WP Theater
WP Theater is a New York-based 501(c)(3) Off-Broadway theater company developing, producing, and promoting work by Women+ artists. Operates a 108-seat venue, a two-year artist residency (WP Lab), a subsidized Space Program, and tiered donor and Choose Your Price ticketing models.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What WP Theater does
WP Theater is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) Off-Broadway theater company founded in 1978 by Julia Miles in New York City, originally as The Women's Project under The American Place Theatre. Now in its 48th season and headquartered at 55 West End Avenue with its 108-seat performance venue at 2162 Broadway on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the organization operates as the oldest and largest U.S. theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting work by Women+ artists. Its core product portfolio includes mainstage Off-Broadway productions; the two-year Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab residency for playwrights, directors, and producers (with a competitive selection process and 350+ alumni since 1983); the biennial Pipeline Festival; a Commissioning Series with eight playwrights under commission; a subsidized Space Program renting the venue at $3,000/week to small-budget nonprofit companies ($300,000 or less); the Pages to Stages paid youth fellowship in partnership with viBe Theater Experience for ages 14-18; and New Federal Theater as a permanent Resident Company.
The business model combines earned revenue from ticketing with philanthropic and contributed revenue as the dominant funding base. Revenue streams include (1) ticket sales via a Choose Your Price model with tiers from $20 to $100, with $10 subsidizing tickets funded through $65 "Pay It Forward" purchases and a $25 rush option, distributed through a physical box office, the OvationsTix online platform, and phone sales; (2) tiered annual donations ranging from $500 (Change Maker) to $10,000 (Revolutionary), with corresponding priority access and VIP benefits; (3) a "Seat of One's Own" capital campaign selling seat dedications at $1,500 single or $3,000 pair; and (4) Space Program rental income at $3,000 per week from mission-aligned tenants. Distribution and marketing rely on the wptheater.org website, an email newsletter, organic social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube), and press coverage from outlets including Playbill, The New York Times, and New York Magazine.
Operations are led by Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty (in role since 2014) and Managing Director Michael Sag (6th season), supported by a nine-person administrative team that engaged 35+ artists during the 2023-2024 season. The 2026-2027 season features three co-productions with Signature Theatre Company, Fiasco Theater, and Ma-Yi Theater Company. The organization has accumulated a body of work recognized by the Regional Theatre Tony (2014), Lucille Lortel (2018), Obie (2019), and Drama Desk (2020) Awards, and was renamed from Women's Project Theater to WP Theater in 2022 to reflect an evolved Women+ mission.
WP Theater firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WP Theater
- Legal name
- WP Theater
- Website
- https://wptheater.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- WP Theater is a New York-based 501(c)(3) Off-Broadway theater company developing, producing, and promoting work by Women+ artists. Operates a 108-seat venue, a two-year artist residency (WP Lab), a subsidized Space Program, and tiered donor and Choose Your Price ticketing models.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
WP Theater industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Off-Broadway Theater
- NAICS
- Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB)
Keywords
Where WP Theater is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
WP Theater business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: WP Theater generates revenue through ticket sales for productions at their 108-seat Off-Broadway theater. They employ a Choose Your Price model with multiple price tiers ranging from $20 to $100.
- Donations and Fundraising: The organization relies heavily on charitable donations from supporters at various levels ($500-$20,000 annually) with corresponding benefits including priority access, VIP receptions, and exclusive experiences.
- Seat Naming Campaign: A Seat of One's Own campaign allows donors to purchase seat dedications at $1,500 per seat or $3,000 for a pair, with premium options available.
- Space Program Rental Revenue: Subsidized rental program at $3,000 per week for mission-aligned artists and small not-for-profit companies ($300,000 budget or less).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Theater for Everyone - Limited accessibility tier |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | General Admission Standard Ticket |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Pay It Forward Ticket - Subsidizes lower-cost tickets |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | True Cost Ticket - Covers actual production costs |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Rush Tickets - Limited availability |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Donor Levels - Change Maker |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Donor Levels - Pioneer |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Donor Levels - Revolutionary |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Seat Naming Campaign - Act 2 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
WP Theater product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WP Theater produces and presents Off-Broadway theater productions written and directed by Women+ artists at its 108-seat venue at 2162 Broadway, New York. Alongside its Mainstage season, the company operates artist development programs (WP Theater Lab, Pipeline Festival, Developmental Series, Commissioning Series), a subsidized Space Program for theater rentals, and a youth fellowship (Pages to Stages), all sustained by ticket sales, donations, and grants.
Product overview
WP Theater is a theater company offering a portfolio of interconnected programs: the Mainstage series features full-season Off-Broadway productions; the Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab provides a two-year residency for playwrights, directors, and producers; the Space Program offers subsidized theater rentals; the biennial Pipeline Festival showcases Lab artists' work; Pages to Stages provides a youth fellowship; and the ticketing system uses a Choose Your Price model. New Federal Theater serves as the resident company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mainstage Productions Full-season Off-Broadway productions written and directed by Women+ theater artists, featuring world premieres and New York premieres at WP's 108-seat venue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
- Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab A two-year residency program for Women+ playwrights, directors, and producers providing professional network access, entrepreneurial and leadership training, rehearsal space, and development and production opportunities, culminating in the biennial Pipeline Festival. Served over 350 artists since its founding as The Director's Forum in 1983.
- Space Program Subsidized rental program offering WP's 108-seat Off-Broadway venue to mission-aligned individual artists and small nonprofit companies with annual budgets of $300,000 or less, at $3,000 per week.
- Pipeline Festival Biennial festival presenting five new plays written, directed, and produced by WP Theater Lab artists, showcasing the culmination of the two-year residency program.
- Pages to Stages Fellowship A paid fellowship program for BIPOC, trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and Women+ teens aged 14-18, delivered in collaboration with viBe Theater Experience, providing playwriting, directing, and community building workshops as a transformational apprenticeship opportunity.
- New Federal Theater (Resident Company) New Federal Theater, founded by Woodie King, Jr. in 1970, serves as WP Theater's resident company and focuses on developing and producing work by Black artists in mainstream American theater.
Quantifiable outcome
- Produced over 600 Off-Broadway plays and developmental projects since 1978
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use WP Theater
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
WP Theater technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
WP Theater partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Signature Theatre CompanycoreCo-producer of Fish (2026-2027 season). Signature is an artistic home for storytellers with a groundbreaking residency and producing model, founded in 1991 and led by Artistic Director Emily Shooltz.
- New Light Theater ProjectsupportingAssociation with Fish production. NLTP nurtures a Collective of artist-practitioners by presenting compelling stories across theatrical genres. A twice Drama Desk-nominated company since 2013.
- Noor Theatre CompanysupportingConsulting Producer on Fish. An Obie-winning company dedicated to supporting, developing, and producing the work of theatre artists of Middle Eastern, Southwest Asian and North African descent.
- Fiasco TheatercoreCo-producer of The Stand In (2026-2027 season). An ensemble theater company offering dynamic, joyful, actor-driven productions. Called 'a force to reckon with in the American theater' by The New York Times.
- Ma-Yi Theater CompanycoreCo-producer of You Seem Sad (2026-2027 season). One of the nation's leading incubators of new plays by Asian American writers, founded in 1989, with multiple Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards.
- Lucille Lortel TheatersupportingAssociation with You Seem Sad production. A theater venue in New York that hosts productions.
- New Federal TheatercoreWP Theater's Resident Company. Founded by Woodie King, Jr. in 1970 to develop inclusion of Black artists in mainstream American Theatre. Has produced over 400 plays and helped launch careers of Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and others.
- viBe Theater ExperiencesupportingCollaboration on Pages to Stages, a paid fellowship program for BIPOC, trans, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and Women+ Fellows aged 14-18 in theater. A transformational apprenticeship opportunity.
- New GeorgessupportingAssociation partner mentioned in multiple productions including PORTO. A theater organization supporting women and trans artists.
- The Bushwick StarrsupportingCo-producer of PORTO with WP Theater. A nonprofit theater in Brooklyn developing and producing new plays by emerging playwrights.
- Colt CoeursupportingPresented Parity Plays Reading Series in collaboration with WP Theater. Founded by WP Lab alum Adrienne Campbell-Holt.
- Sol ProjectsupportingMentioned as co-presenter with Latinx Playwrights Circle and WP Theater on productions like Sancocho. A movement to get Latinx plays to mainstream audiences.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
WP Theater competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Manhattan Theatre Club: Established Off-Broadway institution with multiple venues producing new plays and transfers; comparable season structure and donor/development operating model to WP.
- Playwrights Horizons: Major Off-Broadway producer with deep new-play development programs; larger than WP but the closest mainstream analogue in mission, season length, and audience development approach.
- Second Stage Theater: Larger Off-Broadway producer with Broadway transfer capability; operates at higher scale but pursues similar new-work and emerging-playwright programming as WP.
Direct peers
- MCC Theater: Off-Broadway producer of new work with a strong identity-focused programming lens; comparable in scale, season structure, and developmental programming (multiple WP team members came from MCC).
- Ma-Yi Theater Company: Identity-focused Off-Broadway incubator of new plays by Asian American writers; comparable size, mission-driven model, and current co-production partner with WP (You Seem Sad).
- Vineyard Theatre: Off-Broadway company producing new plays and musicals with development programs; comparable in scale, season size, and pipeline-to-Broadway orientation.
- National Black Theatre: Harlem-based identity-focused producing theater; comparable in mission specificity, donor-dependent model, and emerging-artist residency programming.
- New Georges: Off-Broadway organization dedicated to supporting women and trans theater artists; the most mission-aligned peer to WP and an existing association partner on multiple productions.
- New York Theatre Workshop: Off-Broadway producer renowned for developing landmark new work (e.g., Rent, Hadestown); closely comparable scale, mission emphasis on new voices, and producing-artistic-director-led model.
- Signature Theatre Company: Off-Broadway company with a residency-driven producing model for playwrights; the most direct operational analogue to WP's artist-development pipeline and a current co-production partner (Fish, 2026-2027).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
WP Theater social profiles
Digital presenceWP Theater financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WP Theater leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
WP Theater funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WP Theater M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WP Theater
What does WP Theater do?
WP Theater produces and presents Off-Broadway theater productions written and directed by Women+ artists at its 108-seat venue at 2162 Broadway, New York. Alongside its Mainstage season, the company operates artist development programs (WP Theater Lab, Pipeline Festival, Developmental Series, Commissioning Series), a subsidized Space Program for theater rentals, and a youth fellowship (Pages to Stages), all sustained by ticket sales, donations, and grants.
Is WP Theater a public or private company?
WP Theater is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was WP Theater founded?
WP Theater was founded in 1978. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is WP Theater based?
WP Theater is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does WP Theater make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are donations and Fundraising, seat Naming Campaign and space Program Rental Revenue.
Who are WP Theater's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons and Second Stage Theater. Direct peers are MCC Theater, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Vineyard Theatre, National Black Theatre, New Georges, New York Theatre Workshop and Signature Theatre Company.
Does WP Theater have an API?
No public API is recorded for WP Theater.
What industry is WP Theater in?
WP Theater's product category is Off-Broadway Theater. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAB, Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies, with a secondary code of MPAGALAB, Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses). Its NAICS code is 71111.