To Be, Or Not to Be: Georgia Shakespeare Still in Financial Distress

William Shakespeare is known as one of the great tragedians of the English language. If he were alive today, he may have some verses to write about the Atlanta theater company that performs his plays.

Georgia Shakespeare still owes creditors hundreds of thousands of dollars despite a 2011 fundraising campaign that was massively successful. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the company was determined to use their operating revenues to pay down the remainder of the debt, but this prudence has hamstrung the company further.

Because the company has no free capital to spend on anything other than debt payments, the company has been forced to cancel a planned performance of Henry V which would have started on Oct. 1.

“We obviously regret that we will be unable to go forward with the show, but given our current financial status and our inability to secure strategic funding for operating capital, we felt that it simply not possible to do so,” said board chair Daniel Norris in a release posted on Georgia Shakespeare’s website.

“We regret the inconvenience to our patrons, supporters, and to the artists committed to working on the show.”

The company is facing an existential crisis, and board members will have to decide if the company which was formed in 1986 can be saved.

Although the financial prognosis is grim, it’s not all bad news for the company; attendance has increased, and the company has raised enough donation money to pay for improvements to its home base at the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University. The company has also operated in the black for four of the last five years, according to the company release.

The company faces a debt of some $350,000, but does not plan to host another donation drive on the scale of the 2011 campaign. Theatre lovers can, however, make donations to the company by calling 404-504-3407 or by visiting Georgia Shakespeare’s website.

Image Credit: Georgia Shakespeare