IT HAD ALL THE MAKINGS of one of the Rubicon's best productions: drama, laughter, poignancy and a great song-and-dance number. But the non-profit Ventura theater company's rally and town hall meeting Wednesday night was a real-life drama highlighting the need to raise $1 million in 90 days.

"Major gifts are down from $900,000 last year to $150,000 this year," explained Ken Wesler, Rubicon managing director.

The 200-seat theater, which provides an intimate setting for original productions as well as the tried and true, such as the recent well-received "Fiddler on the Roof," relies on earned income for only about 40 percent of its budget.

So, while the theater brought in $1.4 million in revenue in 2008, $2.2 million came in from contributed income. Of that, $900,000 came in from a few major donors. "These usually come from just a handful of very generous philanthropists," explained Wesler.

Increasing the number of productions or seats would only boost income by about 10 percent, Wesler said. "The intimacy of the theater is part of our strongest selling points."

TO PILE ON EVEN MORE troubles, the City of Ventura usually contributes an average of $25,000 a year to the Rubicon through its competitive cultural grants program, but that money is dwindling with the city's budget cuts. And the theater's youth programs have also taken a hit because of the economy. Families are cutting back, too.

The Rubicon has already trimmed expenses by $114,000. "An overworked staff is working harder and longer," Wesler said.

Rubicon's board ideally wants to keep ticket prices low and offer reduced prices to students, and scholarships to children in the summer programs, board member Doug Halter said. The award-winning theater also brings 40,000-50,000 people a year Downtown, he added. And these folks go out to dinner here and often spend the night in local hotels.

The company has applied for National Endowment for the Arts grants and has raised more than $63,000 so far in its "It Takes a Village" campaign. The goal is to come up with 2,400 gifts of $365. "Almost everybody on the staff gave the $365 right away," said Rubicon Marketing Director Cindy Frankey.

This dynamic theater company and its supporters have been known to pull off fund-raising miracles in the past. Let's hope they can do it again.

Another rally is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and the theater is opening a new show, "Spit Like a Big Girl." For more information go to http://rubicontheatre.org/

THE SPECTACLE of the Bus Home sculpture at the forlorn north end of our mall, with its fancifully twisted form now giving way to rust and deterioration, has been a lightning rod of sorts for public criticism of the way our city government operates.

It's taken on the proportions of an urban myth with people crying out incorrectly "The city wasted millions on that sculpture!" I've tackled this topic before in the comments section of this blog, but after reading yet another incorrect accounting of our city's Public Art Program recently, I decided it deserved a blog entry of its own.

Facts: Bus Home cost $164,000, of which the artist was paid a design fee of $42,000. The cost of the entire Bus Transfer Center at the north end of the mall was approximately $2.2 million. This includes bus shelters, the restrooms, bicycle racks and lockers, an information kiosk, lighting, drinking fountains, public art, and landscaping.

The inclusion of a public art piece at the site made the city eligible for a federal grant for the project, paying for the inclusion of public restrooms. Bus Home is inarguably in need of repair these days due to faulty preparation of the piece before painting. The city has recovered $80,000 from the original contractor and fabricator for repairs.

I HAVE A BIT OF A LOVE-HATE view of the city's Public Art Program. There are pieces in the collection which I adore. Of particular note are Larissa Strauss' wonderful mosaic at Marina Park, the top-notch municipal art collection at City Hall, the Streetscape Mural Project, the upcoming Tortilla Flats mural and the "Making Lemonade" sculpture at Thille Park.

My trouble with the program comes in here: The funding mechanism for the projects is so widely misunderstood that I sometimes wonder if the many benefits of having a Public Art Program are outweighed by the often negative public perception that comes with it.

Here's a lesson in Public Art Funding 101: Ventura's Public Art Program was enacted in 1991. It is an actual ordinance allocating 2 percent of eligible Capital Improvement Project (CIP) costs for the commissioning of artist services. Specifically excluded by the Public Art Ordinance are street resurfacing and water and sewer line replacement projects.

The money comes from specific CIP funds and cannot legally be used to pay for police and fire personnel, a suggestion I often hear in the community. (They are paid through the General Fund.) Money which comes from golf fees can only be used for golf areas, such as "The Big Swing" sculpture at the golf course. Sewer and water fees can only go for projects related to sewer and water projects, thus the "Harbor Wetlands" project near the treatment plant, etc.

So the Public Art Fund could never go for police and fire salaries. Now the council could choose to suspend the 1991 ordinance, but the money would only go to Capital Improvement Projects, never to police and fire.

There is a very small amount of money from the General Fund which sometimes goes to Public Art. Last year it was $7,231, according to City Manager Rick Cole.

OK, ARE YOUR EYES GLAZED OVER by that long-winded explanation? Exactly. I think there are only a handful of citizens who actually understand this funding mechanism. So when the city is strapped by a bad economy as it is now, and looks for ways to fund fire and police through new taxes and fees, the cry goes out: "The city wastes money on art. Use that money instead." But the vast majority is locked in by law for capital improvements only.

I asked City Public Art Supervisor Denise Sindelar about the program. She likened it to the Works Progress Administration projects of the 1930s -- "architectural design that is enhanced by an artist's touch."

Ventura's 1991 ordinance, Sindelar said, was actually passed in a period of massive city layoffs.

"They were saying, 'How can we get some art in the public realm without affecting police and fire funding?' This is the most effective way to incorporate it in the public environment."

I OPENED MY NEW COPY of Sunset magazine the other day and was pleased to find a large, eye-catching ad promoting Ventura as a tourist destination and arts mecca. Since being appointed to the city's Cultural Affairs Commission in 2006, I have been keenly interested in the city's promotion of the arts as an economic generator.

But is the "New Arts City" strategy really paying off?

According to internationally known arts marketing expert Jerry Yoshitomi, it is. "There's a lot going on from a fairly modest investment by the city," he noted. Yoshitomi, who has an office in the Bell Arts Factory, a thriving arts center, also praised the accessibility of the creative scene. "My sense is that Ventura's become a place where you can experience the arts on a more regular basis."

Cultural Affairs Manager Kerry Adams-Hapner is happy to point to the city's growth in cultural tourism. "Over the past 10 years, our artists and arts organizations have raised the bar and elevated Ventura's reputation as a destination for cultural tourists," she said.

These visitors, such as those who attend ArtWalk Downtown, tend to stay longer, eat in local restaurants and stay in our hotels, providing needed sales tax revenue, Adams-Hapner explained. ArtWalk will become a two-day event in April and sponsors hope to attract many regional visitors.

VENTURA'S ARTISTS and non-profit arts businesses generate more than $18 million in economic activity annually, according to an Economic Impact of the Arts in Ventura Report conducted in 2004. Nationally, the arts have been a boon to many cities. Newsweek magazine recently reported that real estate prices often see an uptick in area where artists live.

The city is also a partner in the Working Artists Ventura (WĀV) project, which just began construction in Downtown Ventura.

You would be hard pressed to find an endeavor aimed at meeting more of Ventura's needs. It is a virtuoso undertaking which will pump dollars into the local economy through jobs and retail sales, provide affordable housing for artists, assisted housing for homeless families and market-rate ocean-view penthouse condos for upper-income residents. The project will create an environmentally friendly atmosphere and enliven our already thriving arts community through a theater, gallery space and cafes.

"It was a conspiracy for public good," said Chris Velasco of Projects Linking Art, Community & Environment (PLACE), the stewards of the project.

All this economic activity is wonderful, but there is another value of the arts scene in Ventura that doesn't come with a price tag. The city's many arts events get us off the couch and out of the house. "They have a community-building impact," Yoshitomi said. "The events actually encourage a camaraderie."