The NOLA Project

Name

The NOLA Project

Legal name

The NOLA Project

Website

https://nolaproject.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theatre Production

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

Keywords

• Live theatre production
• Ensemble theatre company
• Theatrical performance
• Community theatre arts
• Play development

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

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. Ticket Sales: Earned income through ticket sales accounts for 60% of annual expenses. Tickets are sold through OvationTix platform.
2. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible contributions from individual supporters. The NOLA Project is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
3. Producing Sponsorships: Affordable sponsorship option for season productions with perks including reserved seating, show-specific keepsakes, website recognition.
4. Presenting Sponsorships: Generous contributions for sponsoring productions or entire season, receiving production tickets, table read access, logo inclusion on social media and printed materials.
5. Grants: Grant support from organizations such as the New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA) for programs like Stories That Matter.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The NOLA Project is an itinerant ensemble theatre company that produces a regular main-stage season of classical, contemporary, and world-premiere plays performed at various New Orleans venues. Beyond the main season, it runs the Rough Draughts free play-reading series at local bars and breweries and operates the Stories That Matter touring program that brings socially relevant staged readings into schools, libraries, and community spaces across Greater New Orleans.

Product overview

The NOLA Project is a non-profit theatre company offering a portfolio of live theatre products and services centered in New Orleans. The core offerings consist of Season Productions (main stage theatrical performances featuring classic works, contemporary plays, and world premieres), the Rough Draughts free play reading series (supporting emerging playwrights and actors), and the Stories That Matter touring program (bringing socially relevant theatre to educational and community spaces). Supporting services include sponsorship programs, script submission processes, and seasonal audition opportunities. The company operates as an itinerant ensemble with no fixed theatre venue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stories That Matter: Touring program that brings socially relevant theatre into schools, libraries, and community spaces across Greater New Orleans. Launched in March 2026.
• Rough Draughts

Products and services

• Season Productions Main stage theatre productions comprising the company's seasonal program of classic plays, contemporary works, and world premieres performed for audiences in New Orleans. Season 22 features five shows including Dracula, Flying Dreams, Pipeline, Titus, and Tambo and Bones.
• Rough Draughts Free play reading series held at local bars, breweries, and watering holes designed to engage aspiring actors and playwrights with the New Orleans theatre community and expose audiences to new and unique plays.
• Stories That Matter Touring program that brings socially relevant theatre into schools, libraries, and community spaces across Greater New Orleans, featuring professional theatre artists presenting dramatic literature paired with facilitated conversations for civic engagement.
• A LESSON BEFORE DYING School-touring staged-reading production based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines, addressing racial injustice, dignity, and the death penalty in 1940s Louisiana; launched as part of the Stories That Matter program.
• Producing Sponsor Program Annual sponsorship tier offering exclusive perks including reserved seating, show-specific keepsakes, website recognition, and season swag for supporters financing season productions.
• Presenting Sponsor Program Annual sponsorship opportunity providing production tickets, access to table reads and ancillary events, logo inclusion on social media and printed materials, and season swag.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the largest employers of theatre artists in the state of Louisiana
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, former and minor.

• Theatre Communications Group (TCG)coreOthersMember theatre of TCG, a national organization for theatre companies providing resources, advocacy, and professional development for American theatres.
• National New Play Network (NNPN)coreOthersAssociate member theatre of NNPN, a network that develops and produces new plays through collaboration among theatres across the country.
• New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)formerStrategic or Co-development Partner12-year partnership (2011-2023) presenting productions inside the museum and sculpture garden. Ended in August 2023 due to disagreements about diversity commitments.
• Promise of Justice InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity and justice organization partnering for A Lesson Before Dying staged reading, helping frame performances within broader conversations about justice and civic responsibility.
• St. Charles Center for Faith + ActionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for A Lesson Before Dying staged reading on 3/13.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Radical Buffoons: New Orleans theatre company referenced in leadership bios of multiple NOLA Project ensemble members (Tenaj Wallace as former Associate AD, Jon Greene as former AD). Direct peer in the same local market with overlapping artistic personnel.
• Promethean Theatre Co. New Orleans-based theatre company where board member Khiry Armstead has performed. Comparable as a small local ensemble producing contemporary work in the same Gulf South market.
• Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré: Historic New Orleans community theatre producing classic and contemporary plays in a single venue. Closely comparable by city and programming mix, with somewhat different fixed-venue economics.
• Southern Rep Theatre: Another New Orleans-based professional theatre company producing a season of contemporary and classical works. Directly comparable as a Louisiana-based ensemble theatre competing for the same audience and donor base.

Others

• Theatre Communications Group: National service organization for the American professional theatre. Comparable as TCG membership organization that provides advocacy, fundraising resources, and programming support to member theatres including The NOLA Project.

Broad incumbents

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Prestigious ensemble-based regional theatre in Chicago producing a season of contemporary and classic works. Comparable by ensemble model and TCG membership, though operating at a much larger scale.
• PlayMakers Repertory Company: University-affiliated regional repertory theatre producing classics and new works. Comparable by repertory model and by balancing school-touring with mainstage programming.
• Actors Theatre of Louisville: Mid-sized regional repertory theatre known for Humana Festival of New American Plays. Comparable as an NNPN/TCG-affiliated regional theatre running a season-plus new-play development program.
• Asolo Repertory Theatre: Largest regional theatre in Florida producing a subscription season. Comparable as a TCG-affiliated regional repertory running multi-show seasons with educational outreach components.
• Berkeley Rep: Tony-winning regional repertory theatre producing classical, contemporary, and world-premiere works. Comparable by mission, repertory model, and world-premiere focus, but at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/thenolaproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/thenolaproject
• Instagraminstagram.com/thenolaproject
• Xx.com/theNOLAproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-nola-project

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 The NOLA Project