The Salt Lake Acting Company terms a layoff of four staff members at the 32-year-old theater company a "precautionary measure."

"Everyone is suffering right now with the current financial problems," said Anne Stewart Mark, president of the company's board of trustees. "We want to act responsibly with our eyes toward the future. So we streamlined staff by mutual agreement to restructure our organization with a reduction of the work force."

The realignment, announced on Tuesday, includes the return of Nancy Borgenicht, co-creator of "Saturday's Voyeur," who will serve as interim executive producer until a new company head is hired in a national search. Laid off are: David Kirk Chambers, managing director; Mike Dorrell, dramaturg; David Mong, literary manager and press spokesman; and Mary Cranney, marketing director.

The cuts weren't due to a drastic downturn in ticket sales; instead, Mark said, the company has been "thrilled" with audience response to this season's productions, which included the ambitious, developed-at-SLAC play "The Overwhelming." "It's more restructuring than anything in order to maintain the high artistic product that we have been able to provide," said Mark, a local actor and director.

Keven Myhre will remain as the company's producing director, and Cynthia Fleming, formerly director of audience services, will take on the duties of creative director of communication and audience development. "The restructure of it will be fine," Myhre said. "There are additional responsibilities, but Cynthia and I both have support to do it."

Myhre, who has worked full time at the company since 1994, said the staff received news of the streamlining two weeks ago, which he termed "a bit of a surprise." He said remaining employees are ready to continue with the season's slate of productions, which include "Dark Play or Stories for Boys," which runs Jan. 28-Feb. 22, and "End Days," April 1-26. Auditions for the 2009 edition of "Saturday's Voyeur," the annual satirical musical that's the company's cash cow, will be scheduled in April.

Officials hope to continue working with laid-off employees as consultants or visiting directors, and according to Mong, the split wasn't acrimonious. "I think they finally just decided to do something relatively radical," said Mong, who had worked at the company for 14 years. "I was grateful that I was able to stay that long."

Budgetary cutbacks are a concern for all arts organizations in the economic downturn, according to Margaret Hunt, director of the Utah Arts Council. The state agency, which supports Utah nonprofits through grants and other programs, has already experienced a 4 percent budget cut, and is expecting more fiscal bad news in the upcoming year. "We are trying to minimize the impact on our grants to our arts organizations, but it has to come from somewhere," Hunt said. "We are all tightening our belts. We are all in this together to make it through this difficult time."