Dallas Children’s Theater is laying off four employees, cutting two shows from its upcoming season and will pause its academy classes after this summer.
Samantha Turner, executive director of the Dallas Children’s Theater, said the changes are in response to “the enormous financial challenges we’re experiencing.”
“We found ourselves approaching a situation where cash was getting very tight as we approach the summer and into the early fall.”
The four workers who were laid off include two administrative employees and two production team members. DCT has canceled two previously announced shows, The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley and Jungalbook, and won’t have academy classes in the fall and spring.
Turner said DCT has not been impacted by recent National Endowment for the Arts funding cuts, but said economic volatility has affected donor commitments.
“We have lots of interest among funders with a large campaign that we have right now, and they're enthusiastic about supporting. It's just making that commitment for the support is taking longer than we had hoped it would take,” she said.
The theater company said it will continue its student matinee performances, which reach about 40,000 students a year, including half who come from Title 1 schools. DCT will also continue to offer its sensory-friendly performances and a neighborhood program offering free or pay-what-you-can performances to communities in Vickery Meadow.
“We put our resources forth in a way that we can continue to serve the community and as broad a scale as we can, aligning with the values that we have of having accessibility for those who are differently abled or those who may have financial limitations that are cultural barriers that keep them from coming to the theater,” she said.
Turner said two more rounds of layoffs and furloughs are on the horizon. The first is expected in August when academy classes pause, followed by another in October.
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