Karen Lund vividly remembers that sinking feeling she had in the fall of 2023.

That was when Lund, producing artistic director of Taproot Theatre Co., first realized that the financially strapped, midsized professional theatre in the Greenwood neighborhood might not survive.

The theatre had already weathered the worst of the pandemic, but costs were mounting. The new understudy program hit the budget hard. The minimum wage was rising, and the cost of lumber (for sets) was skyrocketing.

“I was thinking, ‘Am I going to be the one that kills Taproot after 48 years?’” recalls Lund, who has been with the theatre for more than three decades, and has served as producing artistic director since 2021. “Just the thought of that…I couldn’t take it. I just could not.”

Taproot survived by ruthlessly prioritizing its budget; altering programming to space out more costly productions; and by launching an aggressive fundraising campaign aimed at its loyal patrons.

The fundraising campaign was unique. The theatre had secured a $500,000 gift for to renovate the 226-seat venue, but needed to raise and spend the money before the state reimbursed it. It managed to raise $1.8 million, or about 50% more than its annual average.

Today, Lund is looking ahead to Taproot’s 50^th year in 2026. It produces five mainstage shows annually, as well as a mainstage Christmas show. Its current play, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, runs through April 22. Next up is Always…Patsy Cline, which runs from May 14-June 14.

As much as anything, Lund says the experience taught her the importance of managing a budget based on revenue expectations for certain performances. Simply put, the artistic and fiscal sides must be in alignment.

“I’ve learned to trust that artistic insight doesn’t mean a lack of fiscal insight, that those two can be married,” she says. “I don’t know how that same questions would be answered at another theater. The other thing I learned was transparency and authenticity. And we have a community that wants us to be here. We’re part of people’s families.”