Very Little Gravitas

What Very Little Gravitas does

Very Little Theatre (VLT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community theatre founded on March 3, 1929, in Eugene, Oregon, and currently operating in its 97th season. VLT runs a year-round 7-production season across two performance venues — a 195-seat Main Stage and a 77-seat Stage Left — located at its owned facility at 2350 Hilyard Street (purchased in 1950 for $3,000 and undergoing a multi-phase capital renovation, with Phase 1 completed in 2022 after raising over $1.7 million). The theatre is member-owned and entirely volunteer-operated, with Members electing the board of directors, voting on play selections, and staffing production, governance, set construction, costuming, and front-of-house operations; General Manager Adrienne West is the sole disclosed paid staff member. VLT has expanded into four specialized sub-programs — Minority Voices Theatre (founded 2017, serving minority and marginalized communities), illioo Native Theatre (Indigenous/First Nations programming), No Script Society (improvisational theatre), and Readers Theater Performers (live performance outreach to senior care facilities across Eugene and Springfield) — each targeting distinct community segments.

VLT generates revenue through a mix of ticket sales (covering approximately 60% of administrative and facility expenses), subscription season passes sold via the Ludus ticketing platform, $20 annual membership dues, multi-tier sponsorships (ranging from $1,000 production sponsorships to a $50,000 Arch sponsorship), general donations (including matched giving), grants (notably a $350,000 State of Oregon grant for Phase 2 renovation), and an endowment fund held at the Oregon Community Foundation. The technology footprint is minimal: Google Forms for auditions and volunteer signups, the Ludus platform for ticketing, a YouTube channel ('Virtual Little Theatre') for digital content, and standard theatrical lighting, sound, and rigging systems (including newly installed high-speed electric winches for flying scenery). There is no proprietary technology, no mobile application, no AI/ML capability, and no public API. The organization licenses performance rights through Broadway Licensing / Dramatists Play Service and partners with regional organizations including Trans*Ponder, Wordcrafters in Eugene, NAACP of Lane County, Centro Latino Americano, illioo Native Theatre, and Capital T Theatre (for limited-engagement venue rentals).

The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: ticket sales, season subscriptions, and donations are driven by a 7-production season plus special events such as the A Very Little Faire fundraiser, supported by direct marketing through the website (thevlt.com), Facebook, Instagram, email communications, and word-of-mouth through the Member network. Distribution is entirely regional, serving Eugene and Lane County, Oregon, with no global footprint or geographic expansion plans disclosed.

Name

Very Little Gravitas

Legal name

Very Little Theatre Inc

Website

https://thevlt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Very Little Theatre is a nonprofit, volunteer-run community theatre in Eugene, Oregon, operating a 7-production season across two venues and serving Lane County audiences through mainstage productions and specialized programs for minority, Indigenous, improv, and senior communities since 1929.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Theatre / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts Companies (7111), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community & Amateur Theatre (MPAGABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Regional & Repertory Theatre Companies (MPAGABAB), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Community theater productions
• Live theatrical performances
• Nonprofit performing arts
• Stage performance venue
• Theater season tickets

Headquarters

HQ city

Eugene

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: Ticket sales cover production expenses and approximately 60% of administrative and facility expenses. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, email, or at the box office. All ticket purchases are final with no refunds but exchanges may be possible.
2. Season Passes: Season passes for the 7-production season available through Ludus ticketing platform. Multi-show subscription model offering savings over individual tickets.
3. Donations and Grants: Theatre relies on generous donations to cover the balance beyond ticket sales and one-time grants. Donations can be designated for general fund or specific projects, made in honor or memory of someone, and matched through employer programs.
4. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues of $20 required for volunteer participation and voting rights. Members receive discounts on tickets, facility use, listing in directory, and invitations to events.
5. Sponsorships: Large donation tiers including: Sponsor an Arch ($50,000), Sponsor a Production ($2,500 Main Stage / $1,000 Stage Left), Sponsor a Seat ($1,500 with plaque), and endowment fund contributions through Oregon Community Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Very Little Theatre is a volunteer-run, nonprofit community theatre that produces and presents a season of live theatrical productions each year, supplemented by staged readings, improv comedy, and culturally focused festivals including the Minority Voices Theatre Festival and the Illioo Native Theatre Festival. Offerings are staged in its own venue in Eugene, Oregon, and are supported by ticket sales, season passes, memberships, donations, and local sponsorships. The organization also runs outreach programs for Latino communities, Indigenous communities, youth, and seniors.

Product overview

Very Little Theatre operates as a multi-venue community theatre organization offering a 7-production season across two performance spaces (Main Stage with 195 seats and Stage Left with 77 seats). The organization supports several specialized programs including Minority Voices Theatre, illioo Native Theatre, No Script Society (improv), and Readers Theatre Performers, each serving distinct community segments through diverse theatrical experiences ranging from mainstage productions to improv shows and senior outreach performances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Main Stage Production Series The flagship series of fully staged theatrical productions presented on the main stage of Very Little Theatre each season, featuring volunteer casts, directors, and production crews. Tickets are sold to the general public, with reduced pricing for seniors and students.
• Stage Left Production Series An intimate, smaller-scale production series presented in the Stage Left performance space, complementing the Main Stage season with more experimental or lower-budget productions for general audiences.
• Minority Voices Theatre Festival An annual festival showcasing theatrical works by and about underrepresented communities, presented for general and culturally specific audiences in the Eugene area.
• Illioo Native Theatre Festival A culturally specific festival dedicated to Native American theatrical works and storytelling, presented for general audiences and Indigenous community members in Lane County.
• No Script Society A volunteer-driven improv comedy program offering unscripted performances for general audiences as part of VLT's programming slate.
• Readers Theatre Performers A staged-reading series in which volunteer performers present dramatic readings of scripts for general audiences, typically as lower-production, lower-cost performances.
• Theatre Season Pass A subscription pass granting access to the theatre's annual seven-production season at a discounted bundled price, available to individual community members and theatre patrons.
• Individual Theatre Tickets Single-performance tickets for individual Main Stage, Stage Left, festival, and reading events, sold via the on-site box office and online ticketing platform, with tiered pricing for adults, seniors, and students and select pay-what-you-will performances.
• Theatre Membership Program An annual membership program offering individual supporters enhanced benefits such as ticket discounts, priority seating, and recognition in exchange for membership dues and donations.

Quantifiable outcome

• One of the oldest continuously-operating community theatres in the United States
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

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.

• Minority Voices Theatre (MVT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017MVT joined forces with VLT at end of 2017, providing VLT with active community outreach tool, 501(c)(3) for fundraising, and support of one of the oldest continuously running community theatres in the country. MVT produces staged readings and full-scale productions serving minority and marginalized communities. Approximately 3,000 people have attended MVT productions, with $4,500 raised for local nonprofits through shared donations and ticket sales.
• illioo Native TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with illioo Native Theatre (meaning 'joyful' in Kalapuya language) on productions including Salmon Is Everything (2022) and The Woman Who was a Red Deer Dressed for the Deer Dance (2023-24). Both companies share the VLT facility and collaborate on programming that amplifies Indigenous voices and stories.
• Trans*PonderminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMVT partnered with Trans*Ponder in April 2018 to present staged reading of Transfigurations and introduce first annual Trans Monologues, bringing up-to-date stories of local transgender/gender non-conforming community.
• Wordcrafters in EugeneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMVT collaborated with Wordcrafters in Eugene for Stories from the Helix production (2023), supporting local literary and storytelling arts.
• Capital T TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapital T Theatre presented 'Jerusalem' by Jez Butterworth at VLT in July 2026, a limited engagement production of the Tony-nominated play. Directed by Kari Boldon Welch, this was the first Eugene performance of the acclaimed play.
• Broadway Licensing / Dramatists Play ServiceminorOthersVLT obtains performance rights through special arrangement with Broadway Licensing / Dramatists Play Service for productions like Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ACT Theatre: Seattle-based nonprofit theatre presenting a multi-production season across multiple venues with programming diversity and community engagement comparable in spirit (though much larger in scale).
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Major regional repertory theatre in Oregon with a substantially larger budget, multi-stage operations, and a professional company; comparable in production scale and theatrical programming focus, but serving a statewide/national audience.
• Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Established nonprofit regional theatre with multiple stages, subscription season, and capital campaigns similar to VLT's approach; relevant for benchmarking community-theatre funding and renovation strategies.
• Portland Center Stage: Largest theatre company in Oregon, operating the historic Armory in Portland with a professional company and multi-show season; broader portfolio but comparable in category (regional theatre producing plays and musicals).

Regional players

• Capital T Theatre: Eugene-area theatre company that has partnered with VLT to present productions at the VLT facility; operates in the same Lane County market with overlapping programming and audience base.
• Lane Community College Theatre Arts: Adjacent academic/community theatre program in Eugene that competes for local theatre audiences, performers, and volunteer/creative talent in the same Lane County market.

Direct peers

• Oregon Contemporary Theatre: Another Eugene, Oregon-based community theatre producing a season of plays and musicals with a comparable volunteer/community-engagement model and a similar small-scale operating footprint.
• Lord Leebrick Theatre Company: Eugene-based community theatre operating multiple performance spaces with a season of contemporary and classic productions, directly competing for the same Lane County audience and volunteer pool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/theVLT
• Instagraminstagram.com/verylittletheatre/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/very-little-theatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Very Little Gravitas