WaterTower Theatre

What WaterTower Theatre does

WaterTower Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1996 and based in Addison, Texas, at the Addison Performing Arts Centre (a 32,000 sq ft facility housing the ~200-seat Terry Martin Main Stage and Karol Omlor Studio Theatre). The company produces a season of plays, musicals, and special events serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, with programming that spans classics, regional premieres, world premieres (12 to date), and co-productions such as the Cirque Holidays series with Lone Star Circus. By the close of the 2023-2024 season, WaterTower had produced 196 total plays and musicals and was launching its 31st season in 2026-2027.

The company's revenue model combines ticket sales (single tickets at ~$43 and season subscriptions at $169 for four productions in 2026-27), individual donations and sustaining memberships, corporate sponsorships (Producers Circle including AMLI, Atmos Energy, Frost Bank, ONCOR, Whole Foods, and others), foundation and government grants (NEA, Texas Commission on the Arts, TACA, Shubert Foundation, Town of Addison), and ancillary concessions. It serves 24,000+ patrons annually across multiple segments — general DFW theatre-goers, students, corporate groups, military and first responders (Hero's Tickets via Blue Star Theatre designation), Addison residents, and LGBTQ youth via Pay-What-You-Can preview partnerships with organizations like Youth First.

Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via a box office (phone, in-person, online), with subscription sales processed through personal staff contact rather than fully self-serve. The company has also piloted video-on-demand streaming of filmed productions. Educational and community programs — including student matinees, internships, the Penguin Project for young artists with disabilities, Pipeline networking for DFW professionals, and Intersections community engagement — extend programming beyond traditional theatrical productions and reinforce donor cultivation.

Name

WaterTower Theatre

Legal name

WaterTower Theatre

Website

https://watertowertheatre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WaterTower Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional theatre company in Addison, Texas, producing live plays and musicals serving the DFW metroplex with educational programs, community outreach, and accessibility-focused pricing tiers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

akta.pro primary industry

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Professional live theatre
• Season subscriptions
• Community theatre programming
• Theatre education programs
• Arts and entertainment

Headquarters

HQ city

Addison

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, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Single tickets and season subscriptions for Main Stage productions, season add-ons (e.g., Cirque Holidays), and special events. Primary revenue driver accounting for a significant portion of operating budget alongside donations.
2. Individual Donations & Memberships: Tax-deductible donations from individuals including sustaining monthly memberships, one-time gifts, donor group memberships (e.g., Women of WaterTower), and estate planned giving. The Ignite the Mission campaign (2019) raised $95,000; Sustain the Mission campaign targets $100,000 during the 25th anniversary season.
3. Corporate & Foundation Sponsorships: Support from corporate sponsors (Producers Circle including AMLI Residential, Atmos Energy, FASTSIGNS, Frost Bank, ONCOR, Slalom, Veritex Community Bank, Whole Foods, and others) and foundation grants (Town of Addison, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, Edgerton Foundation).
4. Season Subscriptions: Season tickets (31st season) offered at $169 for all four productions in the 2026-27 season, with perks including discounted drinks, subscriber events, and two complimentary 'Bring a Friend' vouchers. Renewal via phone, mail, or in-person seat assignment.
5. Concession & Bar Sales: Full bar and concession stand in lobby one hour prior to curtain and during intermission. Spill-free cups sold before performances. Contributes to ancillary revenue during live performances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

WaterTower Theatre produces and presents live professional theatrical productions — plays and musicals — on its Main Stage and Studio Theatre at the Addison Performing Arts Centre in Addison, Texas. Offerings include season subscriptions, single tickets, discount programs (Student Rush, Hero's Tickets, Group Rates, Pay-What-You-Can), education and community outreach programming, and select filmed theatrical productions distributed via video-on-demand streaming.

Product overview

WaterTower Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre company offering live theatrical productions including Main Stage plays and musicals, Studio Theatre intimate performances, and seasonal programming. The company operates on a subscription and single-ticket revenue model with multiple discount programs (Student Rush, Hero's Tickets, Group Rates, Pay-What-You-Can). Education and community engagement are integral through Student Matinees, The Penguin Project, Pipeline networking, and Intersections outreach programming. The company also produces filmed theatrical productions for streaming and has partnered with Dallas College for summer musical programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Main Stage Productions Professional theatrical productions (plays and musicals) staged in the Terry Martin Main Stage, a flexible black box theatre with approximately 200 seats. Programming spans classics, contemporary works, and world premieres.
• Studio Theatre Productions Intimate productions staged in the Karol Omlor Studio Theatre, a smaller venue for experimental works and more personal performances.
• Season Subscriptions Multi-show subscription packages providing discounted access to all productions in a season, with benefits including priority seating, discounted lobby drinks, subscriber-only events, and two complimentary 'Bring a Friend' vouchers. Season 31 (2026-2027) priced at $169 for four productions.
• Single Tickets Individual tickets to Main Stage productions priced at $43 per ticket, with industry and Addison Rush tickets available at $19 (30 minutes before performance, subject to availability).
• Filmed Theatrical Productions (Video-on-Demand Streaming) Filmed theatrical productions streamed via video-on-demand, including I Am My Own Wife, ONE Addison, and Ella's Swinging Christmas. Single-viewer pricing $16, multi-viewer 'Family Style' $26 for 48-hour access.
• Cirque Holidays (Co-Production with Lone Star Circus) Annual holiday production blending professional theatre with international circus acts, co-produced with Lone Star Circus as a signature season add-on.
• Education Programs (Student Matinees, Workshops, Penguin Project) Educational theatre programming including student matinees with post-show cast discussions and Play Guides, internships, the Penguin Project (pairing young artists with disabilities with peer mentors), and classes/workshops for working artists and students.
• WaterTower Summer Musicals Summer musical theatre series launched in partnership with Dallas College Brookhaven Campus in Summer 2025, beginning with School of Rock. Extends WTT's programming reach beyond the Addison Theatre Centre.
• DETOUR: A Festival of New Work New work festival launched in 2018 aimed at developing and showcasing works by emerging playwrights. Dark Circles Contemporary Dance performed to a sold-out house during the inaugural festival.
• IGNITE! Special Event Concert Special fundraising event concert featuring Grammy-nominated composer Steve Dorff. General tickets at $150 (performance and post-show reception), VIP tickets at $500 (pre-show cocktail hour, performance, and post-show reception). Proceeds support artistic and education programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served over 24,000 patrons annually across Main Stage and Studio Theatre productions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lone Star CircuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership with Lone Star Circus for Cirque Holidays, an annual holiday production blending theatre and international circus acts. Begun in 2019 (December 2019) and continued through 2020 (December 2020) as a signature season add-on. Lone Star Circus is the performing arm of Dallas-based non-profit Lone Star Circus Arts Center, founded by eighth-generation circus artist Fanny Kerwich.
• Blue Star FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterTower Theatre participates in the Blue Star Theatres program (administered jointly by Blue Star Families and Theatre Communications Group), offering 50% off Hero's Tickets to active-duty military, veterans, and first responders. WTT is recognized as having a 'long-standing commitment to military personnel in our community.'
• Theatre Communications Group (TCG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterTower Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for American theatres, providing access to resources, networking, and industry initiatives including the Blue Star Theatres program.
• Dallas College Brookhaven CampusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterTower Theatre announced WaterTower Summer Musicals at Dallas College Brookhaven Campus starting Summer 2025 with School of Rock. Partnership extends WTT's programming reach beyond the Addison Theatre Centre into the broader Dallas College network.
• Dark Circles Contemporary DanceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDark Circles Contemporary Dance (DCCD) served as guest company in residence for three series of performances during the 2018-2019 season (January, March, and September 2019). DCCD performed to a sold-out house during WTT's inaugural DETOUR: A Festival of New Work in March 2018. DCCD founder Joshua L. Peugh is a SMU Meadows graduate and noted choreographer.
• Dallas Resource Center's Youth FirstminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYouth First (a program of Resource Center serving LGBTQ youth ages 12-18) was named as the PWYC (Pay-What-You-Can) preview beneficiary for The Ballad of Little Jo (June 2019). The PWYC initiative donates all preview proceeds to community organizations addressing social isolation and youth support. Previous beneficiaries include Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center, Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas, and Big Thought's DaVerse Lounge. Raised over $8,500 total to date.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Circle Theatre: A Fort Worth-based nonprofit professional theatre presenting a season of plays and serving North Texas audiences. Comparable in operational scale, funding mix (tickets, donations, grants), and regional mission.
• Jubilee Theatre: A Fort Worth-based nonprofit professional theatre producing a season of plays and musicals for North Texas audiences, with a focus on African American stories. Comparable as a similarly-sized DFW professional theatre competing for regional donors and grant funding.
• Kitchen Dog Theater: A Dallas-based professional nonprofit theatre focused on new works and contemporary plays. Directly comparable in scale and programming philosophy (new-work development) and in its dependence on DFW subscribers, donors, and grant funding.
• Amphibian Stage Productions: A nonprofit professional theatre in Fort Worth producing contemporary plays, musicals, and experimental work. Comparable as a North Texas professional theatre of similar size pursuing diverse programming and community engagement.
• Dallas Theater Center: The largest professional regional theatre in North Texas and a fellow DFW-based nonprofit producing company. It is directly comparable as a professional producing organization competing for the same subscribers, donors, and corporate sponsors in the DFW market, though at significantly larger scale.
• Stage West: A professional nonprofit theatre in Fort Worth, TX, producing a season of plays and musicals for North Texas audiences. Comparable in mission, funding model (donations, grants, ticket sales), and audience-development approach to WaterTower.
• Undermain Theatre: A small professional nonprofit theatre in Dallas's Deep Ellum, known for experimental and new-work programming. Comparable as a similarly-sized DFW professional theatre with a new-work orientation, competing for niche audiences and arts-foundation support.
• Theatre Three: A nonprofit professional theatre in Dallas, TX, with a multi-show season and similar mix of classics, new works, and community programming. Directly comparable as a similarly-sized DFW professional producing theatre competing for overlapping audiences and donor pools.

Emerging players

• Lone Star Circus Arts Center: A Dallas-based nonprofit that co-produces the Cirque Holidays holiday show with WaterTower Theatre. Comparable as a fellow North Texas performing-arts nonprofit with which WaterTower has an active co-production partnership.
• Lyric Stage: A North Texas professional theatre where WaterTower's prior Producing Artistic Director Shane Peterman served as Producer. Comparable as a regional professional theatre with overlapping talent pool and DFW audience base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WTTheatre

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 WaterTower Theatre