The Unscripted Project

What The Unscripted Project does

The Unscripted Project is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that teaches middle and high school students social-emotional and interpersonal skills through improvisational theater. Its core offering is a free 10-week series of in-classroom improv workshops delivered by professional teaching artists in collaboration with classroom teachers at publicly-funded Philadelphia schools; the organization cites the finding that 74% of Philadelphia students leave high school feeling unprepared for college and careers as the problem it addresses. Beyond in-school workshops, the product portfolio includes for-credit online professional development for educators, afterschool programs, and fee-based corporate workshops, all built around the same improv-based methodology for building communication, collaboration, and resiliency skills.

The organization operates with a small team (1-10 employees) out of an office at 3720 Spruce St, Philadelphia, and holds a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (EIN 85-0844633). Revenue mechanics rely primarily on tax-deductible individual donations — cumulatively exceeding $200,000, funding more than 200 classes to date — supplemented by grant funding including a 2024 NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant, and a smaller fee-for-service stream from corporate workshops. There is no proprietary technology platform; the deliverable is human-led instructional service rather than software, and marketing is conducted via organic social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), an email newsletter, and earned media such as a 2023 Philadelphia Citizen feature.

Strategically, the organization is extending its single-track Philadelphia public-school focus into adjacent revenue and product lines (corporate workshops, online educator PD, afterschool programs) while building visibility through conference participation (2024 NCUEA) and major-funder recognition. The geographic footprint remains concentrated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and no multi-year revenue, headcount, or donor-growth data has been publicly disclosed, limiting financial visibility for outside analysis.

Name

The Unscripted Project

Legal name

The Unscripted Project, Inc.

Website

https://unscriptedproject.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Unscripted Project is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that teaches middle and high school students social-emotional and interpersonal skills through free 10-week improvisational theater workshops delivered in public school classrooms, with ancillary offerings for educators and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social-Emotional Learning and Arts Education Services

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Improvisational Theatre (MPAGABAJ)

Keywords

• Improv education programs
• Social-emotional learning
• Youth life skills training
• Educator professional development
• Corporate team building workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individual supporters. Donors have contributed over $200,000 to date, funding a full series of programming for more than 200 classes.
2. Grant Funding: Grants from organizations such as NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant to support programming and operations.
3. Corporate Workshops: Fee-based improv workshops for corporate clients, offered as a separate program track.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Unscripted Project delivers a free 10-week series of improvisational theater workshops in middle and high school classrooms, taught by professional teaching artists alongside classroom teachers. It additionally offers for-credit online professional development for educators, afterschool improv programming, and fee-based corporate workshops designed to build communication, collaboration, and resiliency skills.

Product overview

The Unscripted Project is a nonprofit organization that offers improv education programs as a unified service portfolio. The core offerings consist of in-school 10-week improv workshops for middle and high school students, professional development programs for educators (offered for-credit online), afterschool programs, and corporate workshops. All programs are designed to build communication, collaboration, and resiliency skills through improvisational theater techniques.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Improv Workshops for Schools Free 10-week series of improv workshops delivered in middle and high school classrooms by professional teaching artists in collaboration with classroom teachers, designed to build communication, collaboration, and resiliency skills among Philadelphia public school students.
• Professional Development For-credit online professional development workshops for educators that equip teachers to bring improv techniques into their own classrooms.
• Afterschool Programs Improv-based programming delivered in afterschool settings to build communication, collaboration, and resiliency skills among participating students.
• Corporate Workshops Fee-based improv workshops designed for corporate settings to build team communication, collaboration, and adaptability skills.

Quantifiable outcome

• 74% of Philadelphia students leave high school unprepared for college/careers - improv addresses this gap

Named customers2 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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Committee for Children (Second Step): Committee for Children produces the Second Step SEL curriculum, the dominant evidence-based SEL program adopted across U.S. school districts. It is a broader incumbent competing for the same SEL-in-schools dollars that fund The Unscripted Project.
• Playworks: Playworks is a national nonprofit that places coaches in low-income schools to build social-emotional skills through structured play, comparable to The Unscripted Project as a school-based SEL provider operating at national scale.

Direct peers

• iO Theater: iO Theater (Chicago) is a long-standing improv training organization offering classes and workshops that develop communication and collaboration skills, closely aligned with The Unscripted Project's improv-as-life-skills methodology.
• Brave New Workshop: Brave New Workshop (Minneapolis) is an improv theater with a strong education and outreach arm that delivers improv-based programming to schools and corporate clients — directly comparable in format and audience mix to The Unscripted Project.
• ComedySportz: ComedySportz operates improv comedy theaters across multiple U.S. cities with educational and outreach programs that use improv to build communication and teamwork skills, paralleling The Unscripted Project's classroom-based improv pedagogy.
• Second City Training Centre: Second City's Training Centre in Chicago runs improv-based skills programs including youth and corporate offerings, making it comparable to The Unscripted Project's mix of in-school, educator, and corporate improv programming.

Regional players

• Walnut Street Theatre: Walnut Street Theatre is a Philadelphia-based regional theater with established education programs for schools and youth, making it a regional comparable for The Unscripted Project's theater-education programming within the same geography.
• People's Light: People's Light is a Pennsylvania-based theater with a robust education and community engagement program serving schools, comparable to The Unscripted Project's school-based delivery model in the same regional footprint.
• New Victory Theater: New Victory Theater (NYC) runs theater education programs for schools and young audiences with a strong social-emotional and life-skills orientation, paralleling The Unscripted Project's in-school theater-for-SEL model in a different metro.

Others

• Applied Improvisation Network: The Applied Improvisation Network is a global professional community for practitioners using improv in education, corporate training, and therapy — relevant as an ecosystem peer whose members overlap with The Unscripted Project's teaching artist base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/unscriptedproj
• Facebookfacebook.com/unscriptedproject.improv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-unscripted-project
• Instagraminstagram.com/unscripted.project

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 The Unscripted Project