Reston Community Players

What Reston Community Players does

Reston Community Players (RCP) is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit community theatre founded in 1966 in Reston, Virginia. The organization produces a four-show main stage season per year at the Leila Gordon Theatre (formerly CenterStage) within the Reston Community Center in Hunters Woods — a venue RCP has called home since 1979 as a founding partner — and supplements its programming with a new 'Scripts and Sips' staged play reading series, scholarship awards, and volunteer technical opportunities. RCP operates from a separately owned Herndon facility at 266 Sunset Business Park that serves as its rehearsal hall, scene shop, office, and costume/prop/set storage. Performances are staged by community volunteer casts and crews, with auditions open to performers across the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) region.

RCP's product portfolio comprises four core revenue streams: ticket sales (general admission at $20 per ticket, sold via etix.com and the Reston Community Center box office), donations (one-time, monthly, and yearly tiers from $50 to $1,000), rentals (costume, prop, set piece, and rehearsal hall rental to other theatre groups and community users), and advertising/sponsorship (showbill ads starting at $85 and local business sponsorships). Ancillary revenue comes from branded merchandise (hoodies, mugs, hats, totes, etc.) and a small grants/donor pipeline that includes the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency. The 2026-2027 season features Once Upon a Mattress, Harvey, The Trojan Women, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, alongside the 2026 summer musical Dear Evan Hansen co-produced with South Lakes High School.

The business model is a classic community-theatre hybrid: ticket sales fund approximately 71% of the operating budget, with the remaining ~29% covered by donations, rentals, advertising, merchandise, and grants. The technology stack is intentionally minimal — etix.com for ticketing, a Wix-hosted website (restonplayers.org), and standard production equipment — with no proprietary technology, app, or API. Distribution is omnichannel and community-led: digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, email newsletter, website) and printed showbills feed a regional (DMV) audience of 7,500+ annually, with word-of-mouth and partner referrals (ArtsFairfax, South Lakes HS) driving top-of-funnel awareness. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors of up to 15 members, with no paid staff.

Name

Reston Community Players

Legal name

Reston Community Players

Website

https://restonplayers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Reston Community Players is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) community theatre that produces a four-show season at the Leila Gordon Theatre in Reston, Virginia, serving DMV-area audiences with ticket sales, donations, rentals, and scholarships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Theatre / Live Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD), Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG)

Keywords

• Community theatre productions
• Live theatrical performances
• Volunteer performing arts
• Costume and prop rentals
• Performing arts scholarships

Headquarters

HQ city

Herndon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream accounting for approximately 71% of budget; ticket sales for main stage productions, summer musicals, and special events at the Leila Gordon Theatre at Reston Community Center
2. Donations and Contributions: Individual donations at various levels ($50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000); one-time, monthly, and yearly giving options; powers equity-centered programming, student mentoring, and creative productions
3. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including hoodies, water bottles, glasses, mugs, hats, beanies, notebooks, tote bags; sold through online shop
4. Rental Income: Costume, set piece, and props rentals to other theatre groups; rehearsal hall rental for dance classes, exercise classes, yoga, music classes, and meetings
5. Advertising and Sponsorships: Advertising space in production showbills available per show or full season basis starting at $85; sponsorship opportunities for local businesses with email newsletter, mailing, and curtain speech benefits

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Reston Community Players produces live community theatre productions (plays and musical comedies) at the Leila Gordon Theatre at the Reston Community Center, performed by volunteer artists and technicians. Each season features four main stage productions, supplemented by ancillary offerings including costume, prop, and set rentals; rehearsal hall rentals; branded merchandise; two annual performing arts scholarships; and staged play reading events.

Product overview

Reston Community Players operates as a community theater organization offering a portfolio of theatrical productions and related services. The core product consists of main stage productions at the Leila Gordon Theatre at Reston Community Center, including plays and musical comedies performed by volunteer artists. The 2026-2027 season features four productions: Once Upon a Mattress, Harvey, The Trojan Women, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Additional offerings include costume, set piece, and props rentals from their inventory; rehearsal hall venue rental; two annual scholarships for performing arts and technical theatre students; branded merchandise; and volunteer technical positions. The organization functions as an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit that has produced over 200 main stage productions since 1966.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Main Stage Productions (Season Theatrical Performances) Seasonal theatrical performances (plays and musical comedies) produced by Reston Community Players at the Leila Gordon Theatre at the Reston Community Center, featuring community volunteer performers and targeted at audiences in the Reston and DMV region.
• Dear Evan Hansen (Summer Musical) Summer musical production featuring themes of identity, belonging, and mental health, performed by community volunteers. Suitable for audiences interested in contemporary Broadway-style musicals.
• Once Upon a Mattress (2026-2027 Season) Musical comedy production scheduled for October-November 2026, directed by Steve Cairns and produced by Liz Colandene.
• Harvey (2026-2027 Season) Play/Comedy production scheduled for January-February 2027, directed by Rikki Howie Lacewell and produced by Katie Pond.
• The Trojan Women (2026-2027 Season) Greek Tragedy production scheduled for February 2027, directed by Jessie Roberts and produced by Kate Keifer.
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2026-2027 Season) Musical production scheduled for April-May 2027, directed by Michael Barret Jones with musical direction by Jim Bowen-Collinson and choreography by Kendall Mostafavi, produced by Jocelyn Steiner.
• Costume and Props Rental Rental service offering contemporary clothing (1980s onward), historical period pieces, and specialty items from past RCP productions including Shrek, Mary Poppins, and Beauty & the Beast. Available to other theatre groups and organizations.
• Set Pieces and Furniture Rental Rental service for larger set pieces and furniture including chairs, tables, desks, sofas/settees, and specialty items across various time periods. Available to other theatre groups and organizations.
• Rehearsal Hall Rental Venue rental of RCP Rehearsal Hall located at 266 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170, available for dance classes, group exercise, yoga, music classes, meetings, and other events.
• Shelton Hall Memorial Scholarship Annual scholarship of $3,000 awarded to Fairfax County high school seniors pursuing performing arts in college, demonstrating commitment to performance and high academic achievement.
• Bruce Marson Memorial Scholarship Annual scholarship of $3,000 awarded to Fairfax County high school seniors pursuing technical theatre or design with theatrical emphasis.
• RCP Branded Merchandise Branded merchandise including RCP zip hoodie ($49.50), stainless steel water bottle ($35.99), rocks glass ($17.50), mug with color inside ($14.99), baseball hat ($22.50), cuffed beanie ($22.00), spiral notebook ($18.00), tote bag ($25.00), and flip straw water bottle ($39.00), sold through the online shop.
• Scripts and Sips Play Readings Staged play reading events featuring community participation, with light refreshments served. Target audience is community members interested in script-in-hand performances and discussion of theatrical works.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,500+ audience members served annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Reston Community CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRCP is a founding partner of the Reston Community Center and has called it home since the late 1970's. The organization performs at CenterStage (now Leila Gordon Theatre) at the Reston Community Center in Hunters Woods. This is a foundational partnership that provides the main performance venue for RCP's productions.
• South Lakes High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint production partnership for Dear Evan Hansen with South Lakes High School; RCP & SLHS Production co-credit on the show. This partnership allows for student involvement in professional-quality community theatre productions.
• ArtsFairfaxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRCP appears on the ArtsFairfax Calendar of Events, a county-supported arts calendar. ArtsFairfax provides grant programs supporting Fairfax County arts organizations including RCP.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Arena Stage: A major regional theater in Washington, DC with a national reputation and substantially larger scale. Operates in the same DMV market as RCP but at a professional, regional-institution tier well above community-theater scale.
• Signature Theatre: A Tony Award-winning professional regional theater in Arlington, VA specializing in musicals and new works. A much larger and more established DMV-area theater whose programming competes for the same audiences as RCP.

Direct peers

• The Little Theatre of Alexandria: A long-running community theater in Alexandria, VA producing a multi-show season with volunteer casts. Comparable in mission, volunteer model, and DMV geographic reach to RCP.
• McLean Community Players: A volunteer-driven community theater in McLean, VA producing a seasonal repertory of plays and musicals for DMV audiences. Directly comparable to RCP in operating model, scale, and audience demographic.
• Providence Players of Fairfax: A Fairfax, VA-based community theater producing multiple main stage productions per season with volunteer performers. Closely mirrors RCP's repertory season model and Northern Virginia audience base.
• Arlington Players: A Northern Virginia community theater that has produced volunteer-driven theatrical productions for decades. Directly comparable in operating structure and DMV target market to RCP.

Others

• American Association of Community Theatre: The national nonprofit association supporting community theaters across the U.S. Indirectly comparable as the umbrella organization and industry body that represents and resources community theaters like RCP.

Regional players

• Creative Cauldron: A Falls Church, VA-based performing arts organization producing theater, music, and educational programming. Comparable in DMV geography and nonprofit arts mission, though with a broader multidisciplinary scope than RCP.
• NextStop Theatre Company: A professional (paid-staff) regional theater based in Herndon, VA — the same city as RCP's operational base. Comparable in DMV geography but operates a different model with compensated artists.
• 1st Stage: A professional regional theater in Tysons, VA producing main stage works with a mix of paid and volunteer talent. Comparable DMV-area competitor for audiences, though with a more professionalized operating model than RCP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/restonplayers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reston-community-players
• Instagraminstagram.com/restonplayers
• Xx.com/restonplayers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Reston Community Players