Pollyanna Theatre Company

What Pollyanna Theatre Company does

Pollyanna Theatre Company is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit (founded 2000) founded by Judy Matetzschk-Campbell, Ph.D. that for more than 20 years commissioned and produced original theatre for young audiences in Central Texas. Its core offering was a catalog of commissioned plays performed in mainstage venues (Long Center Rollins Studio Theatre, Daugherty Arts Center, City Theatre) and toured directly into K-12 schools, reaching more than half a million children over its lifetime, with over 85% of its audience classified as high-at-risk students. The organization also partnered with educational and cultural institutions (BookSpring, Ballet Austin, Austin ISD, Plano ISD, LBJ Presidential Library) to integrate theatre into academic-readiness programming.

In approximately 2022, Pollyanna restructured away from active live production and now operates as a publishing/licensing entity under the Pollyanna Select Plays brand. Its current commercial surface is the licensing of its 60-play back catalog for performance by schools, theatres, and community organizations, plus direct-to-consumer sales of reading copies at $10 per script with an optional $10 classroom photocopy-rights add-on; performance licensing fees are quote-based and contracted on a multi-year basis. The technology stack is a Wix-hosted content site with no documented APIs, integrations, or digital product features.

The business model is mixed: a low-volume, quote-based licensing stream (schools and small theatres); a unit-priced ($10) e-commerce reading-copy stream; and historically a grant-, donation-, and ticket-funded touring production operation. Customer segments are Pre-K-12 schools, children and families, and licensed theatre producers across the U.S., with the strongest historical reach in Central Texas and a nascent national licensing footprint via a handful of documented outbound licenses.

Name

Pollyanna Theatre Company

Legal name

Pollyanna Theatre Company

Website

https://pollytheatre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Austin, Texas-based nonprofit (founded 2000) that commissioned original theatre for young audiences and now licenses its back catalog of original plays to schools, theatres, and community groups via the Pollyanna Select Plays brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Theatre Plays

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Children's theatre
• Play licensing
• Educational theatre
• Youth drama publishing
• Original plays

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Play Licensing: Original plays for young audiences available for licensing to schools, theatres, and community organizations. Licensing quotes available upon request through the publishing contact page.
2. Reading Copies Sales: Personal reading copies sold for $10 each. Additional $10 fee for photocoping rights for classroom activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pollyanna Theatre Company publishes and licenses original plays written for young audiences under its publishing brand "Pollyanna Select Plays." The catalog of original scripts is licensed to schools, theatres, and community organizations for performance, and individual reading copies are sold directly to parents and educators for personal or classroom use. The company no longer produces live theatre and operates as a publishing/licensing entity based in Austin, Texas.

Product overview

Pollyanna Theatre Company operates as a publishing-focused organization offering a portfolio of plays for licensing and purchase under the Pollyanna Select Plays brand. The core offerings include full-length plays available for licensing by schools, theatres, and community groups, as well as individual reading copies for personal or classroom use. The play catalog spans multiple series including the Patterns Series (Patterns, More Patterns, Pattern Nation, Pattern People, Pattern Nation: Waves) focused on early learning and pattern recognition, Shakespeare Youth Adaptations (The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream), and individual thematic plays covering civil rights history (Liberty! Equality! And Fireworks!), cultural heritage (The Texas Chili Queens), mythology (Greeks Alive!), social-emotional learning themes, and holiday stories. The company transitioned from live theatre production to a publishing model, with plays now available for licensing while the company is no longer actively producing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pollyanna Select Plays Publishing initiative under which original Pollyanna plays are made available for licensing and purchase. The catalog includes works from multiple playwrights covering themes from early learning to civil rights history.
• Plays Available for Licensing & Purchase Full-length original plays for young audiences available for licensing by schools, theatres, and community groups. Licensing grants performance rights while reading copies enable at-home or classroom use.
• Patterns Series Series of plays exploring pattern recognition for early childhood development, including Patterns, More Patterns, Pattern Nation, Pattern People, and Pattern Nation: Waves.
• Greeks Alive! Mythology-based play for young audiences featuring stories of King Erysichthon, Psyche & Eros, Narcissus, and King Midas, suitable for elementary school students studying Greek mythology.
• The Texas Chili Queens Historical drama about San Antonio's Chili Queens, following a fifth-grader discovering her family's heritage through the entrepreneurial women who sold chili in the 19th and early 20th century.
• Liberty! Equality! And Fireworks! Production introducing students to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s through museum exhibits coming to life, suitable for grades 3-7. Performed at the LBJ Presidential Library from 2015 to 2018.
• Shakespeare Youth Adaptations Age-appropriate adaptations of Shakespeare classics including The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream, designed as introductions to the Bard's language and characters for children.
• The Thing in Grandma's Closet Family drama about siblings discovering their grandmother's scientific legacy after her passing, addressing themes of loss, memory, and women in STEM.
• The Secret of the Soap & Spin Metaphorical play about a child's search for her missing mother at a laundromat, exploring addiction and recovery themes.
• Chicken Story Time Comedic play about a librarian and story-loving chickens that promotes reading and literacy for children ages 3-6. Licensed for productions at Arts Center for the Ozarks and Eastern Michigan University Theatre.
• Just Bee Play about two queen bees with different management styles who must collaborate with a mason bee to solve drought-related challenges, exploring nature and environment themes.
• A Dragon's Happy Day Fantasy play about a princess befriending a hyperactive dragon, addressing special needs themes including ADHD and emotional expression.
• Sarah the Dinosaur Comedic drama about a quiet girl who learns to find her voice after becoming a dinosaur for attention, exploring identity themes for kindergarten through 5th grade.
• The Big Bolt! Comedic play teaching accountability and honesty through a story where one child's small lie causes big problems for an entire town.
• Playing Possum Mexican folklore retelling about a possum who learns the consequences of playing too many tricks, incorporating Spanish language elements. Holly Hepp-Galván won the Jackie White Memorial National Playwriting Award First runner-up for this work in 2021.
• The Mystery of the Green Teeth Ghost Mystery comedy where a young detective and her pet hippo solve a spooky puzzle using spelling, math, and anagrams.
• Everything Is Round Early childhood development play teaching shapes through a journey where two friends explore round and non-round objects in their world.
• Playground Superhero Play about a boy facing a new school and bully who uses imagination and lessons from his military father to become a playground superhero.
• Ducks vs Squirrels: Battle for the Park Comedic play exploring conflict resolution through a story of young squirrels and ducks questioning an age-old feud between their groups.
• The Ragbag Shoes Fairy tale adventure where a girl journeys through patchwork shoe memories from classic stories, learning to respect the past while creating her own future.
• A Christmas Rose Heartwarming holiday drama set in 1944 France where two children alone in a cathedral on Christmas Eve experience the cathedral coming to life with the true spirit of giving.

Named customers4 records

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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ballet AustincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Co-production of Trail of Tears: Walking the Choctaw Road with Ballet Austin. The collaboration combined dance drama with theatrical storytelling based on Tim Tingle's book about the forced removal of the Choctaw Indians.
• BookSpringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with BookSpring, an early literacy organization, furthered the connection between theatre, literacy, and academic readiness that was central to Pollyanna's mission.
• Long Center for the Performing ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular venue partner for mainstage productions at the Rollins Studio Theatre. Many plays were produced and premiered at this venue.
• Tim TinglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuthor of Walking the Choctaw Road, whose stories and narration guided the Trail of Tears production. Tim Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw and collector of Choctaw oral literature.
• LBJ Presidential LibraryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue for multiple performances of Liberty! Equality! & Fireworks! from 2015-2018, allowing reach to library visitors and educational groups.
• Magik TheatreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed production of Everything Is Round in 2021 at Magik Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.
• Arts Center for the OzarksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed production of Chicken Story Time in May 2018 at Arts Center for the Ozarks in Bentonville, AR.
• Eastern Michigan University TheatreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed production of Chicken Story Time in June 2018 at Eastern Michigan University Theatre in Ypsilanti, MI.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Magik Theatre: San Antonio-based professional children's theatre that produces original and adapted works for young audiences, similar in mission and Texas-region focus. Pollyanna has already licensed plays to Magik, confirming direct comparability in content licensing.
• Adventure Theatre MTC: Maryland-based professional children's theatre producing original musicals and plays, with a touring program for schools comparable to Pollyanna's touring-to-schools distribution model.
• First Stage: Milwaukee-based children's theatre that commissions and produces new works for young audiences through professional playwrights, mirroring Pollyanna's commissioning model and educational programming.
• Seattle Children's Theatre: Long-standing professional children's theatre producing original and adapted works for young audiences, comparable in mission, commissioning practice, and educational programming for K-12 schools.
• Imagination Stage: Washington D.C.-area professional theatre producing original and commissioned works for children and youth, with strong educational programming and school-touring components comparable to Pollyanna's model.

Broad incumbents

• Children's Theatre Company (Minneapolis): One of the largest U.S. children's theatres, producing original commissions and adaptations for young audiences. Comparable in content focus (plays for youth) but operates at a much larger national scale than Pollyanna.
• Concord Theatricals: Major U.S. play licensing and publishing company (including Samuel French), representing the dominant competitive licensing counterpart to Pollyanna Select Plays for schools, community theatres, and youth productions.
• Dramatists Play Service: Long-established play licensing publisher representing thousands of scripts for performance rights. Direct competitor to Pollyanna Select Plays in licensing original plays to schools and theatres.
• Dramatic Publishing Company: Play publisher licensing scripts for educational, community, and youth theatre productions. Operates in the same publishing/licensing lane as Pollyanna Select Plays but with a much larger catalog.

Emerging players

• Atlantic for Kids (Atlantic Theater Company): Family/youth programming arm of Atlantic Theater Company producing works for young audiences. Overlapping focus on commissioned theatre for youth but operates within a broader professional-theatre parent organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pollyannatheatrecompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/p/BfzCqhSg_RQ
• Xx.com/pollyannatheatr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pollyanna-theatre-co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Pollyanna Theatre Company