KING

The show will go on at Providence Black Repertory Company. After suspending its season last month because of the poor financial climate, Black Rep has been able to raise enough money to put on the two remaining productions of the season, Charles Mulekwa’s A Time of Fire, staged Feb. 5, and August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, set to open April 9.

“A lot of people thought we were headed for the North Burial Ground, said Michael Van Leesten, chairman of Black Rep’s board. “That’s not the case.”

Early last month Black Rep announced that the ailing economy forced the theater to put its season on hold and lay off five full-time employees. The theater appealed to the community and was able to raise $6,600 toward A Time of Fire, a production that will cost about $18,500. Black Rep is also in line for a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in February, but Black Rep artistic director Donald W. King said that money it raised in the past six weeks was needed now for “cash flow.”

While the two plays will go on as planned, the laid-off workers won’t be rehired, said King. Instead, the staff has been restructured, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in spending, and thus the theater is running in the black. That means the its $1.5-million budget has been slashed to about $1 million.

The theater is also looking to save money by forming partnerships with other arts groups. The Brown University theater department along with its black studies department has, for example, offered to provide assistance for the Mulekwa play, things like set design and technical support.

King said that partnership will allow Black Rep to present more attractions on its downtown stage without being so heavily involved in the producing end of the business. He is also looking at booking more touring acts.

Black Rep will also save money by having King direct the two remaining shows, and not paying someone from outside the company.