Wakaa

What Wakaa does

Wakka Wakka is a New York-based non-profit visual theatre company founded in 2001 by co-artistic directors Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock. The company creates original theatrical productions that integrate puppetry, object manipulation, masks, video art projection, and original music. All puppets and masks are designed and constructed in-house, with Kirjan Waage serving as the primary puppet designer and constructor. The company has produced 13 original works since founding, with six currently active in the touring repertoire: Baby Universe, SAGA, Made in China, Animal R.I.O.T., The Immortal Jellyfish Girl, and Dead as a Dodo.

The company's primary revenue streams are ticket-driven theatrical performances at international festivals and performing arts centers, co-production partnerships with peer theatre companies, and paid educational workshops delivered at universities and arts organizations worldwide. Wakka Wakka generates bookings through direct outreach to presenters and responses to festival invitations, with its 2026 tour schedule spanning venues in Portugal, the United States, Norway, Italy, Taiwan, and Sweden. The company holds a recurring co-production relationship with Nordland Visual Theater in Norway, with Dead as a Dodo representing their fifth collaboration, and has partnered with major cultural institutions including Oslo Philharmonic, Riksteatret, Arctic Philharmonic, and the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College.

Wakka Wakka operates with a lean core team of 1-10 employees, relying on project-based collaborators for individual productions. The company has not disclosed revenue, has no documented external funding rounds, and remains under the creative and operational control of its two co-founders. Its market positioning is anchored in critical acclaim — including an OBIE Award, a Drama Desk Award for Sophisticated Puppetry, and two UNIMA Citations of Excellence — and in international festival recognition including a Grand Prix at the 47th Annual International Puppetry Festival in Croatia.

Name

Wakaa

Legal name

Wakka Wakka

Website

https://wakkawakka.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wakka Wakka is a New York-based non-profit founded in 2001 that creates and tours original puppet-based visual theatre productions internationally while offering puppetry and devised-theatre workshops to educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Theatre

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Other Performing Arts Companies (71119)

akta.pro primary industry

Puppetry & Marionette Theatre (MPAGABAK)

Keywords

• Visual theatre productions
• Puppet theatre performances
• Puppetry workshops
• Devised theatre training
• Touring theatre company

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Theatrical Performance Revenue: Wakka Wakka generates revenue through ticket sales at theatre performances, festivals, and touring engagements. The company tours extensively throughout the US and abroad, performing at venues and festivals that purchase or co-produce their shows.
2. Co-production Partnerships: The company creates coproductions with theatres and arts organizations, sharing production costs and revenues. Dead as a Dodo is Wakka Wakka's fifth major coproduction with Nordland Visual Theater.
3. Workshop Fees: Wakka Wakka conducts paid workshops in puppetry, object manipulation, mask work, and devised theatre for institutions including universities and arts organizations worldwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wakka Wakka is a New York-based non-profit visual theatre company that creates original puppet-based theatrical productions combining puppetry, object manipulation, masks, video art, and original music. The company tours its repertoire of original works to international theatre festivals and performing arts centers, and conducts paid educational workshops in puppetry, mask work, and devised theatre for universities and arts organizations worldwide.

Product overview

Wakka Wakka is a critically acclaimed non-profit visual theatre company founded by co-artistic directors Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock in 2001. The company creates original theatrical productions that incorporate puppetry, object manipulation, masks, video art, and original music. Wakka Wakka's portfolio includes six major productions: Baby Universe (featuring over 30 puppets exploring a government program to save a dying universe), SAGA (an Icelandic dark comedy about financial collapse), Made in China (a fantastical exploration of human rights and consumerism), Animal R.I.O.T. (a one-man performance about environmental activism), The Immortal Jellyfish Girl (a futuristic fable set in 2555), and Dead as a Dodo (a musical odyssey about transformation and friendship). Additionally, the company offers educational workshops in puppetry, object, mask, and devised theater for all skill levels. These productions have toured extensively throughout the US and abroad, with Dead as a Dodo representing the company's fifth major co-production with Nordland Visual Theater.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dead as a Dodo A touring theatrical production presented as a mesmerizing musical odyssey about survival, transformation, and the power of true friendship, featuring skeleton friends who dig for bones in the underworld until one sprouts feathers and begins to transform. Performed for theatre festivals, presenting organizations, and arts centers worldwide.
• The Immortal Jellyfish Girl A touring theatrical production set in 2555 where mass extinction has begun, following an improbable meeting between an orphaned boy and a young girl in a dystopian world. Performed for theatre festivals and arts presenters.
• Animal R.I.O.T. A touring one-man theatrical production titled Animal Resurgence In Our Time, featuring mask, puppetry, interpretive dance, and bio-eccentric pacifism about an anonymous anthropomorphic organization founded by the Fantastic Mr. Fox. Performed for theatre festivals and arts presenters.
• Made in China A touring theatrical production featuring 30 puppets and seven puppeteers that explores human rights, consumerism, and morality through the unlikely love story between an odd middle-aged American woman and her Chinese ex-pat neighbor. Co-produced with The Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College for American audiences.
• SAGA A touring darkly comedic theatrical production set in Iceland, following Gunnar Oddmunson whose life is ruined when the Icelandic economy collapses, leading him to seek blood revenge against the banks that took everything. Performed for theatre festivals and arts presenters.
• Baby Universe A touring theatrical production featuring over 30 puppets, 5 performers, masks, a robot, animated video projection, and a space-age score, telling the tale of a government program generating baby universes to save a dying planet. Performed for theatre festivals and arts presenters.
• Puppetry and Devised Theatre Workshops Educational workshops for all skill levels in puppetry, object manipulation, mask work, and devised theatre, tailored to meet the needs of various groups and taught globally for institutions including universities and arts organizations.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and significant.

• Nordland Visual TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNordland Visual Theater is Wakka Wakka's primary co-production partner, with Dead as a Dodo representing their fifth major coproduction together. The Norwegian theatre company co-produces and presents Wakka Wakka's productions.
• Oslo PhilharmonicsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Oslo Philharmonic is a major Norwegian symphony orchestra that has collaborated with Wakka Wakka on theatrical productions requiring musical performance.
• RiksteatretsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerRiksteatret is Norway's national touring theatre company that has collaborated with Wakka Wakka on theatrical productions.
• Arctic PhilharmonicsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Arctic Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in Northern Norway that has partnered with Wakka Wakka on theatrical productions.
• MiNensembletsignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiNensemblet is a Norwegian music ensemble that has collaborated with Wakka Wakka, notably on the Made in China production.
• The Hopkins Center, Dartmouth CollegesignificantStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College is a major US arts center that co-produced Made in China with Wakka Wakka, bringing the production to American audiences.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Little Angel Theatre: London-based puppet theatre company that produces original puppetry productions and presents touring work for children and adults. Comparable as a mid-sized puppetry theatre producing ensemble work alongside educational programming.
• National Marionette Theatre: US puppetry theater producing original productions and touring across the country. Comparable as a producing puppetry company with a repertory of original work and educational performances.
• Blind Summit Theatre: London-based puppetry company known for innovative puppet design and adult-oriented devised work. Compares closely as a small ensemble producing critically recognized puppetry for international touring and festival audiences.
• Center for Puppetry Arts: Atlanta-based non-profit puppetry center producing original theatre, hosting international festivals, and running educational workshops. Comparable as a producing puppetry organization with educational programming and touring ambitions.
• Faulty Optic Theatre of Animation: UK-based puppetry and animation theatre producing original adult-oriented visual theatre. Comparable as a small ensemble producing devised puppetry work that tours internationally to arts festivals and presenter venues.
• Paper Cinema: UK-based visual theatre company producing original narrative work using puppetry, animation, and live music. Comparable as a small ensemble creating highly visual, devised touring productions for international arts festivals.
• Great Small Works: New York City-based puppet theater company producing original visual theatre incorporating puppetry, masks, and object performance. Directly comparable as a small NYC puppetry ensemble touring domestically and internationally.
• Dan Hurlin: Solo American puppeteer and visual theatre artist producing original works involving puppetry, dance, and mixed media. Comparable as a small-scale original puppetry creator with similar artistic sensibility and niche touring profile.
• Nordland Visual Theater: Norwegian visual theatre company and Wakka Wakka's primary co-production partner (5 major co-productions including Dead as a Dodo). Produces original visual theatre using puppetry and devised work, serving the same international festival circuit.

Broad incumbents

• The Jim Henson Company: Global entertainment company specializing in puppetry, animation, and creature effects. Comparable as a marquee name in puppetry, but operates at vastly larger scale across film, TV, and licensing rather than producing original visual theatre for festival touring.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wakkawakkaprods
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wakka-wakka-productions

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 Wakaa