The Lied Center for Performing Arts laid off six employees Tuesday, part of a budget restructuring forced by lower-than-expected ticket sales over the past several years.
MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, February 11, 2008 6:00 pm
The Lied Center for Performing Arts laid off six employees Tuesday, part of a budget restructuring forced by lower-than-expected ticket sales over the past several years.
The layoffs will trim about $200,000 from the Lied’s $4.9 million budget, said Charles Bethea, executive and artistic director.
In addition, the Lied will aim to reduce next year’s artist’s fees by 30 to 40 percent and reduce the number of events it hosts, which will save even more funds, Bethea said.
Delivering the bad news to his employees — who make up a significant chunk of his 31-member staff — wasn’t easy.
“It’s been a tough day,” he said. “We’re working through these issues.”
In the past three years, the Lied’s ticket sales have slipped about 20 percent, he said.
That’s troubling news for an institution whose operations rely almost solely on ticket revenue.
Attendance at dance, music and artistic shows also has slowed, Bethea said. Where a Russian dance company used to draw 1,700 to the 2,200-capacity venue, it might now draw 900, for example.
Bethea attributed the dropoff to a variety of reasons: an economic downturn, a troubled housing market, more entertainment options and the fact that people’s plates are increasingly fuller.
“The public isn’t necessarily less interested, there’s just more for them to choose from,” he said. “Everybody’s life is just immeasurably busier.”
In response, the Lied is working with University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials and the NU Foundation to develop a plan for the future.
That plan includes better marketing, stepped-up fundraising, ticket promotions and community outreach to let the public know what the Lied has to offer.
It also includes a reduction in events, from about 40 this season to 32 next year.
The Lied won’t change the type of shows it hosts; it’ll simply host fewer of them, Bethea said.
“We want to make our image bigger,” he said. “We know we have a great product here. We think a lot of these ideas will help us to enhance that.”
UNL, meanwhile, will do all it can to help those who received grim news Tuesday, Bethea said.
“These people are like family,” he said. “It’s very hard.”
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.