The 39th season was unlike any other in the theater's history. The first six months saw record numbers of season ticket holders, individual ticket sales, an increase in renters, donations and business sponsorships. In fact, the theater was on track to have one of its best years in decades. Then the world as we know it completely changed overnight due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The months of March through June tend to be Tecumseh Center for the Art's busy season. In fact, nearly half of all TCA shows take place during those specific months each season. When the pandemic forced theaters to close across the State of Michigan in mid-March, the theater was looking at $60-80,000 in lost revenue by the end of the fiscal year (June 2020). It was at that time, staff made the difficult decisions to eliminate as many expenses as possible while implementing additional revenue streams during the shut down. From laying off employees to refunding tickets, canceling contracts to announcing the "Together We Can" Donation Campaign; the community and the theater's endowment rallied, allowing the theater to balance its budget for the 2019-2020 season.
"The end of our 39th season was incredibly challenging," Stated TCA Director Kelly Jo Gilmore. "The theater takes great pride in balancing the budget each year and then all of a sudden we were looking at a rather significant decrease in revenue. It was then that the community came together and reminded us we are all in this together." Below are some highlights from the TCA's 39th Season Statistics Report:
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BlogBehind the scenes of Tecumseh Center for the Arts. Archives
February 2023
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