Regional Arts Commission changes leave theater troupes concerned about funding

The loss of funding is no small matter for New Line. The troupe, known for staging offbeat, politically tinged musicals at the Marcelle in Grand Center, has an annual budget of about $100,000.

“That was a huge shock to us,” Miller said. “After 27 years of getting funding, and then suddenly zero — it’s like, what happened?”

A shift in the Regional Arts Commission’s funding philosophy, as reflected in its most recent round of grants, has raised concerns in the St. Louis arts community, with some applicants receiving zero funding, including theater companies like New Line that have consistently been supported.

Theater troupes and other arts organizations have looked to RAC for support for more than 30 years. As part of its mission of promoting and encouraging arts and culture in the St. Louis region, the organization has been a funding source that often has made the difference between a company staying in business or staging its final show.

RAC maintains that its goal is to reward companies that achieve artistic excellence and enhance the cultural life of the region.

“In the past, I think the approach was to fund everybody, but we have gone in a different direction,” said executive director Felicia Shaw, who in 2015 succeeded RAC founder Jill McGuire. “We want to emphasize quality, and we want to push the money to those who are doing the best work.”

Some theater practitioners are troubled by what they see as a betrayal of RAC’s mission.

Joan Lipkin, producing artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company, said her troupe also received no grant money from RAC for the 2018-19 year. Her play “The Date” was included in the anthology “The Best American Short Plays: 2009-2010.”

“The culture at RAC has really changed,” Lipkin said. “I have talked to a lot of my friends and colleagues, and many people are distressed. And many people are afraid to say anything because they’re afraid that either there will be retribution or they won’t get funding.”

Shaw said that the grant process is competitive, and submitting an application that casts an organization in the best light is crucial. A citizen review panel evaluates materials according to a four-point scale, and getting a grant one year doesn’t guarantee being funded in the next.

“At the end of the day,” Shaw said, “what we’re trying to be able to do is assure the people of St. Louis that this organization is accountable for the money that they’re using and is established and positioned to provide high-quality artistic product for the citizens to enjoy.”

RAC receives a portion of hotel and motel taxes, along with special project grants from foundations and corporations. It is directed by a board of commissioners appointed by the chief executives of St. Louis city and county.

According to RAC, grants were awarded to 29 theater companies this year, including the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis ($170,172), Stages St. Louis ($131,690), Stray Dog Theatre ($53,155), the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis ($12,000), St. Louis Shakespeare ($10,500) and Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble ($4,000).

In 2017, RAC awarded 156 grants to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, totaling about $3.9 million. This year, the commission awarded grants of about the same amount — more than $3.8 million — but to just 125 groups. The commission received 204 grant applications.

(In addition, RAC annually awards $350,000 to individual artists through fellowships and support grants.)

Critics of RAC argue that too much emphasis is being placed on evaluating companies rather than simply supporting them.

“The way it used to be at RAC was, they never, never, never judged the arts,” Miller said. “They felt like that was not their job. How do you objectively judge art, right?” Instead, he said, RAC limited itself to such financial matters as how well a company balanced its budget: “All that kind of operational stuff. But apparently, it’s now totally different.

“I would argue that what’s cool about the St. Louis theater scene is the wild variety that we have — a brand-new experimental work, or a Greek play, or a musical from the ’60s. It’s almost like RAC is abandoning the idea that that has value, in and of itself. It seems like now it’s really just about the money.”

Although the grant application process isn’t significantly different than that in place during the McGuire years, critics say that the goals of RAC and of some theater companies are increasingly at cross purposes.

Lipkin recalled the reaction of a citizen review panelist to her proposal for a series of short plays about climate change.

“She said that nothing ‘wowed’ her about the quality of our proposal, and she asked if the goal was for people to enjoy themselves, or to promote awareness,” Lipkin said. “And I was floored that she had such a prominent voice on the panel. The idea that art and politics are antithetical is absurd.”

Whether a company receives an RAC grant can also have an impact on its ability to secure funding from other sources.

“It obviously helps,” said Ellie Schwetye, managing director of SATE (also known as Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble). “They are one of the largest funders in the region, and being able to have the RAC logo on your print material is a good boon for a (theater) company.”

Shaw said she has “total confidence” that the current funding approach can work for everyone. But she acknowledges the criticism from those whose applications were rejected.

“I can understand why they’re upset,” she said. “And I can also understand why a lot of the groups that did get funding are delighted.”