Just Theater

What Just Theater does

Just Theater is a non-profit theater company founded in 2006 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with operations centered in Berkeley and, more recently, San Francisco. The company produces contemporary theatrical works, with an emphasis on West Coast and Bay Area premieres of new plays by emerging and established playwrights including Anne Washburn, Rob Handel, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Jonathan Spector. Programming spans full mainstage productions, a New Play Lab development program, and experimental work-in-progress showcases via the FuryFactory series, staged across partner venues including the Ashby Stage, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley City Club, and Custom Made Theater in San Francisco.

The business model is that of a small community-supported performing arts organization. Tickets are priced at $20-$25 per performance and distributed through online ticketing platforms (Brown Paper Tickets, Arts People) and at-the-door box office sales, supplemented by donations and grant funding typical of non-profit theaters. The company does not maintain a proprietary technology platform; its digital presence is a Squarespace-based website that serves as the primary channel for ticketing, audience information, and engagement. There is no evidence of AI/ML tooling in the operating stack.

Just Theater runs a partnership-heavy production model, co-producing with Shotgun Players, PlayGround, Custom Made Theater Company, Mugwumpin, and A.C.T. Costume Shop. This resource-sharing approach allows a small core team to mount multiple productions annually without owning a permanent performance space. The company's profile is sustained by critical press coverage from Bay Area publications (SF Chronicle, KQED, SF Weekly, East Bay Express) and multiple theater industry awards, including TBA Awards, the ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, and Glickman Awards. Artistic leadership consists of Artistic Director Jonathan Spector and Associate Artistic Director Molly Aaronson-Gelb, supported by a staff of 11-50.

Name

Just Theater

Legal name

Just Theater

Website

http://justtheater.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Just Theater is a Berkeley-based non-profit theater company founded in 2006 that produces contemporary plays, West Coast premieres, and experimental work-in-progress showcases for Bay Area audiences across multiple partner venues in Berkeley and San Francisco.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Live Theater

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Contemporary theater productions
• Live theatrical performances
• Play development programs
• Regional performing arts
• Independent theater company

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from audience ticket purchases for theatrical performances. Tickets are sold at price points of $20-$25 per performance through online platforms and at the door.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Just Theater produces full theatrical productions of contemporary plays, including world premieres, West Coast premieres, and Bay Area debuts of works by emerging and established playwrights. Supporting offerings include the New Play Lab development program for nurturing new plays, and work-in-progress showcases presented through festivals such as FuryFactory. Performances are staged at Bay Area venues including Ashby Stage, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley City Club, and Custom Made Theater.

Product overview

Just Theater is a small Berkeley-based theater company producing contemporary plays with a focus on new works and Bay Area/West Coast premieres. The core offering is full theatrical productions across venues including Ashby Stage, Live Oak Theater, and Berkeley City Club. Supporting offerings include the New Play Lab development program for emerging playwrights, and work-in-progress showcases presented through FuryFactory that may be developed into full productions. The company has produced plays by writers including Anne Washburn, Rob Handel, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Jonathan Spector, Jason Grote, Erin Bregman, Melissa James Gibson, and Caryl Churchill.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Theatrical Productions Full theatrical productions of contemporary plays including premieres and Bay Area/West Coast debuts of works by emerging and established playwrights (e.g., 'The Internationalist', 'A Maze', 'We Are Proud to Present...', 'Cry It Out'). Staged at Bay Area venues including Ashby Stage, Live Oak Theater, Berkeley City Club, and Custom Made Theater.
• New Play Lab A development program for nurturing new plays and playwrights, presented in collaboration with other theater companies. The program creates work-in-progress productions that may later be developed into full productions.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• PlayGroundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced 'Down A Little Dirt Road' by Erin Bregman with PlayGround at Berkeley City Club in June-July 2011. This was a World Premiere collaboration.
• Shotgun PlayerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Shotgun Players to remount the hit production 'A Maze' at Ashby Stage, Berkeley (Feb 14 - March 9). Also presented 'We Are Proud to Present...' in association with Shotgun Players.
• MugwumpincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated 'this is all i need' as a work-in-progress collaboration with Mugwumpin, presented as part of FuryFactory. In 2010, Mugwumpin presented it as a full production which won 'Best Plays of 2010' by SF Weekly and 'Best Theater of 2010' by SF Bay Guardian.
• Custom Made Theater CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced 'Good. Better. Best. Bested.' by Jonathan Spector with Custom Made Theater Company at their venue in San Francisco (June 14th - July 14 2018). Also presented 'CRY IT OUT' in association with Custom Made Theatre.
• Ramon and JessicaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with songwriting duo Ramon and Jessica to develop 'Roses Are Blue,' a music theater piece based on Gertrude Stein's children's book The World Is Round - an experimental Live A Capella Storybook.
• A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theater)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with A.C.T. Costume Shop in San Francisco for 'Roses Are Blue' production (May 19-21).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Shotgun Players: A Berkeley-based regional theater company that has co-produced multiple shows with Just Theater, including 'A Maze (Remount)' and 'We Are Proud to Present...'. Comparable in scale, mission, and Bay Area geography.
• Custom Made Theater Company: A San Francisco mid-size theater company that has co-produced works with Just Theater, including 'Good. Better. Best. Bested.' and 'CRY IT OUT'. Comparable regional theater scale with similar contemporary play programming.
• Aurora Theater Company: A Berkeley-based regional theater company that awarded Just Theater's 'In From The Cold' its Global Age Prize. Operates in the same Bay Area market with comparable contemporary play programming.
• PlayGround: A Bay Area new play development organization that co-produced 'Down A Little Dirt Road' with Just Theater. Comparable focus on emerging playwrights and short-form play development.
• Mugwumpin: An experimental Bay Area theater ensemble that co-created 'this is all i need' with Just Theater. Comparable small-scale experimental theater focus and Bay Area footprint.
• Magic Theatre: A San Francisco-based regional theater known for developing new plays and premieres, with comparable focus on contemporary and experimental work at similar scale.
• Center Repertory Company: An East Bay regional theater company based in Walnut Creek with comparable scale and contemporary play programming targeting similar Bay Area audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Berkeley Repertory Theatre: A Tony Award-winning regional theater based in Berkeley, operating at significantly larger scale than Just Theater. Comparable contemporary play programming but with national reach and substantially larger budget.
• TheatreWorks Silicon Valley: A regional theater serving the broader Bay Area with new works and premieres programming. Comparable contemporary play focus but at substantially larger scale than Just Theater.

Others

• American Conservatory Theater:

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/justtheater
• Facebookfacebook.com/justtheater
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/just-theatre-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Just Theater