Members of such South Bay community theater groups as Theatre in the Mountains and the Sunnyvale Community Players are frustrated that they're playing to emptier houses than they've expected.

Susan Buchs, a Community Players board member and producer, says groups like hers and the West Valley Light Opera are currently experiencing a drop in theater attendance. According to Buchs, on some nights, the Community Players have performed to audiences of only about 40 people in the 199-seat Sunnyvale Community Center Theater.

"It's been a real struggle. Everybody's fighting for the same audience," Buchs says. "There are people who are really excited about doing the shows and have come from a great distance to perform. It's just really sad when they perform to half a house."

Jeff Hicks, a director of various plays for the Los Gatos–based Theatre in the Mountains, believes that a slumping economy and Sept. 11 are among the reasons for the decline in local theater attendance.

"I noticed there was a big drop-off after Sept. 11. I think there are still people who are afraid to be in public places," says Hicks, whose group has a 220-seat theater in the Santa Cruz Mountains. "I also think there's an overabundance of theater in the area. You've got so many cities in the Bay Area that are offering so many wonderful programs, and it may just be too much."

Hicks' colleague, Theatre in the Mountains chairman Rick Dentoni, thinks the drop in attendance began way before Sept. 11.

"Attendance has been down for two years. The quality of our shows hasn't deteriorated. People are just not coming to see them," Dentoni says. "We're losing money every time we do a show. You can't keep doing that too long." Participation in local theater has also declined, according to Hicks. He cites Theatre in the Mountains' Performing Arts Children's Conservatory, a summer program for child performers, as an example.

"Usually attendance is anywhere between 60 and 65 students, but this year we have 43," Hicks says. However, not all community theater organizations are suffering.

Rick Haffner, marketing director for California Theatre Center (CTC) in Sunnyvale, says that after July 4, attendance for CTC's summertime plays increased, and tickets have been selling briskly. He attributes the lull in CTC attendance during the preceding month to graduations.

The Mountain View–based Peninsula Youth Theatre (PYT) is another exception to the poor attendance trend, although Executive Director Karen Simpson admits PYT has been hurt in other areas.

"We've had great attendance this year. Participation in our programs is higher than it has been in previous years," Simpson says. "But we've been affected in other ways, in terms of trying to get corporate sponsorship. One of our major sponsors cut off our funding by $20,000 this year because of the economy."

Buchs says increasing publicity—which lets people know that there are other entertainment choices besides movies—are ways to help remedy the poor attendance for her group's productions.

"They don't have to go to the AMC Mercado on Friday night. There are other options. They can take their kids here. It's reasonably priced," Buchs says.

While Hicks says fundraisers could save community theater, Dentoni isn't sure of what Theatre in the Mountains could do about the problem.

"We've tried to up the publicity. We haven't had a lot of luck," Dentoni says. "Maybe people are just tired of coming out of their houses at night. I don't know. We're hoping to get through it, though."