Theatre For Young America Inc

What Theatre For Young America Inc does

Theatre For Young America Inc (TYA) is a 501C3 non-profit children's theatre founded in 1975 and headquartered at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization produces year-round professional live theatre performances for young audiences and families, alongside a performing arts education program tiered by age (Emerging Actors ages 3-5, Theatre Training ages 6-11, and Acting Conservatory ages 12+), supplemented by theatre intensives and summer workshops. Productions include adaptations of children's literary properties such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Snoopy, and Go Dog Go!, staged primarily at Union Station's City Stage and Avila University's black box theatre.

The business model is a hybrid of earned and contributed revenue. Earned income is generated through three ticket products — single admission ($12-$15), group rate ($6-$8 for 15+), and Flex Pass season tickets ($10-$12 per ticket, minimum 8-10) — plus class and workshop tuition ranging from $60 for an Emerging Actors session to $400 for an intensive. Contributed income flows from tax-deductible donations processed through a PayPal portal. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the Union Station ticketing system, on-site box office, the tya.org website, email newsletter, and social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram), with a dedicated school and group reservation workflow that includes downloadable Leaders' Guides for teachers.

The organization operates with a small staff of approximately 9 employees, supports an active 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 season schedule, and has marked 50 consecutive seasons of operation. Its primary customer segments are families with children and school/educational groups; there is no disclosed technology platform, proprietary software, or digital product layer beyond standard e-commerce and payment processing integrations.

Name

Theatre For Young America Inc

Legal name

Theatre for Young America

Website

https://tya.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Theatre For Young America is a 501C3 non-profit children's theatre, founded in 1975 and based at Union Station in Kansas City, that produces year-round professional live performances and performing arts classes for ages 3 and up, serving families, school groups, and young performers through ticket sales, tuition, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Theatre and Performing Arts Education

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Children's theatre productions
• Performing arts education
• Youth theatre classes
• Live family entertainment
• School group field trips

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Single admission tickets, group rate tickets (15 or more), and season/flex pass tickets for live theatre performances throughout the year.
2. Classes and Workshops Tuition: Tuition fees for performing arts instruction programs including Emerging Actors (3-5 year olds), Theatre Training (6-11 year olds), Theatre Intensives (12 and up), and summer workshops.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from supporters as a 501C3 non-profit organization, including a PayPal donation portal on the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Theatre for Young America produces and performs professional live children's theatre productions year-round at Union Station's City Stage and Avila University's black box theatre. The organization also delivers age-segmented performing arts instruction through classes and workshops for children ages 3 and up, including preschool programs, school-age theatre training, an acting conservatory for ages 12+, and summer intensives.

Product overview

Theatre for Young America is a non-profit children's theatre offering live professional theatre productions and performing arts education. The organization operates a dual offering: (1) Live Theatre Performances featuring children's adaptations of popular stories and classics, and (2) Classes and Workshops providing theatre training for various age groups. Ticket products include Single Admission, Group/School Tickets, and Flex Pass Season Tickets. Productions include adaptations such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Ugly Duckling, Go Dog Go!, Snoopy, and Junie B. Jones, with performances held at Union Station's City Stage and Avila University's black box theatre.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Theatre Performances Professional live theatre productions for children and families featuring professional actors, including post-show Q&A sessions with performers. Productions include adaptations of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Snoopy, How I Became a Pirate, and King Arthur and the Magic Sword.
• Classes and Workshops Performing arts instruction for children including Emerging Actors (ages 3-5), Theatre Training (ages 6-11), Acting Conservatory (ages 12+), and summer intensives such as The Peanuts Gang, Tales of the Roundtable, and The Mysterious Mansion of Mr. Uno.
• Season Tickets (Flex Pass) Flexible season ticket packages allowing ticket holders to reserve performance dates and times as needed, with a minimum purchase requirement and early bird pricing available.
• School and Group Tickets Discounted group tickets for schools and organizations of 15 or more, including optional curriculum-aligned Leader's Guide educational materials for teachers and post-show Q&A sessions with actors.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Avila UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvila University provides black box theatre space for The Mysterious Mansion of Mr. Uno production and serves as the venue for advanced Theatre Arts Projects for older students. This partnership provides academic setting that sparks student interest in theatre training pathways.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Nashville Children's Theatre: Professional children's theatre in Nashville producing season programming for young audiences and schools. Comparable mission, production scale, and dual ticket/education revenue model to TYA.
• Imagination Stage: Bethesda, MD-based professional children's theatre offering mainstage productions and extensive education programs. Similar nonprofit structure, family and school audience focus, and class/workshop curriculum to TYA.
• Dallas Children's Theater: Texas-based professional children's theatre producing mainstage seasons and educational programming for schools. Comparable nonprofit model, family/school dual audience, and touring/resident production structure.
• First Stage: Milwaukee-based professional children's theatre offering mainstage productions, education programs, and academy training. Highly comparable in operating model with both performance and instruction offerings.
• Seattle Children's Theatre: Seattle-based professional children's theatre with multiple annual productions and a parallel acting school. Comparable in mission, audience development approach, and education-program integration.
• Adventure Theatre MTC: Maryland-based professional theatre for young audiences with year-round productions and acting training programs. Directly comparable in target demographic, programming cadence, and dual performance/education structure.
• Atlantic Theater Company - Atlantic for Kids: New York-based professional theatre with a dedicated children's programming division producing shows and classes for young audiences. Comparable dual programming model and education/performance integration.
• Coterie Theatre: Kansas City-based professional children's theatre producing original works and adaptations for young audiences. Directly competes with TYA in the same metro market, often cited alongside TYA as one of KC's premier children's theatre options.

Broad incumbents

• Alliance Theatre: Atlanta-based Tony Award-winning regional theatre with a dedicated children's programming division and acting education programs. Larger and more diversified but operates in the same family/youth theatre space.

Regional players

• Main Street Theater: Houston-based professional theatre operating a Youth Theater program with productions and classes for children. Comparable structure with both performance seasons and acting academy, though located in a different regional market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnionStationKC
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/theatreforyoungamerica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theatre-for-young-america-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Theatre For Young America Inc