the Austin Opera. The lineup includes a recital shot in the new "Karen Live"! The Houston First Theater was built at Wortham Theater Center.

The Houston Symphony Orchestra leads the development of live audience performances in the form of a classic season. Each concert can accommodate 150 people in the Jones Concert Hall. But virtual and small live performances can only bring a small part of the income they need.

Mangum’s “business as usual” budget last season was US$36 million, and a shortfall of about US$6 million. He expects his budget for this season to be US$25 million. Mangum said: "We are now re-forecasting because we cannot bring people back to the hall as soon as possible." "We hope that 400 people will participate in the performance in September. Jones Concert Hall can accommodate more than 2,700 people, but we can see 400 people are working. This will put more pressure on the budget."

The Symphony Orchestra charged $10 for virtual shows this summer, but live broadcast revenue is less than one-tenth of the company's usual $1 million in the same period. The streaming fee for the fall show is $20 per concert, but this is still three times lower than the concert ticket at Jones Hall. "Before the use of COVID, we had to hold 3 to 4 concerts per week each season, with 2,700 seats," Mangum said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the symphony orchestra has received approximately $6.2 million in relief funds, mainly from foundations, board members, and other individuals. "Our counterparts in other cities are facing pressure directly related to COVID. The decline of the energy industry and Harvey's continued influence have complicated our situation."

James Nelson, executive director of the Houston Ballet, also had to rethink the numbers more than once. He said: "Our financial forecasts for early summer have changed dramatically." He believes that there is a gap of 11 to 17 million US dollars in his annual budget of 34 million US dollars. He said: "There is no other way but to challenge."

Major Houston companies have donations, but usually, their board of directors only allows a small amount of funds to be drawn from these funds for annual operations. Without special board approval, Nelson can use up to 5.5% of the value donated by the Houston Ballet Foundation each year. He said, but he may ask for more this year.

It can be said that in order to obtain new sources of funding, we need to make greater efforts to win every penny and every penny. Angie Lane, the chief development officer of the Ballet, said: "There is no advertising fee. We really rely on social media to raise funds."

When the company premiered "Zallet" or "Zoom Ballet," they gained support. Globally, the rewards for viewers are about $12,000, most of which have increased slightly. Ballet also discovered a powerful tool that is one of the first users of the new online social media platform Classy, ​​which allows friends to use the visual effects provided on their Facebook page to create their own mini-ad campaigns or dedicated For specific needs.

By mid-September, this work had raised more than US$180,000, which was funded by the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts' US dollar-to-US dollar matching grant. Lane said: "We usually don't see the support provided by online channels."

The Performing Arts Association has a smaller budget because it is an organization that supports touring performers, but the framework of the entire tour has not yet been organized. CEO Meg Booth said: "We have significantly reduced costs in the 2020-21 fiscal year." "More than 3.5 million US dollars. For us, this is a big blow."

The organization hosted a "virtual green room" to keep in touch with donors. Its first virtual board dinner in late August has also become an event, which includes a home-cooked dinner at Backstreet Cafe and a wine pairing introduced by sommelier Sean Beck. Booth said: "We missed the opportunity to see the SPA family, which gave us a chance to laugh and be together."

She used funds from the organization's Art Foresight Fund to build a deeper local foundation. The top six winners of the SPA's new Houston artist commissioned project will make their virtual performances for the first time this fall. The booth plans to commission several live performances by local artists next year.

Booth said: "We are doing everything we can."

molly.glentzer@chron.com

Molly Glentzer (Molly Glentzer) has been an art critic since 1998. She mainly writes articles about dance and visual arts, but can lead to good stories. By reporting on public art in the park, she has drawn attention to Houston as one of the leading "green revival" cities in the United States.

During her 30 years as a journalist, Molly has also contributed articles to such journals as "Texas Monthly", "Saveur", "Food and Wine", "Dance Magazine" and "Dance International". She collaborated with her husband photographer Don Glentzer to create "The Pink Lady and the Crimson Gentleman: Portraits and Legends of 50 Roses" (2008, Clarkson Porter), a book about The human culture behind rose gardening. This explains the occasional side note of gardening stories and her broken nails.

Molly is a native of Texas who grew up in Houston and has lived in the rural town of Brenham since 2012.