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Show Festival budget approved CEDAR CITY - The Utah Shakespearean Festival Board of Directors has approved an operating budget for the 1982 season in the amount of $365,700. This represents an increase of approximately ap-proximately $60,000 over the 1981 budget, and is necessary to offset inflation, in-flation, accomodate Festival growth and work toward equity with other outdoor dramas .and festivals throughout the country, a necessity if professionals are to be attracted to the Utah Festival. Citing the need for continuing and increased support from the Cedar City community, Gary Mclntyre, Festival managing director, stated that a misconception miscon-ception occurs when people attend the Festival and see the parking lot full or read that the season is sold out and thereby assume that the Festival is self-supporting self-supporting and financially finan-cially secure. According to Mclntyre, this is not so. "Arts in the United States are never totally funded by ticket sales, and the Festival is no exception. When we have a 96 percent sellout season," Mclntyre states, "this means that the Box Office is carrying the Festival for 69 percent per-cent of the expenditures. And this figure is 19 percent above the national average for box offices to carry their programs. Another way of stating our problem is to say that if the Festival ever has a poor year at the Box Office, we will be in very serious financial trouble." In addition to 69 percent per-cent of the Festival revenue which comes from ticket sales, 16 percent comes from major grants, gifts and state support; a whopping whop-ping 9 percent from concessions; 4 percent from miscellaneous income; in-come; and the remaining 2 percent from local scholarships and donations. "It is this last area that particularly needs strengthening," Mclntyre stated. "While we are extremely ex-tremely grateful for local support we have received, with increased help in this one area we could equate nationally, or in other words achieve much of the financial stability we so desperately need. "It is true Festival expenditures are high. We present an entire season of six productions within a three months' time frame, bringing actors, directors and other professionals from all over the United States. Housing alone for this summer period, in the least expensive accommodations ac-commodations available in Cedar City, amounts to over $23,000. Thirty-seven Thirty-seven percent of our operating budget is paid in salaries. This $107,160 is paid as stipends, enabling an actor or technician or costumer to receive $800 plus housing for the three months' summer work. This is aproximately $:U6 a month for a six-day week with hours frequently 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. "Another facet of the Festival financial operation," Mclntyre continued, "is the fact that approximately 85 percent of our $300,000 1981 budget was spent in Cedar City. Add that amount of money to the Utah Arts Council Study which showed over $3,000,000 was generated by tourist-theatre goers in Cedar City during the F'estival season, and the Utah Shakespearean Festival is positioned as one of Cedar City's leading industries." |