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In what it is calling an “emergency” move, Portland Center Stage is launching a multiyear fundraising campaign, “Save PCS,” to stay open. The first benchmark the regional theater company—the largest in Portland—must hit is $2.5 million by Aug. 31. Otherwise, PCS will have to close its doors.
Overall, the company must raise $9 million by June 2026. That’s just the first part of a five-year strategic Save PCS plan to build reserve funds and partnerships and strengthen its presence in the Pearl District and downtown, the theater company says.
“While keeping the transcendent work on stage, serving thousands of kids through our education programs, and offering a gorgeous lineup of free music and dance with our community programs, we are doing everything within our power to keep PCS alive and thriving,” artistic director Marissa Wolf said in a press release.
The company, like many arts organizations, has fallen on hard times recently. In 2019, PCS was poised to hit a record-breaking year for subscriptions. But post-pandemic, subscription sales have fallen by 18% every year since 2021, while costs have risen by more than 20%.
PCS entered the 2024–25 season with a $1.4 million deficit, according to the company. It cut $600,000 in expenses and fundraised $1 million. The theater currently operates with no endowment and no bank line of credit, relying entirely on annual giving, grants and ticket revenue.
The theater started in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and became independent in 1994. Since its opening, the theater has served 4 million patrons. The company has performed at The Armory in the Pearl District since 2006.
Oregon Children’s Theatre is also in the midst of a massive fundraising effort to stay afloat, trying to hit at least $1 million. OCT will pause all programming starting Sept. 1.
PCS’s social media campaign, #SavePCS, encourages donations at pcs.org/savePCS and ticket sales at pcs.org. The company’s current show is The Brothers Size, through May 18, followed by Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson which will run May 11–June 22.