Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater skips a beat

The well-known south Minneapolis puppet and mask theater will cut wages and close for seven weeks in the new year.

By GRAYDON ROYCE, Star Tribune

Last update: December 18, 2008 - 9:35 PM

Not even a sold-out holiday show could keep In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOBT) from becoming the second midsized arts organization to announce cutbacks this week for economic reasons.

Kathee Foran, executive director, said the organization will take a seven-week layoff beginning Dec. 26, when the sold-out run of "La Natividad" concludes. In addition, the troupe will cut the wages of contract artists by 17 percent through the end of the fiscal year, Aug. 31, a move intended to shave 20 percent off the troupe's $1 million annual budget. Foran said the troupe has "never had so much work" with artist residencies.

"We've done the layoff thing before," Foran said. "But this is new as far as the severity."

Foran said cuts in corporate and foundation funding, which account for 50 percent of the budget, are driving the issue. Travelers' Insurance recently announced it would refocus its charitable giving on St. Paul Public Schools. HOBT received $10,000 from the company. Also, the McKnight Foundation told HOBT to expect a cut in funding. The troupe receives about 20 percent of its budget from individual donors, and 30 percent is earned income.

Headquartered at 15th Avenue and Lake Street in south Minneapolis, HOBT is a leading puppet theater nationally and each year spearheads the May Day Parade and celebration at Powderhorn Park. Foran said a show scheduled for the end of February, "A Path Home, the story of Thich Nhat Hanh," will be postponed until October.

Earlier this week, Intermedia Arts of Minneapolis announced it was facing economic trouble and would need to curtail its activities.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299