Well it finally happened. We’d heard the news that Intiman was in danger, that they needed $1 million to complete this season (which ended up being a little too optimistic) and have enough financing to think about the next. Unfortunately, the fund raising had been falling short and the need kept growing so yesterday, the day before their current play, Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons,” was set to close, they announced that they would be laying off their entire staff and doing what they can to get a 2012 season scheduled.

I have seen some absolutely phenomenal plays at Intiman through the years and it will feel like a little black hole whenever I walk over to the Seattle Rep to take advantage of my season tickets. Titus Andronicus still resonates with me, even today.

This leads me to my big question, and perhaps some of you know the answer to this better than I do. What the hell is Intiman doing wrong? From what I can tell, they have had a huge number of critically acclaimed plays, great reviews, and incredible performances and yet they were not able to complete a season between 2003 and 2009 out of the red. If you can’t swing a profit once in 7 years, that’s some pretty poor management if you ask me. I can forgive one or two years of adapting to a new reality but 7?

Now, the situation looks a bit like a perfect storm of nastiness – the endowment cut from $3.6 million 2 years ago, to less than $1 million last fall. The cost of mounting debt from a very poor financial performance over that 7 year period weighing them down.

Here’s the thing though, directly next door, the Seattle Rep appears to be healthy and vibrant. Every show I’ve been to, regardless of whether it’s been a Wednesday night or a Friday, is full (or very close to it). As a season ticket holder, I actually look forward to hearing from my ticket reps. They’re chirpy, pleasant and accommodating. We look forward to every single play. For some reason, Intiman doesn’t give me that vibe, and they’re going to need to if they want to come back. If I were them, I’d get grass roots before the ’12 season. Get some theater folks out in the community building support and come back strong. Enlist some folks who really know how to connect with young people. Treat your customers like gold and do what it takes to bring in a more diverse audience. How about making it necessary for every single employee to dedicate 1 day a week to outreach? Use Google’s famous 20% time to get your people out doing projects to support the theater.

So as of tonight, the theater is closed for a while:

“I think the only hope is, you stop and you focus — otherwise, you just never get your head up far enough to think, and it just gets worse and worse. You start using a lot of well-intentioned money, and then you can’t get it when you really have your head clear because you’ve broken promises too many times.” – Susan Trapnell, Intiman theatre consultant

I really hope Intiman can come back strong in ’12 and wish them the best of luck navigating this difficult time. Do what you got to do…

If you’re looking for the entire story, the Seattle Times has it. If you want the highlights, check the New York Times Arts Beat.

Tagged as: Intiman Theatre, theatre

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