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Comedian Michael Quinn recently told a joke at the Bethesda Hyatt Regency's "Laugh Riot at the Hyatt" comedy showcase that went something along these lines: Laughter is the best medicine, which is good, because I can't afford actual medicine.

Bethesda area entertainment venues hope laughter—and plays, musicals and improv—truly are the best medicine for these economic times.

As budgets and audiences shrink, venues are feeling the pinch, adjusting staff, reducing ticket prices, or in some cases, closing their doors.

In past decades theatergoers have flocked to movies and musicals during times of recession, but now theater managers and directors are trying to find ways to keep staff and fill seats.

"People are a lot more careful with their dollars, definitely," said Ray Cullom, executive director of Bethesda Theatre. "There are certain performances where we can charge what we have been charging for tickets. For the rest of the shows, though, people are looking for bargains."

Cullom said ticket prices at the theater will remain the same for Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening shows, but that patrons may soon be able to buy cheaper tickets to Wednesday and Thursday shows.

Marketing and set design budgets were reduced, as well, he said, and the theater is managing with two assistants during some performances instead of three.

"Every theater across town is feeling it, and we're having to economize everything," Cullom said.

At Imagination Stage, management began making changes in October, according to Managing Director Brett Crawford, canceling a few productions and requiring staff to take eight furlough days each year.

Laying off staff is not in the question, though, she said.

"We've been working very hard with the staff to find solutions in house," she said. "We believe our staff is our greatest asset."

While ticket sales have remained steady, Crawford said a 14 percent cut to state-supported arts programs removed $75,000 the group had already figured into its budget. Coupled with uncertainty about donations — Imagination receives grants from both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae — Crawford said the financial situation is bad, but could be worse.

"We will know more about the financial situation in April, but we're remaining hopeful," she said. "There's still a very supportive environment."

While ticket sales have remained steady at Round House Theater in Bethesda, theater officials have implemented an 18-month expense reduction plan, hoping to trim 15 percent from the group's annual $3.8 million budget. One of the first steps in December was laying off three employees.

"I think it's important for people to know that when they come to the theater, the experience on stage will remain exactly the same," said Round House Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison. "We're working behind the scenes on an administrative level to make sure the patron experience doesn't change."

Curt Shackelford, who runs Chevy Chase-based Standup Comedy To Go and the weekly Laugh Riot at the Hyatt comedy showcase, said he has been forced to cut his salaries to comics by 25 percent, and attendance at the Laugh Riot is down from the usual 100 guests to about 80 a night.

On the flip side, though, Shackelford said the down economy has become a uniting force for audiences.

"I think the reason our show is still afloat is the curious irony of comedy; the source of comedy is pain, suffering, tragedy, mishaps, mistakes, etc.," he wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette. "Comedy can ‘bond' people together and kind of dissipate the pain. You hurt less if you know your neighbor is hurting too."

One ray of light in a dreary forecast is the Bethesda Comedy Club, thought by bloggers and other industry professionals to have closed last summer.

Not true, said owner Dan Nainan. After the club opened last July, Nainan's mother was hospitalized, forcing Nainan to shelve the club temporarily. In recent months the venue on Bethesda Avenue has been used as a party hall, he said.

"We're doing some renovations, and hope that when we reopen in March it will be really popular," Nainan said.