Madison's cultural-arts patrons will see an increase in their ticket prices after the Madison Cultural Arts District Board decided Tuesday to add a $1 surcharge to all tickets sold for performances at the Madison Civic Center, 211 State St.
In the past, the Civic Center had only charged visiting performances the facility fee, which they passed onto their customers in the form of higher ticket prices. But due to a shortfall in the district's budget in upcoming years, the four resident companies in the Civic Center, and at the Overture Center when it opens in 2003, will also be assessed the surcharge starting July 1, 2002.
The measure was the most effective way to cover the district's budget overruns, since it would be impossible to cut staff or resources, according to arts district Executive Director Bob D'Angelo.
\We shifted pretty quickly from the expense side of the issue to looking at the revenue side,"" he said.
D'Angelo said many ideas came up about how to allocate the deficit costs, including a proposal to simply add an additional dollar to visiting shows, which D'Angelo said would price Madison out of the market for larger, more popular shows such as ""Les Miserables.""
""There are more buyers than sellers for the type of shows we want,"" he said. ""Adding another dollar to them could lose a show.""
Though no one from the Madison Symphony Orchestra, CTM Madison Family Theatre Company, Madison Repertory Theatre or the Madison Opera spoke on the issue during the meeting, members of the organizations had expressed concerns in the past over the fee.
Despite earlier concerns, Tony Forman, managing director of the Madison Repertory Theatre, said he endorsed the boards decision.
""I am in support of whatever decision the board makes,"" he said. ""It won't affect our program. But it'll definitely affect what we can do on [our] ticket prices.""
Board Chair Carol Toussaint said the board members took the resident organizations' anxieties into account when they voted to adopt D'Angelo's proposal to return a portion of the revenues garnered from the facility fee on low-priced tickets back to the performing companies. The money will be given in the form of a grant to the companies after each performance. The board will decide on what percentage they will return to the companies and what price constitutes a low-priced ticket during their next meeting.
""I believe the individual board members were struggling to arrive at an equitable treatment for the core users,"" Toussaint said. ""There's a sensitivity on how important the success of these organizations are to the success of the Overture.\
