The Western Washington Center for the Arts lost $300 in gate receipts when a thief raided its cashbox during a recent performance, but has used the misfortune to earn back more than six times that amount.

“It’s a bad thing that happened to us that has turned into something good,” said WWCA Board President Dan Estes.

On Feb. 12 an unknown thief walked into the unlocked theater office and stole about $300 in cash.

The incident was reported to the police at its discovery, but the money was not recovered.

“When the word got out, there was an outpouring of donations,” said artistic director Jan Ewen. “It was wonderful to see how much people loved the theater and wanted to help. It was really a neat thing.”

The theater, which is staffed by volunteers and operates on a shoestring budget, solicited contributions by contacting its subscribers.

This paid off in a big way — as of Wednesday, the group had received $948 in direct contributions.

On Tuesday night, theater staff made a presentation at the regular meeting of the Port Orchard City Council, making a pitch for city support and alluding to the recent theft as an obstacle that it had overcome.

As part of the presentation, Estes and Ewen performed “Plant a Radish,” a number from “The Fantasticks,” in the council chambers (for a video go to www.portorchardindependent.com).

Afterwards, Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola said the performance was “the most exciting thing that’s happened here since I’ve been mayor.”

During the meeting’s public comment section which occurred after the theater troupe had left, Waste Management of Washington District Manager Terry Bickel announced that his company was making a corporate contribution of $1,000 to the theater.

Waste Management’s contract with the city was recently renewed for three years.

Bickel called the contribution “a way to show our appreciation to the community.”

Ewen said the performance in front of the city council was meant to lay the foundation for city support.

“Hopefully they will be able to take some ownership in the future,” she said. “It’s tough to run a theater with all volunteers and ticket sales.”

The last performance of “The Fantasticks” is scheduled for Sunday, followed by “Harvey” and “Guys and Dolls.”

For information and schedules go to www.wwca,us.

“We aren’t sure what the future holds for us,” Ewen said. “We’re always surprised by the wonderful connections we make and all the families that are involved in the theater. So we hope that bigger and better things are in store.”