Watering Hole Collective

What Watering Hole Collective does

Watering Hole Collective (WHC) is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 2023 that produces socially conscious theater and artist development programs for the North Texas community. Its mission is to promote socially conscious art that engages, inspires, and cultivates conversation and action within North Texas. The organization operates a portfolio of programs including full theatrical productions (Spring Awakening in Summer 2023, I AM AN ISLAND in Fall 2024), workshop festivals (Winter Workshop Festival in January 2025), development labs (Summer Development Lab in 2025), and an annual variety show fundraiser (Skipping Stones). It is co-led by Co-Executive Directors Jenny Dang and Laura Lyman Payne, with approximately five total personnel and a six-member board.

WHC's distinctive methodology pairs artists with community subject-matter experts and cause-aligned nonprofit partners from project inception rather than treating them as a finishing touch. Every production embeds expert involvement into rehearsals and story development, includes post-show expert talkbacks, and provides audience resource guides featuring local nonprofits. Selected productions donate ticket proceeds to beneficiary organizations — Spring Awakening 2023 raised over $70,000 with 70% flowing to artists, while portions benefited Healthy Futures of Texas, Grant Halliburton Foundation, and Dallas Hope Charities; I AM AN ISLAND benefited environmental partners including Dallas Sierra Club, Environment Texas, and Cedar Ridge Preserve. The Winter Workshop Festival and Summer Development Lab extend this model into paid new-work development, with WHC committing to competitive artist wages regardless of union status.

The revenue model combines one-time, weekly, and monthly donations (preset tiers of $10, $20, $30, and $40 plus custom amounts), production ticket sales, and an annual fundraiser event. Geographic reach is currently limited to the Dallas-Fort Worth region, with venue partnerships including Bathhouse Cultural Center and AT&T Performing Arts Center (Elevator Project selection for 2024-2025). There is no disclosed institutional funding, equity investment, or parent organization; the entity operates as an independent nonprofit.

Name

Watering Hole Collective

Legal name

Watering Hole Collective

Website

https://wateringholecollective.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces socially conscious theatrical productions and artist development programs, pairing DFW artists with community experts and nonprofit partners to address North Texas social issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Nonprofit Theater

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

Keywords

• Community theater productions
• Arts development workshops
• Live theatrical performances
• Nonprofit performing arts
• Artist development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

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: Revenue from theater production ticket sales. Productions include mainstage plays and workshop presentations.
2. Donations: One-time, weekly, and monthly donation options offered through the website. Custom amount donations available.
3. Benefit Productions: Some productions donate ticket sales to nonprofit beneficiaries. Spring Awakening benefited Healthy Futures of Texas, Grant Halliburton Foundation, and Dallas Hope Charities.
4. Annual Fundraiser Events: Skipping Stones annual variety show fundraiser features DFW artists and includes food, drinks, raffle prizes to generate support for the organization's mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Watering Hole Collective produces socially conscious theatrical productions and runs artist development programs in North Texas. The organization stages mainstage plays, workshop festivals, development labs, and an annual variety show fundraiser, each pairing artists with community experts and partnering with local nonprofits. Audiences engage via ticketed performances, free workshop presentations, and post-show talkbacks with expert panels.

Product overview

Watering Hole Collective is a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a unified arts organization offering multiple interconnected programs. The portfolio centers on theatrical productions (I AM AN ISLAND, Spring Awakening), artist development programs (Development Lab, Winter Workshop Festival), and community engagement initiatives (Skipping Stones fundraiser, talkbacks, resource guides). Productions often pair artists with community experts and feature talkbacks with specialists and benefit partnerships with local nonprofits. The organization also accepts project proposals from artists seeking to develop new work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Skipping Stones: Annual variety show fundraiser featuring talents of DFW artists of all disciplines
• Summer Development Lab
• Winter Workshop Festival

Products and services

• Spring Awakening A reimagining of the 2006 hit musical for 2023 audiences, exploring themes of sexual awakening, youthful rebellion, and self-discovery. Includes a community benefit component with ticket-sale proceeds donated to local nonprofit organizations.
• I AM AN ISLAND World premiere theatrical production exploring the emotional toll of climate change through dark comedy, inspiring reflection on human connection and resilience. Selected for the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project.
• Winter Workshop Festival Workshop festival where artists collaborate on the development of new plays, with a week of rehearsals followed by a free public presentation, fostering artistic exploration and thought-provoking theater.
• Summer Development Lab Early-stage space for theatrical exploration that provides artists with time, support, and collaborative environments to develop ideas, test material, and experiment before a full script exists.
• Skipping Stones Annual Fundraiser Annual variety show fundraiser that highlights the talent of DFW artists of all disciplines, featuring singers, songwriters, drag performers, and more in an evening with food, drinks, and raffle prizes.

Quantifiable outcome

• First production raised over $70,000 with 70% going to artists
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Bathhouse Cultural CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Venue partner for Winter Workshop Festival. The festival was held at this Dallas venue for artistic exploration and presentation.
• Rachel BaileycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Autism specialist who collaborated on The Fighter and the Mechanical Man during Winter Workshop Festival. Participated with playwrights and actors during rehearsals and talkbacks.
• Dr. Dee RaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Child-parent relationship specialist who collaborated on All The World Was Made For You during Winter Workshop Festival. Worked with playwrights and actors during rehearsals and talkbacks.
• Dallas Sierra ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community expert partner for I AM AN ISLAND production exploring climate change. Proceeds donated back to the organization. Representative Victoria Howard participated in talkbacks.
• Environment TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community expert partner for I AM AN ISLAND production. City Hall Advocate Ian Seamans participated in talkbacks.
• Cedar Ridge PreservecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community expert and beneficiary partner for I AM AN ISLAND production. Dr. Cynthia Bennett participated in talkbacks as Manager.
• AT&T Performing Arts CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Prestigious Elevator Project selection for 2024-2025 season. I AM AN ISLAND showcased as part of this program highlighting emerging local artists.
• Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & TransformationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community expert partner for I AM AN ISLAND production. Executive Director Jerry Hawkins participated in talkbacks.
• Liveable ArlingtonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Community expert partner for I AM AN ISLAND production. Executive Director Ranjana Bhandari participated in talkbacks.
• Healthy Futures of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Nonprofit collaborator for Spring Awakening production. Provided sex education expertise for talkbacks and received benefit of ticket sales. Mental health professionals from the organization guided meaningful conversations.
• Grant Halliburton FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Mental health nonprofit collaborator for Spring Awakening. Provided teen mental health expertise for talkbacks and benefited from ticket sales proceeds.
• Dallas Hope CharitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Beneficiary of Spring Awakening production ticket sales. Supported outreach goals around difficult issues addressed in the play.
• Communities Foundation of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Organization represented in I AM AN ISLAND talkbacks by Chief Relationship Officer Calvert Collins-Bratton. WHC Co-Executive Director Laura Lyman Payne previously worked at the foundation.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cara Mía Theatre: Dallas-based community theater company producing socially conscious work rooted in Latino culture and community partnerships; closely comparable as a small DFW nonprofit theater with a mission-driven, cause-tied production model.
• Bishop Arts Theatre Center: Dallas-based community-rooted theater venue and producing organization; comparable as a DFW nonprofit providing space and programming for community-focused theatrical work.
• Undermain Theatre: Long-running small Dallas experimental theater producing new and devised work with limited staff; comparable in size and scope as a DFW nonprofit focused on artistically adventurous, mission-driven productions.
• Stage West: Fort Worth-based nonprofit theater producing contemporary work for local audiences; comparable as a small North Texas nonprofit theater competing for overlapping donor and audience bases.
• Echo Theatre: Dallas-based small nonprofit theater producing intimate, artist-driven productions; comparable in scale and local-market positioning to WHC.
• Teatro Dallas: Small Dallas-based community theater producing bilingual work with strong social-mission framing; comparable as a DFW nonprofit using theater as a vehicle for community dialogue and partnership with local organizations.
• Kitchen Dog Theater: Dallas-based small nonprofit theater producing new plays and contemporary works; comparable as a DFW indie theater competing for the same playwrights, audiences, and donor pool.
• Amphibian Stage Productions: Fort Worth-based nonprofit producing new and adventurous work; comparable as a North Texas indie theater with a similar artist-development focus.

Broad incumbents

• Dallas Theater Center: The largest resident nonprofit theater in DFW and a regional Tony winner; an incumbent that competes with WHC for audience attention, donors, and local playwrights but operates at vastly greater scale and resources.

Others

• AT&T Performing Arts Center: The DFW presenting organization that selected I AM AN ISLAND for its Elevator Project; not a direct competitor but the primary institutional partner/venue gatekeeper for emerging local theater in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thewateringholecollective
• Instagraminstagram.com/wateringholecollective
• TikToktiktok.com/@wateringholecollective?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/watering-hole-collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Watering Hole Collective