What Perseverance Theatre (PT) does

Perseverance Theatre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre company founded in 1979 by Molly Smith in Juneau, Alaska, and is the largest professional theatre organization in the state. Headquartered at 914 Third Street in Douglas, Alaska, it operates a second venue in Anchorage through a partnership with the University of Alaska Anchorage Fine Arts Building Mainstage. The company's mission is to produce professional theatre by and for Alaskans, with programming centered on live mainstage productions, world premieres of new plays (70+ over its history, including Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive), and Alaska Native-focused works such as the co-produced Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles — billed as the first Tlingit opera in recorded history.

Its core offering is a seasonal slate of three to five mainstage productions augmented by educational and community programs: the STAR (Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous) youth camp for ages 12-18, the Aspiring Playwrights Writers Group, the Perseverance Play Readers book club, a season-long apprenticeship program, open casting calls, and the Black Alaskan Art Matters (BAAM) initiative. Ticketing is distributed through the OvationTix platform and physical box offices at three contact lines, with pricing tiers ranging from $10 (student/youth/rush) to $45 (Friday/Saturday), plus discounts for seniors, military, and UAA students/faculty, and a pay-as-you-can option for first-Sunday and first-Thursday performances.

The business model is a diversified nonprofit revenue stack with no single commercial product: approximately 50% of the operating budget comes from box-office earned revenue, 39% from corporate and government contributed income (NEA, Alaska State Council on the Arts, City & Borough of Juneau, Municipality of Anchorage Arts Advisory Commission, and major foundations including Rasmuson, Atwood, Shubert, Mellon, Paul G. Allen Family, Charlotte Martin), and 11% from individual donations ranging from $5 to $10,000+ including recurring, legacy, and matching gifts. A $1 million endowment held at the Alaska Community Foundation provides a financial reserve, supplemented by annual fundraisers such as the 42nd Annual Travel Raffle and business sponsorship packages with playbill advertising. Marketing runs through the company's website (ptalaska.org), email mailing lists, social media, and partnerships with libraries, universities, and Alaska Native organizations.

Name

Perseverance Theatre (PT)

Legal name

Perseverance Theatre, Inc.

Website

https://www.ptalaska.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Perseverance Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional theatre company founded in 1979 in Juneau, Alaska, producing live mainstage productions, world premieres, and educational programs for Alaskan communities across Juneau and Anchorage venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB)

Keywords

• Professional theater productions
• Live performing arts
• Theater education programs
• Regional theater company
• Season subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Douglas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Box office earned revenue from single tickets and subscriptions. The theatre operates in Juneau and Anchorage venues. Ticket pricing ranges from $10-45 depending on performance day and discount category. Online ticketing fees of $2.50 per ticket apply.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donor contributions form approximately 11% of budget. Accepts one-time donations, recurring monthly donations, legacy gifts, donor advised fund contributions, and matching gifts. Donation tiers range from $5 to $10,000+.
3. Corporate and Government Support: Corporate and government contributed revenue accounts for approximately 39% of budget. Includes foundation grants, business sponsorships, government arts funding from NEA, Alaska State Council on the Arts, and local boroughs.
4. Business Sponsorship: Season business sponsorships offering marketing recognition, event invitations, employee discounts, complementary playbill advertising (for $2500+ sponsors), and complimentary tickets.
5. Playbill Advertising: Advertisements in printed and enhanced online playbills distributed to all audience members. Rate sheet available for 2025-2026 season.
6. Travel Raffle: Annual fundraising raffle offering travel prizes. 42nd Annual Travel Raffle conducted as major annual fundraiser.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Perseverance Theatre produces and presents professional live theatrical productions, including world premieres, contemporary plays, and musicals, staged in Juneau and Anchorage for Alaskan audiences. It also operates youth and adult theatre education programs (STAR Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous, Aspiring Playwrights Writers Group, Perseverance Play Readers), sells season subscriptions and tickets, and offers playbill advertising and business sponsorship opportunities to support operations.

Product overview

Perseverance Theatre (PT) is Alaska's premier professional theatre company producing professional theatre by and for Alaskans since 1979. The core offering is live theatre productions in Juneau and Anchorage, including world premieres of new works, contemporary plays, and musicals. Educational programs include STAR (Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous) for youth, the Aspiring Playwrights Writers Group, and Perseverance Play Readers book club. PT also offers season apprenticeships, open casting calls, ticket subscriptions with discounts, donation programs including legacy giving, playbill advertising, and business sponsorship opportunities. Revenue comes from box office sales (50%), corporate/government contributions (39%), and individual donations (11%).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles World-premiere opera co-produced with Sealaska Heritage Institute, telling the story of the 1802 Tlingit-Russian War through original music grounded in Tlingit traditions. Performed at JDHS Yadaa.at Kalé Auditorium in Juneau.
• Wolf at the Door Play by Marisela Treviño Orta inspired by Latino folklore, exploring themes of freedom and empowerment. Performed November 27 - December 13, 2026 at UAA Fine Arts Mainstage in Anchorage, directed by Rio Alberto.
• Gaslight Psychological thriller adapted by Steven Dietz from Patrick Hamilton's 1939 play about psychological abuse and manipulation in a Victorian setting. Directed by PT founder Molly Smith.
• STAR (Summer Theatre Arts Rendezvous) 2026 Youth theatre arts summer program for students ages 12-18, offering week-long intensives in acting, technical theatre, musical theatre, directing, playwriting, and devised theatre. Most week-long intensives priced at $250; 2-week Musical Theatre Intensive at $500; scholarships available for need-based and Alaska Native students via Sealaska Heritage Institute.
• Aspiring Playwrights Writers Group 2026 4-week program guiding aspiring playwrights ages 16+ from idea to finished 10-minute play script, meeting weekly plus a culminating public reading. $100 fee upon acceptance, with scholarships available.
• Season Subscriptions Subscription packages providing advance access to season tickets with 25% earlybird discount, Friday/Saturday or Sunday/Thursday options, and premium or standard seating upgrades. Sold annually to Alaskan theatre audiences.
• Playbill Advertising Advertising placements in printed and enhanced online playbills distributed to all PT audience members each performance, reaching roughly 4,000 audience members per season. Rate sheet available for the 2025-2026 season.
• Business Sponsorship Opportunities Season sponsorship program offering marketing recognition, event invitations, employee discounts, complementary playbill advertising for $2,500+ sponsors, and complimentary tickets to Alaska businesses supporting PT's annual season.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 4,000 audience members served per season with plans to reach 25,000+ through Anchorage expansion
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sealaska Heritage InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-production and co-commissioning partner for first-ever Tlingit opera 'Kutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles.' Joint production of world premiere at JDHS Yadaa.at Kalé Auditorium in Juneau. Also partnered for STAR program funding through Voices On The Land Program.
• University of Alaska AnchoragecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Venue partnership for Anchorage season at UAA Fine Arts Building Mainstage. Provides $10 student/faculty tickets. Free parking on weekends. Partnership enables professional theatre access for Anchorage audiences.
• University of Alaska SoutheastminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Discount ticket partnership providing UAS Night pricing for one performance per Juneau show through UAS School of Arts and Science.
• Friends of the Juneau Public LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-presenters of Perseverance Play Readers book club series, meeting at Douglas Library Conference Room on third Tuesdays.
• National New Play NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Listed as foundation supporter. PT is member of consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists and National New Play Network.
• Consortium of Asian American Theaters & ArtistsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Leslie Ishii serves on this national consortium supporting Asian American theatre artists and organizations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Arena Stage: Washington, D.C.-based LORT professional theatre and direct institutional predecessor to PT—PT founder Molly Smith left to lead Arena Stage after 19 years. Comparable producing model (mainstage seasons, new plays, education programs) but operates at substantially larger scale in a major metro.
• Portland Center Stage: Portland, Oregon-based LORT professional theatre producing mainstage seasons, new works, and education programs. Comparable producing scope (regional professional theatre with new-play development and community programming) at a slightly larger scale in a Pacific Northwest market.

Direct peers

• East West Players: Los Angeles-based Asian American professional theatre producing mainstage seasons and development programs. Strong comparable given Leslie Ishii's prior work at EWP and PT's equity/inclusion positioning; similar size tier.
• Penumbra Theatre Company: St. Paul, Minnesota-based professional theatre with a long-standing focus on Black artistic voices and racial equity—closely aligned with PT's current BIPOC-led programming direction under Leslie Ishii, who previously worked at Penumbra.
• El Teatro Campesino: San Juan Bautista, California-based Chicano theatre company with a five-decade history of community-rooted, equity-driven programming. Comparable organizational age, mission orientation, and BIPOC-led producing model; Leslie Ishii has prior ETCP credits.
• Cyrano's Theatre Company: Anchorage-based professional theatre producing mainstage plays and operating a downtown venue. Closest same-metro peer to PT's Anchorage operations, competing for overlapping audiences, sponsors, and Alaska-based artists.

Emerging players

• Theatre Mu: Minneapolis-based Asian American theatre producing mainstage work and new-play development. Comparable in mission focus, programmatic structure (productions + education), and scale to PT; Leslie Ishii previously worked at Theatre Mu.
• Native Voices Theater Company: Los Angeles-based Native American theatre ensemble producing new plays by Indigenous writers. Strong thematic overlap with PT's Sealaska/Tlingit opera initiative and Alaska Native engagement strategy; Leslie Ishii previously worked at Native Voices.

Others

• Juneau Arts & Humanities Council: Juneau's local arts council and a current PT funder/grantor through the City & Borough of Juneau. Relevant as a local funding partner and ecosystem connector rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Anchorage Concert Association: Anchorage presenting organization that books touring shows into local venues. Not a direct producing peer but competes for the same Anchorage discretionary entertainment spend and shares the Southcentral Alaska audience pool with PT's Anchorage season.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/perseverancetheatre
• Xx.com/ptalaska

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 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 Perseverance Theatre (PT)