Theatreworks

What Theatreworks does

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit regional theatre company (Tax ID 94-2831245), founded in 1970 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, that produces professional live theatre and arts education programming for Bay Area audiences. The company operates from two primary performance venues — the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (500 Castro St, Mountain View) and the Lucie Stern Theatre (1305 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto) — and is currently presenting its 54th season of mainstage productions, with a 55th season (2026-2027) already announced. Its programming spans classic and contemporary plays and musicals, world/West Coast/regional premieres, an annual New Works Festival for emerging playwrights and composers, and a six-program arts education portfolio that includes Student Matinees, Young Storytellers Lab, Young Playwrights Project, Senior Playwrights Project, Children's Healing Project, and Concepts-At-Play. Recent productions such as King James, Little Women, Happy Pleasant Valley, The Heart Sellers, and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley have received San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle recognition, including 2024 awards for Best Production and Best Director.

The company's business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue structure combining four streams: ticket sales (single tickets and annual Flex Pass subscriptions), individual donations organized across five giving tiers (Visionary Producers through Advocates), corporate sponsorship through a Corporate Circle program with Visionary-tier partners including J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Sobrato Philanthropies, and The San Francisco Chronicle, and institutional grants from major foundations including The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Koret Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Customer segments span individual theatre patrons and subscribers, arts education participants (students, young and senior playwrights), and corporate sponsors. Digital infrastructure is minimal by design: a custom self-service ticketing platform at my.theatreworks.org, a WordPress-based marketing website, and standard social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), with no proprietary AI, data, or software products. The company employs 51-100 staff and is governed by an independent Board of Trustees; leadership comprises Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli (since July 2023), Executive Director Debbie Chinn, and Founder/Artistic Director Emeritus Robert Kelley.

Name

Theatreworks

Legal name

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

Website

https://theatreworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit regional theatre founded in 1970 that produces mainstage plays, musicals, a New Works Festival, and arts education programs at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and Lucie Stern Theatre, serving Bay Area patrons, students, and foundation and corporate funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre and Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH), Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB), Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN)

Keywords

• Live theatre productions
• Arts education programs
• New works development
• Regional theatre
• Performing arts venue

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from single tickets and subscription packages (Flex Passes) for mainstage productions at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and Lucie Stern Theatre venues.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donor program with multiple giving levels including Visionary Producers, Producers, Directors, Assistant Directors, and Advocates tiers, with named recognition for major supporters.
3. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate Circle program with Visionary Sponsors including BluesCruise.com, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Sobrato Philanthropies, and institutional sponsors such as The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.
4. Institutional Grants: Support from foundations including Koret Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Palo Alto Community Fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit regional theatre that produces and presents professional live theatrical productions (plays and musicals) at two main venues—the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and Lucie Stern Theatre. It also operates an annual New Works Festival to develop new plays and musicals and runs a suite of arts education programs including Student Matinees, Concepts-At-Play, Children's Healing Project, Young Storytellers Lab, Young Playwrights Project, and Senior Playwrights Project.

Product overview

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is a 501(c)(3) non-profit regional theater company operating as a single unified organization offering live theatrical productions and arts education programs. The company's core offerings consist of Mainstage Productions (plays and musicals presented at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and Lucie Stern Theatre), the annual New Works Festival for developing new plays and musicals, and comprehensive Arts Education Programs including Student Matinees, Concepts-At-Play, Children's Healing Project, Young Storytellers Lab, Young Playwrights Project, and Senior Playwrights Project. Recent productions have included Little Women, Happy Pleasant Valley, The Heart Sellers, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mainstage Productions
• New Works Festival
• Arts Education Programs
• Season 54 Productions
• Season Subscriptions and Flex Passes
• Corporate Circle Sponsorship Program
• Individual Donor Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for lighting design alone
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Broadway & Beyond TheatricalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProducing partnership for the King James production at TheatreWorks.
• Aurora Theatre CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for The Heart Sellers, a regional theatre collaboration between Bay Area institutions.
• Capital StagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for The Heart Sellers, a Sacramento-based professional nonprofit theatre company collaborating on the production.
• Center Repertory CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for Happy Pleasant Valley: A Senior Sex Scandal Murder Mystery Musical.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Major professional regional theatre in the East Bay producing a multi-show season plus new works development. Directly comparable to TheatreWorks in scale, programming model, and Bay Area philanthropic ecosystem.
• American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.): San Francisco-based LORT theatre producing a mainstage season with MFA and conservatory programs. Comparable as a Bay Area professional nonprofit theatre with new works and education programming.
• San Jose Stage Company: Professional South Bay theatre producing a season of plays and musicals. Comparable geographic market (Silicon Valley) and similar subscription-driven regional theatre model.
• Aurora Theatre Company: Berkeley-based professional theatre and active TheatreWorks co-production partner (The Heart Sellers). Directly comparable in scale, programming philosophy, and Bay Area audience.
• Capital Stage: Sacramento-based professional nonprofit theatre and TheatreWorks co-production partner. Comparable producing model focused on contemporary plays and new works.
• Hillbarn Theatre: Historic Peninsula community theatre (Foster City) producing a mix of plays and musicals. Comparable as a San Francisco Peninsula regional theatre with overlapping audience base.
• Center Repertory Company: Walnut Creek-based LORT theatre and TheatreWorks co-production partner (Happy Pleasant Valley). Comparable in scale, programming model, and East Bay regional reach.
• San Francisco Playhouse: San Francisco mid-sized professional theatre producing a subscription season of contemporary plays and musicals. Comparable producing scale, Bay Area market, and subscription model.
• Palo Alto Players: Long-running Palo Alto community theatre producing plays and musicals in the immediate TheatreWorks service area. Closest geographic competitor for local audience and donor dollars.

Regional players

• TheatreSquared: Fayetteville, Arkansas-based professional regional theatre with comparable operating scale, new works programming, and education initiatives. Useful comparable for nonprofit regional theatre unit economics outside major coastal markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheatreWorksSV
• Facebookfacebook.com/theatreworkssv
• Instagraminstagram.com/theatreworkssv/?hl=en
• Xx.com/theatreworkssv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theatreworks

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Theatreworks