Theater group thrives amid arts funding strain

COLUMBUS, Ohio — New federal arts funding approved in Congress this week could bring relief to organizations across the country.

But many arts groups are still absorbing the fallout from last year’s grant cuts and cancellations, and for those that didn’t rely on federal grants, the impact looked very different.

What You Need To Know

• New federal arts funding is back this year, but many arts groups are still feeling the fallout from last year’s grant cuts and cancellations
• Stage Right Theatrics built a model that doesn’t rely on federal grants, staying steady through the cuts and using ticket sales, donors and local support to fund shows
• Even with funding restored, experts say instability lingers because canceled grants forced programming cuts that haven’t fully returned

Before rehearsals even begin, Robert Cooperman is already at work.

He founded Stage Right Theatrics, a theater company producing short plays by writers from across the country. Ten years in, Cooperman is still hands-on.

“Well, I felt that there was something missing in the theater world, and that was the more traditional or conservative point of view,” Cooperman said. “And I decided, why shouldn’t that voice be heard in the arts?”

That perspective shows up in a mix of classic American playwrights and short plays that take on modern social issues. But Cooperman said that point of view also comes with challenges.

“The kind of theater that I’m putting on, the ideas and philosophy I’m putting forth, that’s a little tougher to get any kind of grant,” he said.

From the start, Stage Right built a different model. The company doesn’t rely on federal grants, meaning last year’s cuts didn’t hit them the same way. Instead, they’re funded primarily through ticket sales, donors and local support. Cooperman said local arts grants still came through last year, even as federal funding fell away for others.

“Oh, twenty thousand dollars,” Cooperman said. “It may not seem like a lot, but it was a very, very good year for us… enough to sustain a couple of big shows.”

While many arts organizations are still recovering from the federal arts cuts, Stage Right isn’t just surviving. It’s also finding a way to give back.

The company offers half-priced tickets to theater-goers who bring food donations, which are then given to the Dublin Food Pantry.

“I’m very happy, very delighted, to bring hundreds of pounds of food to the Dublin Food Pantry every time I run this promotion,” Cooperman said.

But while Stage Right stayed steady, experts say many groups that depended on federal arts grants did not.

“Organizations assumed when they were notified of their grants last year, or at the end of 2024, that they had those dollars coming in either for sustainability support or for specific programs,” said Sarah Sisser, executive director and CEO of CreativeOhio. “And when those grants were canceled, of course, they had to cancel some of that programming and didn’t have that support.”

Even with federal arts funding approved again this year, Sisser said the damage doesn’t disappear overnight — because some programs that were cut never returned.

“Everybody’s on edge about the reliability of some of this public funding that has been secured,” she said.

For Cooperman, the plan moving forward is simple.

“I am going to keep this thing going until I’m six feet under,” he said.