Urbanite Theatre

What Urbanite Theatre does

Urbanite Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre founded in 2015 in Sarasota, Florida, producing bold, contemporary plays in an intimate 65-seat fully flexible black-box venue at 1487 2nd Street. Its core product is live theatrical performance — four main stage productions per season plus the annual Modern Works Festival, now in its seventh year and dedicated to celebrating women in theatre and developing new work. The Season 13 (2026/27) lineup includes regional premieres such as Black Bastard and development productions like Ahoy-Hoy (winner of the 2025 MWF Audience Favorite Award). Beyond producing, Urbanite serves as a community venue for new playwrights, AEA-affiliated artists, and Sarasota audiences, with producing artistic leadership from Summer Dawn Wallace.

The business model combines earned and contributed revenue. Earned revenue is driven by a tiered subscription program (Ultimate Pass $320/$220 Under 40, Main Stage Pass $192/$112, Winter Spring Pass $144/$84, Flex Pass $192), single-ticket sales ($5 student to $52 standard, processed through OvationTix), the $75/year Insiders membership, and advertising sponsorship packages ($5,000 full-season, $1,450 single-show) sold to local businesses. Contributed revenue comes from individual donations and stock gifts supporting operations and programming. A touring partnership with The Hanover Theatre Repertory (Worcester, MA) extends the company's geographic reach without requiring a second physical venue. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, event-driven, and community-led, executed through social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), email newsletters, and local partnerships targeting both traditional theatre patrons and an under-40 demographic via discounted programming.

Name

Urbanite Theatre

Legal name

Urbanite Theatre

Website

https://urbanitetheatre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urbanite Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre in Sarasota, Florida, producing bold contemporary plays in a 65-seat black-box venue. It serves regional theatre patrons, under-40 audiences, and playwrights through main stage productions, tiered subscriptions, and the annual Modern Works Festival.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB)

Keywords

• Live theatre productions
• Contemporary play production
• Season subscriptions
• New play development
• Performing arts venue

Headquarters

HQ city

Sarasota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from single tickets and season subscriptions. Single tickets range from $5 (student) to $52 (standard). Subscription passes range from $84 to $320 depending on tier and age category.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable contributions from individual donors and stock donations. Supports operational funding and artistic programming.
3. Advertising Sponsorships: Advertising packages sold to local businesses. Full Season Package at $5,000 and 1-Show Package at $1,450.
4. Insiders Membership: Annual membership program at $75/year offering perks to engaged patrons.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urbanite Theatre produces and presents live contemporary professional theatre in an intimate 65-seat black-box venue in downtown Sarasota, Florida. Its core product is a season of bold, modern plays featuring regional premieres and new works, supported by tiered subscription packages, single-ticket sales, an annual new play development festival, a patron membership program, and advertising partnerships with local businesses.

Product overview

Urbanite Theatre is a professional non-profit theatre company producing bold, contemporary plays in an intimate 65-seat black-box venue in Sarasota, Florida. Their core product is live theatre productions featuring new works and regional premieres, supported by subscription packages (Ultimate Pass, Main Stage Pass, Winter Spring Pass, Flex Pass, and Under 40 discounted rates) that provide access to main stage productions and the Modern Works Festival. The Modern Works Festival is an annual playwriting festival celebrating women in theatre, featuring staged readings of finalist plays. Additional offerings include the Urbanite Insiders membership program and advertising partnership packages for businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Season 13 Subscriptions Subscription packages offering tickets to Main Stage productions and the Modern Works Festival, with subscriber perks including reserved seating, exchange privileges, and exclusive events for the 2026-2027 season.
• AHOY-HOY Development production by Jenny Stafford about the telephone invention rivalry between Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. A Main Stage production for adult contemporary theatre patrons.
• The Garbologists Comedy by Lindsay Joelle about a white sanitation worker and a Black Ivy-educated newcomer partnered on a NYC garbage truck route, exploring unlikely partnership and finding common ground.
• 1999 Play by Stacey Isom Campbell about a college student confronting a professor over a film by a disgraced director, set against the 1990s film industry.
• Black Bastard Award-winning solo show by Jon Gentry: a humorous, heartfelt coming-of-age story set in 1990s Houston, using literature, clowning, original song, and multiple characters. Regional Premiere.
• Modern Works Festival Annual five-day playwriting and reading festival celebrating women in theatre, featuring staged readings by three finalists, kickoff party, guest speaker events, and post-show talkbacks. For playwrights, artists, and theatre patrons.
• TEA TIME Festival headliner production by Erika MacDonald featured as part of the Modern Works Festival — a show about tea preparation that evolves into something deeper.
• Urbanite Insiders Program Annual membership at $75 offering exclusive benefits including first access to tickets, insider-only cast parties, playwright and director discussions, rehearsal invites, and an Insider pin.
• Advertising Partnership Packages Marketing packages for businesses featuring ads in digital programs, social media posts, and email newsletters. Full Season Package at $5,000; 1-Show Package starting at $1,450.
• 65-Seat Black-Box Theatre Venue Intimate 65-seat fully flexible black-box theater in downtown Sarasota, Florida, providing immersive theatrical experience with proximity between audience and performers, serving as the primary performance space for all Main Stage productions and the Modern Works Festival.

Quantifiable outcome

• 13 consecutive seasons of operation indicating sustained audience demand and organizational viability

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Hanover Theatre RepertorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership for presenting Urbanite Theatre productions. The production 'Who is Eartha Mae?' was presented at The Hanover Theatre Repertory in Worcester, MA, extending Urbanite's geographic reach and audience development beyond Sarasota.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Atlantic Theater Company: Off-Broadway company in New York known for producing bold new contemporary works. Comparable artist-first philosophy and new play development orientation, though at a substantially larger scale and broader audience base.
• Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Washington, DC-based professional theatre renowned for bold, provocative contemporary programming. Strong philosophical alignment with Urbanite's artist-first, daring-contemporary positioning; useful as a scaled aspirational benchmark.
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Chicago-based nationally recognized theatre known for bold contemporary and new work development with ensemble artists. Strong adjacency in artist-driven contemporary programming model, though at a much larger institutional scale.

Regional players

• Florida Repertory Theatre: Professional regional theatre in Fort Myers producing contemporary and classic plays. Comparable in mission and seasonal structure to Urbanite, and shares creative talent pipelines (Urbanite's PAD has directed there).
• Mad Cow Theatre: Professional nonprofit theatre in Orlando producing contemporary works and new plays. Similar size and mission; Urbanite's PAD has directed there, indicating shared talent network and comparable programming approach.

Direct peers

• 1st Stage: Intimate black-box professional theatre in the DC metro area producing bold contemporary and new works. Closest match on venue format, programming philosophy, and artist-first positioning outside Florida.
• Florida Studio Theatre: Long-running professional nonprofit theatre in downtown Sarasota producing contemporary and new works across multiple venues. Direct competitor for Sarasota patrons, donors, and advertising sponsors, with a similar contemporary programming bent.
• The Hanover Theatre Repertory: Regional repertory theatre in Worcester, MA with an existing touring/presentation partnership with Urbanite Theatre. Acts as both a peer producing organization and a current distribution channel for Urbanite productions.
• Asolo Repertory Theatre: Premier Sarasota regional repertory theatre producing a multi-show season of plays and musicals. Competes for the same patron base, donor dollars, and Sarasota arts brand position, and employs Urbanite's Producing Artistic Director as a director.

Emerging players

• Vashon Repertory Theatre: Small regional repertory theatre on Vashon Island, WA producing contemporary works. Similar scale and community-rooted mission; Urbanite's PAD has directed there.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9saPvIQEcsV7Ntjy6Xri1Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/urbanitetheatre
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanitetheatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Urbanite Theatre