Recent cuts in funding from the state of California to SF State, have meant fewer class sessions for students, due to furloughs. The faculty of the department of theatre arts are digging deep in their back pockets and using their rainy day funds to stay afloat.

"We are using our own pocket money to teach students -- in a sense, teachers and students are paying for what the state should pay," department chair Yukihiro Goto said.

Of the general funding granted to the California State Universities by the state, the department wasn't given any money for the 2009-2010 academic year, in comparison to $27,794 from last year, according to Susan Hall, assistant to the dean for the College of Creative Arts, in an e-mail.

"There are small amounts of money from other sources that are specifically to support productions, and there is some ticket revenue, but the bulk of our budget has always been general funding," she said. "From what we are hearing, it looks like state support will continue to dwindle and other sources of revenue will have to be developed."

The lack of funds did not allow for much in terms of operating and restricting class availability, supplies and leaving faculty and staff shorthanded.

This semester a total of six class sections were dropped, a basic acting class went from three sections to one, "Theatre Imagination," a general education class that usually accommodates 80-100 students was eliminated, as well as one of three "Theatre Background" technical skills core courses.

Introductory classes are important to interest students curious about the department, Goto said. Goto worries that cutting them means the department will lose potential candidates and an investment in the future.

"I have been affected by the reduced class offering -- there are less options and the classes that are offered are offered less often," said 21-year-old theatre arts major Peter Bockman.

"Because of this, the classes are more impacted than usual, and there are more students per class. The furloughs also leave less lecture time, with the lecturers becoming frustrated because of reduced supplies, less class time and more students," he added.

But the department has not let that bring them down -- some students are fundraising on their own to save the technical classes. Other students say this is a time to unify and stay strong.

"As much as this makes it harder to put on plays, have smaller lectures and more hands-on situations, it also teaches us as drama students how to work together with a very small budget and still create a piece of art that we are proud of," Bockman said.