The Shalleck Collaborative
The Shalleck Collaborative is a Berkeley, CA-based theatre consulting firm founded in 2003 that plans and designs performing arts venues, production systems, and AV systems for universities, municipalities, and non-profit performing arts organizations across the western United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersBerkeley, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Shalleck Collaborative does
The Shalleck Collaborative Inc. is a privately held, Berkeley, California-based professional consulting firm founded in 2003 by Adam Shalleck, FAIA, that specializes in theatre planning and design, production systems engineering, and audio-visual (AV) systems integration for performing arts venues, assembly spaces, and large-format teaching facilities. The firm conceives architectural planning and technical systems design in parallel — covering rigging and machinery, stage draperies, variable acoustics systems, stage lighting control and fixtures, fixed and telescoping seating, stage lifts and platforms, orchestra shells, and AV systems — and delivers these as integrated solutions rather than as additive, separately specified components. Its 16-person multidisciplinary team combines architects, theatre production specialists, and AV engineers holding credentials including FAIA, CTS-D, ASTC, CDT, and CTS.
The firm operates on a project-based professional services revenue model, executing long-cycle consulting engagements directly with institutional clients including universities, school districts, municipalities, and non-profit performing arts organizations. Projects are sourced primarily through industry reputation, long-term architectural partnerships (LMN Architects, BAR, WRNS Studio, QKA Architects, CAW Architects, Mahlum), and ongoing conference participation — most notably a 10-year, 16-occasion continuous sponsorship of IAVM VenueConnect. Adam Shalleck has led approximately 300 projects since founding the firm, with a recent portfolio that includes UCLA's Nimoy Theatre, Texas Christian University's Van Cliburn Concert Hall, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall renovation (featuring the largest Meyer Sound Constellation installation in a pre-existing U.S. venue), San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, and a multi-campus K-12 program across San Mateo Union High School District funded by a $298 million bond measure.
The firm maintains offices in Berkeley, CA (headquarters at 1553 Martin Luther King Jr. Way) and Portland, OR, serving clients primarily across the western United States. It is independently held with no disclosed institutional investors or outside capital, operates as a fee-for-service consultancy with project-specific negotiated engagement terms, and has no public pricing, app, API, or software product offerings. The business is essentially founder-anchored around Adam Shalleck's professional reputation, though recent leadership additions (Strategic Advisor Jodi Cobalt, additional consultants) suggest incremental organizational depth.
The Shalleck Collaborative firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Shalleck Collaborative
- Legal name
- The Shalleck Collaborative Inc.
- Website
- https://shalleck.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Shalleck Collaborative is a Berkeley, CA-based theatre consulting firm founded in 2003 that plans and designs performing arts venues, production systems, and AV systems for universities, municipalities, and non-profit performing arts organizations across the western United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Shalleck Collaborative industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Theatre Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Other Specialized Design Services (54149)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Theatre Services & Design (Scenic/Costume/Props/Stage Management) (MPAGABAO)
Keywords
Where The Shalleck Collaborative is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berkeley
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Shalleck Collaborative business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Theatre Consulting Services: Project-based professional consulting fees for theatre planning, design, and production systems specification. Revenue generated through long-term consulting engagements with educational institutions, municipalities, and performing arts organizations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Shalleck Collaborative product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Shalleck Collaborative provides professional consulting services for the planning, design, and integration of theatres, performing arts venues, assembly spaces, and large-format teaching places. Its core offerings span theatre consulting (architectural and engineering criteria), production systems design (rigging, machinery, draperies, variable acoustics, lighting, seating, lifts, orchestra shells), and AV systems planning and integration for theatres, council chambers, corporate environments, museums, and sports facilities.
Product overview
The Shalleck Collaborative is a theatre consulting firm offering three core service areas: Theatre Consulting (architectural and engineering guidance for theatre, assembly, and teaching spaces), Production Systems (design and coordination of rigging, machinery, draperies, acoustics, lighting, seating, lifts, and orchestra shells), and AV Systems (planning and integration of audio-visual systems across performance venues, corporate environments, educational institutions, and municipal facilities). These services are delivered across specialized practice areas including performing arts theatres on campus, theatre renovation and adaptation, learning spaces/auditoria, music halls, and municipal/commercial theatres.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Theatre Consulting
Companies that use The Shalleck Collaborative
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Shalleck Collaborative technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
The Shalleck Collaborative partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- LMN ArchitectscoreLong-term architectural partnership on multiple award-winning performing arts projects. LMN served as architects for the Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts (2024 AIA/WA Civic Design Honor Award) and Field Arts & Events Hall (ENR Northwest Best Specialty Construction award).
- BAR (Bora Architecture & Interiors)coreArchitectural partner for UCLA's Nimoy Theatre project, which won the ENR 2024 Southern California Best Projects Award (Cultural/Worship) and LA Business Council's Best Hospitality Project Award. Long-time collaborator on TCU School of Music project.
- WRNS StudiocoreArchitectural partner for Sonoma Academy's Community Performing Arts Center (ENR Best Regional Project for K-12 Education in Northern California). Also collaborated on Airbnb headquarters redesign project.
- QKA ArchitectscoreArchitectural partner for Sonoma Academy's Community Performing Arts Center. Also served as architects for San Mateo Performing Arts Center (Award of Honor from CASH and AIA California Council).
- CAW ArchitectscoreArchitectural partner for Veterans' Memorial Auditorium Seismic Retrofit project (ENR Best Project Award for Small Project & Safety). CAW led the preservation of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-planned, Taliesin-designed venue.
- Meyer Sound LaboratoriescoreTechnology partner for acoustic system design, notably for the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall renovation which implemented the Meyer Sound Constellation electronic acoustic system — the largest application in a pre-existing venue in the U.S. and first in a repurposed vintage movie palace. Also collaborated on The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts.
- Mahlum ArchitectsminorPartnered with Mahlum Architects' Seattle office on Bainbridge High School theatre project, conceiving and designing dedicated theatres by inserting a true stage, crossover, control booth, and tension grid overhead.
- Axis DanceminorFeatured partner at the 2025 IAVM VenueConnect conference sponsored session. The firm suggested Axis Dance present their Access Guide on accommodations at performance venues, promoting accessibility awareness in the performing arts industry.
- Acoustic DistinctionscoreAcoustic consulting collaborator on the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at Texas Christian University. David Kahn from Acoustic Distinctions praised the firm's essential role in designing adjustable acoustic elements for the concert hall's variable acoustics systems.
- Horton Lees BrogdenminorArchitectural lighting designers on the TCU School of Music project, contributing to the Van Cliburn Concert Hall's quality of light and control design.
- Architectural Resources Group (ARG)minorPreservation architect on the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall renovation. ARG developed the motif for hand-painted decorative drapes, reincorporating historic decorative elements with acoustic utility and visual delight.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Shalleck Collaborative competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Threshold Acoustics: Threshold Acoustics is an acoustics consulting firm focused on performance, worship, and learning spaces. It complements architectural teams by specifying acoustic treatments, mechanical noise control, and sound isolation, and is frequently engaged alongside theatre consultants like The Shalleck Collaborative for concert hall and recital hall projects.
- Fisher Dachs Associates: Fisher Dachs Associates is a New York-based theatre planning consultancy that advises on the design of performing arts facilities, including seating, sightlines, stage machinery, and acoustics. It serves the same higher education, municipal, and cultural institution clients as The Shalleck Collaborative and frequently co-consults with architectural firms on shared projects.
- Jaffe Holden: Jaffe Holden is an acoustics and AV consulting firm specializing in performing arts venues, houses of worship, and civic facilities. It is directly comparable to The Shalleck Collaborative's integrated approach of acoustics and AV systems design, particularly for concert halls and theatres where variable acoustics are specified.
- Akustiks: Akustiks is an acoustics consulting practice specializing in concert halls, opera houses, theatres, and educational facilities. It provides room acoustics, sound isolation, and AV systems consulting, making it a direct specialty peer to The Shalleck Collaborative on the production systems and AV side of the business.
- Charcoalblue: Charcoalblue is a global theatre and performance design consultancy formed by the merger of Theatre Projects Consultants and Charcoalblue. It provides theatre planning, performance systems design, and acoustics for performing arts venues worldwide, making it one of the largest direct competitors to The Shalleck Collaborative for major university, municipal, and cultural institution projects.
- Schuler Shook: Schuler Shook is a theatre planning and theatrical lighting design consultancy with offices in the US and Europe. It advises on theatre architecture, sightlines, rigging, and lighting design for performing arts venues, museums, and worship spaces, overlapping directly with The Shalleck Collaborative's theatre consulting and production systems practice.
- Auerbach Pollock Friedlander: Founded in 1974, Auerbach Pollock Friedlander is one of the longest-standing theatre consulting firms in North America, providing planning and design of theatre architecture, performance systems, and acoustics. It is directly comparable to The Shalleck Collaborative as Adam Shalleck trained there for 15 years before founding his firm, and they compete for the same institutional and municipal theatre engagements.
- Idibri (part of Salas O'Brien): Idibri is an AV systems design and consulting firm specializing in performance venues, performing arts centers, museums, and theme parks. It is most directly comparable to The Shalleck Collaborative's AV Systems practice, designing integrated audio, video, lighting, and control systems for theatres and similar venues.
Broad incumbents
- Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with a dedicated performing arts and entertainment venue practice. It competes for marquee concert hall, opera house, and arena projects through engineering-led packages that include acoustics and theatre systems, making it a broader incumbent in the same client RFPs as The Shalleck Collaborative.
- WJHW (Stantec): WJHW is an architecture firm with a dedicated performing arts practice and was integrated into Stantec. It designs performing arts centers, concert halls, and educational facilities, often bringing theatre and AV consultants in as subconsultants—a relationship model that puts it adjacent to, rather than in direct competition with, The Shalleck Collaborative, while still competing for the same downstream client budget.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights8 records
Customer concentration
The Shalleck Collaborative social profiles
Digital presenceThe Shalleck Collaborative financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Shalleck Collaborative leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
The Shalleck Collaborative funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Shalleck Collaborative 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 The Shalleck Collaborative
What does The Shalleck Collaborative do?
The Shalleck Collaborative provides professional consulting services for the planning, design, and integration of theatres, performing arts venues, assembly spaces, and large-format teaching places. Its core offerings span theatre consulting (architectural and engineering criteria), production systems design (rigging, machinery, draperies, variable acoustics, lighting, seating, lifts, orchestra shells), and AV systems planning and integration for theatres, council chambers, corporate environments, museums, and sports facilities.
Is The Shalleck Collaborative a public or private company?
The Shalleck Collaborative is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Shalleck Collaborative founded?
The Shalleck Collaborative was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Shalleck Collaborative based?
The Shalleck Collaborative is headquartered in Berkeley, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Shalleck Collaborative make money?
One revenue line is on record: theatre Consulting Services.
Who are The Shalleck Collaborative's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Threshold Acoustics, Fisher Dachs Associates, Jaffe Holden, Akustiks, Charcoalblue, Schuler Shook, Auerbach Pollock Friedlander and Idibri (part of Salas O'Brien). Broad incumbents are Arup and WJHW (Stantec).
Does The Shalleck Collaborative have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Shalleck Collaborative.
What industry is The Shalleck Collaborative in?
The Shalleck Collaborative's product category is Theatre Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAO, Theatre Services & Design (Scenic/Costume/Props/Stage Management). Its NAICS code is 54149 and its SIC code is 8700.