Portland Playhouse

What Portland Playhouse does

Portland Playhouse is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional theatre company founded in 2008 by Nikki Weaver, Brian Weaver, and Michael Weaver. It operates from a renovated historic former church building at 602 NE Prescott Street in Portland's King Neighborhood, with a 110-seat mainstage theatre and an adjacent Community Studio. The organization produces five mainstage productions per season (currently Season 18, 2025-2026, with Season 19 announced for 2026-2027) and has built a programming identity centered on BIPOC voices, works by August Wilson, Dominique Morisseau, and other playwrights of color, and an explicit anti-racist mission statement.

Its product surface extends beyond mainstage performance to include the Fall Festival of Shakespeare (a regional school collaboration culminating at the Winningstad Theater), the Apprentice Company (a paid emerging-artist program currently on hiatus for Season 18 with planned return in 2026), the Emergent Activist Project (a social-justice theatre program for high school students), the Play at Home video gallery, the Listen Up podcast/audio content library, and venue rentals. Education partnerships span multiple Portland-area schools including Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln, and Catlin Gabel.

The business model combines earned revenue (single ticket sales, season subscriptions, group discounts, rush and preview pricing, venue rental up to $300/hr) with contributed revenue (one-time gifts, monthly Playhouse Pledge giving, IRA charitable rollovers, vehicle donations, Legacy Circle planned giving, foundation grants from entities including the National Endowment for the Arts and Meyer Memorial Trust, and corporate sponsorship). Ticketing and donations are processed through a Salesforce-based platform. The organization employs approximately 17 staff, augmented by a 3-6 member Apprentice Company, and is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Stephen Robinson with members drawn from Nike, Mentor Graphics, Planned Parenthood, Portland Public Schools, and Portland State University. Recent strategic activity includes co-productions with Portland Center Stage (Fat Ham at The Armory) and Penumbra Theatre in Saint Paul, MN (Paradise Blue).

Name

Portland Playhouse

Legal name

Portland Playhouse

Website

https://portlandplayhouse.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Portland Playhouse is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional theatre founded in 2008 in Portland's King Neighborhood, producing five mainstage productions per season alongside education and community programs, serving general audiences, students, and BIPOC communities through inclusive pricing and programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Theater / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB), Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG), Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB), Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD)

Keywords

• Live theater productions
• Community arts education
• Venue rental services
• Theater subscriptions
• Nonprofit performing arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from single tickets, preview tickets, rush tickets, and subscription packages for live theatre performances
2. Individual Donations: One-time gifts, monthly giving (Playhouse Pledge), IRA charitable rollovers, vehicle donations, and planned giving through the Legacy Circle
3. Venue Rentals: Rental income from the historic Church building and Community Studio to organizations and individuals on a sliding scale. Theatre rental up to $300/hour for standard rate, Studio up to $75/hour
4. Education Programs: Revenue from education and outreach programs including Fall Festival of Shakespeare and Emergent Activist Project, with some programs free and others supported by funders

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Portland Playhouse is a nonprofit professional theater company that produces live mainstage theatrical performances across seasonal programming, with 5 productions per season in a 110-seat historic venue. It complements productions with education programs (Fall Festival of Shakespeare, Apprentice Company, Emergent Activist Project), venue rentals of its historic church building and Community Studio, and digital content (Play at Home video gallery, Listen Up audio library).

Product overview

Portland Playhouse is a nonprofit professional live theater company founded in 2008 and located in Portland, Oregon's historic King Neighborhood. Its product portfolio centers on mainstage theatrical productions presented across seasonal programming (currently Season 18, 2025-2026, and Season 19, 2026-2027), supplemented by education programs including the Fall Festival of Shakespeare (student theater festival), the Apprentice Company (paid internship for emerging artists, currently on hiatus), and the Emergent Activist Project (social justice theater for high school students). The organization also operates a video gallery (Play at Home), an audio/podcast content library (Listen Up), and offers venue rentals of its historic church building and community studio spaces. Ticketing services are provided through a Salesforce-based platform with tiered pricing and accessibility options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mainstage Productions Professional live theater performances presented across multiple seasonal programs (currently Season 18, 2025-2026 and Season 19, 2026-2027), featuring plays, musicals, and adaptations that often center Black voices and community-relevant stories.
• Fall Festival of Shakespeare A non-competitive region-wide collaboration between Portland Playhouse and area middle and high schools, culminating in performances at the Winningstad Theater where students present Shakespeare productions and serve as active audience members.
• Apprentice Company Program A paid immersive internship bridging school and professional theater, providing emerging artists with acting, directing, production, design, and stage management experience through mainstage show participation, solo showcases, and mentorship. On hiatus for Season 18 (2025-26).
• Emergent Activist Project A social justice theater program for high school students that examines how social justice shows up in schools, communities, and the world through devised multimedia performance, research, and creative collaboration.
• Venue Rental Rental of the historic Church building (theatre, up to 110 capacity, up to $300/hour) and Community Studio (up to 50 capacity, up to $75/hour) to organizations and individuals on a sliding scale, with full technical inventory access and optional courtyard spaces.
• Play at Home Video Gallery An online video collection featuring full performances, apprentice company productions, behind-the-scenes content, education program recordings, and testimonials spanning the Playhouse's history.
• Listen Up Audio Content A collection of podcasts, broadcasts, and audio content including reviews, interviews, and news about Portland Playhouse productions, featuring external media partners such as OPB, KBOO, and Broadway World.
• Ticketing Services Single ticket sales, subscription packages, and group discounts for all productions, supported by tiered pricing including regular ($61.95-$71.95), preview ($32), rush ($20/$10 industry), CARE ($25), Arts for All ($5), and BIPOC pay-what-you-wish options.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Portland Center StagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 April 2026Co-production partnership for Fat Ham, performed at The Armory venue. This is a significant regional theatre collaboration between two Portland theatre companies.
• Penumbra TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2025Co-production with Penumbra Theatre in Saint Paul, MN for Paradise Blue, a co-production that brings together two theatres focused on Black storytelling.
• SERA ArchitectsmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture firm that led the two-year renovation and restoration of the historic Church building, completed in 2018, honoring the original structure while achieving accessibility and safety updates.
• Colas ConstructionmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for the 2018 renovation and restoration of the historic Church building, including the new Community Studio and Workshop.
• Adrienne C. Nelson High SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partnership for Thurgood production, performed at the high school named after Oregon's first Black Supreme Court justice.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Penumbra Theatre: Saint Paul, MN-based professional theatre focused on Black storytelling and racial equity — direct co-production partner on Paradise Blue. Highly comparable in mission, scale, and BIPOC-centered programming.
• Artists Repertory Theatre: Portland-based LORT professional theatre producing contemporary and classic plays. Comparable in scale and city footprint; competes for overlapping audiences and donor bases in the Portland market.
• Portland Center Stage: Portland-based professional regional theatre and current co-production partner for Fat Ham. Operates from The Armory, a larger venue than Portland Playhouse, serving a similar Portland audience with overlapping programming categories.
• Profile Theatre: Portland-based professional theatre that focuses its seasons on works by a single playwright each year. Comparable in scale, mission orientation, and Portland audience overlap with Portland Playhouse.
• Intiman Theatre: Seattle-based professional theatre with a comparable mission-driven profile and similar small-venue scale. Programming and audience development model closely aligned with Portland Playhouse's community-anchored approach.
• Oregon Children's Theatre: Portland-based professional theatre producing work for young audiences and running extensive school programming. Closely comparable to Portland Playhouse's education/school-partnership focus (e.g., Fall Festival of Shakespeare).
• ACT Theatre: Seattle-based professional theatre producing contemporary plays and musicals in a similar small-to-mid venue footprint. Comparable programming mix and Pacific Northwest audience overlap with Portland Playhouse.
• National Black Theatre: NYC-based professional theatre and one of the oldest Black theatres in the country. Directly comparable mission and BIPOC-centered programming model, though operating in a different geography and at larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Ashland, OR-based Tony-winning repertory theatre and one of the largest regional theatres in the U.S. Operates at much greater scale than Portland Playhouse but shares Oregon geography and classical/contemporary programming overlap.
• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Chicago-based Tony-winning ensemble theatre operating at significantly larger scale than Portland Playhouse. Comparable in producing artist-driven, contemporary work with social themes, but with far broader national reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pdxplayhouse
• Facebookfacebook.com/PortlandPlayhouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/portland-playhouse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Portland Playhouse