Naked Angels

What Naked Angels does

Naked Angels Ltd. is a nonprofit theater company founded in 1986 in New York City by a group of artists committed to creating a shared home for bold new voices. The organization operates a portfolio of free, open community programs rather than traditional ticketed productions: Tuesdays@9 (a weekly cold-reading series launched in 1991 and recognized as NYC's longest-running cold reading series), 1st Mondays (a monthly full-length play reading series launched in 2002), 3T Writing Workshops (a youth creative-arts education program launched in 2010 serving NYC public school students and youth in foster care), 3T Summer Style, the Naked Radio podcast, and the Issues Project. Programs are delivered across physical venues in four U.S. cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami—currently on pause), with all events free to attend and built on open submissions and open casting policies.

The organization does not operate a traditional technology platform; its core "product" is live theatrical programming and in-person creative-arts education, supplemented by digital content distribution via podcast (Naked Radio) and online readings (Issues Project, revived online in March 2022). Naked Angels has no disclosed software products, apps, APIs, or proprietary technology assets. Marketing and audience development are conducted through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, city-specific email newsletters, and an NYC community calendar.

Name

Naked Angels

Legal name

Naked Angels Ltd.

Website

https://nakedangels.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Naked Angels is a nonprofit theater company founded in 1986 that runs free, open programming—including Tuesdays@9 weekly cold readings, 1st Mondays play readings, and 3T youth workshops—for emerging and professional artists, students, and audiences across NYC, LA, Chicago, and Miami.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Community Theatre Services

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Performing Arts Camps (Theater, Musical Theater, Dance) (EDAMALAI)

Keywords

• Theater programs
• Cold readings
• Play development
• Youth arts education
• Creative writing workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The organization accepts donations from individuals through its website (Give Lively platform) and mail. Donations support the free programs and operations.
2. Government Grants: Funding from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC).
3. Foundation Support: Grants from Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, B. Robert Williamson Jr. Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Find Your Light Foundation, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Naked Angels is a nonprofit theater company that operates free, open-access programs for playwrights, actors, directors, and youth in four U.S. cities. Its core offerings are weekly cold readings of new work (Tuesdays@9, since 1991), monthly readings of full-length plays developed through Tuesdays@9 (1st Mondays, since 2002), and free creative-arts workshops for NYC public-school students, District 79 alternative schools, and youth in foster care (3T Workshops, since 2010). All programs are free to participants and supported by donations and grants.

Product overview

Naked Angels is a nonprofit theater company founded in 1986 that offers a portfolio of free, open programs for theater artists and youth. The core offerings include Tuesdays@9 (weekly cold reading series started in 1991 across NYC, LA, Chicago, and Miami), 1st Mondays (monthly full-length play readings established 2002), 3T Writing Workshops (youth creative writing programs for NYC public schools and foster care founded 2010), 3T Summer Style (annual film production workshop for high school students), Naked Radio (monthly podcast with six seasons), and the Issues Project (curated short play series revived online in 2022). All programs are free and open, serving emerging, professional, and student artists as well as underserved youth across New York City.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tuesdays@9: New York City's longest-running cold reading series for work-in-progress, operating in NYC, LA, Chicago, and Miami with open submissions and free admission.
• 1st Mondays
• 3T (Tools, Talent, Time)
• Naked Radio
• Issues Project

Products and services

• Tuesdays@9 Weekly cold reading series for work-in-progress, held on Tuesday nights at 9pm. Features open submissions, open casting, and free admission for all artists and audience members. Operates in NYC (Theatre at St. Lukes), LA (The Madnani Theater), Chicago (Chicago Dramatists), and Miami (Main Street Players — currently on pause).
• 1st Mondays Free monthly reading series of full-length plays developed through Tuesdays@9. Established playwrights are provided space, director, cast, and rehearsal period to present completed works to the public.
• 3T Writing Workshops Educational and inspirational creative-arts workshops bringing free writing programs to NYC public school students, District 79 alternative schools, and youth in foster care. Includes writing exercises where professional actors bring student work to life.
• 3T Summer Style Annual intensive workshop where NYC public high school students write screenplays, rehearse, direct actors, and produce short films in four days.
• Naked Radio Monthly podcast featuring original audio plays, comic sketches, interviews, musical numbers, and short documentaries created by young theater artists. Distributed via iTunes and streaming platforms.
• Issues Project Curated series of short plays around a current and pressing theme. Features ten-minute plays written specifically around the chosen theme, originally presented live and revived online via Zoom readings.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The New School for DramacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership formed in 2018: The New School offers space for 3T workshops in exchange for opportunities for students and alumni to learn from working artists. Writers from Tuesdays@9 can develop full-length plays at professional spaces at The New School. The partnership continues with The New School hosting five 1st Mondays events in the 2025-26 season.
• Culture for OnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in serving youth in foster care, bringing arts programming to children in the child welfare system through the 3T Program.
• Actors' Equity AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in offering Barn Residencies for artists, providing development opportunities for theatre artists.
• Theatre 4 The PeopleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater supporter and partner organization.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Second Stage Theater: Off-Broadway and Broadway-presenting organization dedicated to producing living American playwrights. Overlaps with Naked Angels' new-work development mission but operates at significantly larger scale and budgets.
• The Public Theater: Major NYC cultural institution with deep new-play development programs (including free Shakespeare in the Park) and a wide portfolio of artist services. A larger incumbent operating in the same new-work development space as Naked Angels, with overlapping mission but much greater scale and resources.

Direct peers

• New York Theatre Workshop: Off-Broadway theater company in NYC focused on developing and producing new work, including new plays and experimental pieces. Comparable to Naked Angels in mission of nurturing emerging playwrights and unconventional work, with a similar artist-centered development model.
• Atlantic Theater Company: Off-Broadway company founded by David Mamet and William H. Macy that develops and produces new work, with education programs serving youth and emerging artists. Closely comparable in size, NYC base, and dual focus on new-play development and arts education, and a direct connection through board member Beth Emelson's prior leadership.
• The New Group: Off-Off-Broadway theater company in NYC producing new work and developing emerging playwrights. Comparable in scale, new-work focus, and artist-development mission to Naked Angels' Tuesdays@9 and 1st Mondays programming.
• Playwrights Horizons: Off-Broadway theater dedicated exclusively to new American plays and musicals, with strong playwright development programs. Direct peer in the new-work development niche and comparable artist-services orientation to Naked Angels.
• Labyrinth Theater Company: NYC ensemble-based theater company known for developing new American work with an emphasis on community-building and supporting diverse voices. Comparable to Naked Angels in its artist-centered model and emphasis on bold, emerging voices.
• Classical Theatre of Harlem: NYC-based theater company producing classical and new work alongside robust education and community engagement programs serving Harlem youth. Comparable to Naked Angels in combining new-work production with youth arts education programming.
• Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: Off-Off-Broadway theater in NYC's West Village dedicated to producing new and adventurous plays. Comparable to Naked Angels in neighborhood base, small scale, and commitment to experimental new work.
• New Dramatists: National playwright development organization offering seven-year residencies and staged readings to emerging and mid-career playwrights. Directly comparable mission to Naked Angels' play-development work through Tuesdays@9 and 1st Mondays.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nakedangels
• Facebookfacebook.com/NAtheater
• Instagraminstagram.com/nakedangelsnyc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/naked-angels-theater-company

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 Naked Angels