Youth Performance Company

What Youth Performance Company does

Youth Performance Company (YPC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth theatre founded in 1989 by Jacie Knight and headquartered at 641 Fairview Ave N, Suite 191, St. Paul, Minnesota. YPC produces mainstage theatrical performances at the 207-seat Conn Theatre inside the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, and operates a secondary Black Box performance space at its St. Paul headquarters. The organization serves Twin Cities youth ages 5-22 through a portfolio of licensed and original theatrical productions, summer and school-year classes and camps covering acting, singing, dancing, improv, and stage combat, private coaching, and the Young Artists Council (YAC), a teen leadership board that produces its own shows directed and created by artists under 21.

YPC's commercial and programming model rests on three revenue streams: transactional ticket sales through OvationTix ($17 general admission; $8 weekday and $14 weekend group rates for groups of 10+), recurring class and camp registrations processed via Coursestorm, and a diversified donation base that includes individual impact-tier giving ($100-$2,000+), the annual Cattle Call fundraising gala, and the Mary Pat Gleason Youth in Theatre Scholarship Program. Operating support is supplemented by a Minnesota State Arts Board grant funded through legislative appropriation. Distribution is community-led via word-of-mouth, social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), email newsletters, school group outreach, and Behind the Curtain engagement events, with no mobile app, API, or proprietary software product. Underlying technology is conventional nonprofit infrastructure rather than a software platform.

YPC differentiates through a 37-year track record, a library of 13 original plays addressing social themes (e.g., MEAN, Freedom Riders, Diamond Dreams), and a 30+ member alumni network that includes Josh Hartnett, Seth Numrich, Nick Swardson, and Colton Dunn. The organization operates with 1-10 employees under Acting Artistic Director Doug Neithercott (since 2024-2025 following founder Jacie Knight's retirement) and long-tenured Managing Director Sherilyn Howes (since 1992), governed by a board led by President Patrick Kozicky.

Name

Youth Performance Company

Legal name

Youth Performance Company, Inc.

Website

https://youthperformanceco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Youth Performance Company is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989 in St. Paul, Minnesota, producing mainstage theatre, classes, and camps for Twin Cities youth ages 5-22, with a 13-play original content library and a 30+ notable alumni network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Theatre & Performing Arts Education

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s & Youth Theatre (MPAGABAE), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Youth theatre productions
• Theatre arts education
• Performing arts classes
• Summer theatre camps
• Youth leadership programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from mainstage theatrical performances at Conn Theatre. General admission tickets priced at $17, with group discounts for weekday ($8) and weekend ($14) bookings for groups of 10 or more.
2. Class and Camp Registration: Week-long, full and half-day theatre classes and camps for grades K-8 running June 15 - September 4, 2026. Also includes private coaching and fall programming.
3. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting youth theatre education. Impact tiers include $2,000+ for school free tickets/transportation, $1,000+ for teaching artist education, $250+ for scholarship tuition, $100+ for Innovation Lab technology.
4. Annual Fundraising Gala (Cattle Call): Annual spring gala featuring silent auction, cocktail hour, dinner, and performances. Includes table sponsorships and auction donations from local businesses.
5. Mary Pat Gleason Youth in Theatre Scholarship Program: Scholarship program honoring Mary Pat Gleason's memory, providing theatre arts classes and workshops for young artists and helping students attend live theatrical performances.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Youth Performance Company produces full-scale mainstage theatrical performances at the Conn Theatre featuring youth performers ages 13-22, alongside a year-round theatre arts education program for grades K-12 covering acting, singing, dancing, improv, and stage combat through classes, week-long summer camps, and private coaching. The organization also runs the Young Artists Council teen leadership program, which produces independent shows by artists 21 and under, and supports these programs through the annual Cattle Call fundraising gala and the Mary Pat Gleason scholarship fund.

Product overview

Youth Performance Company (YPC) operates as a multi-faceted youth theatre organization offering a portfolio of interconnected services. The core offering consists of mainstage theatrical productions at the Conn Theatre (featuring licensed shows like Beetlejuice Jr., Mean Girls Jr., and The Lightning Thief, as well as original works like MEAN), complemented by educational programming including summer classes/camps (grades K-8), school-year classes (acting, singing, dancing, improv, stage combat), and private coaching. The Young Artists Council (YAC) provides teen leadership opportunities and produces independent shows by artists 21 and under. Additional offerings include the annual Cattle Call fundraising gala, Behind the Curtain events, and the Mary Pat Gleason scholarship program. The organization connects with audiences through OvationTix for ticketing and Coursestorm for class registrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mainstage Productions Full-scale theatrical productions performed at the Conn Theatre featuring youth performers ages 13-22, including licensed musicals and original YPC works.
• Mainstage Season Tickets Season tickets for the annual mainstage theatre season featuring multiple productions per year at the Conn Theatre in Minneapolis, sold through OvationTix at $17 general admission with group discounts.
• Summer Classes & Camps Week-long, full and half-day theatre classes and camps for grades K-8 covering acting, singing, dancing, improv, and stage combat.
• School Year Classes

Quantifiable outcome

• 150+ productions directed and produced over three decades
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Metropolitan Ballroom and ClubroomsupportingOthers · 1 January 2026Venue host for Cattle Call 2026 annual fundraising gala in Golden Valley, MN.
• Plymouth Congregational ChurchcoreOthers · 1 January 2026Host of Howard Conn Fine Arts Center where Conn Theatre is located. YPC's mainstage performances are held at this church complex at 1900 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Imagination Stage: Bethesda, MD-based youth theatre organization producing mainstage productions and educational programming for children and teens. Closely aligned with YPC in mission, programming structure (productions + classes + camps), and focus on arts education.
• Bay Area Children's Theatre: Oakland, CA-based youth theatre producing mainstage productions and educational programming for young performers. Similar in mission and programming structure though operates on the West Coast rather than Midwest.
• First Stage: Milwaukee, WI-based youth theatre company producing mainstage productions, theatre classes, and educational programming. Comparable in mission and programming model, though operates at larger scale and offers an academy program for advanced training.
• Stages Theatre Company: Hopkins, MN-based youth theatre company producing mainstage shows, classes, and camps for Twin Cities youth. Closest direct competitor to YPC in terms of size, programming mix, and target demographic, though Stages emphasizes musical theatre adaptations over original works.
• Adventure Theatre MTC: Maryland-based youth theatre producing professional-level productions for young audiences with accompanying educational programming. Comparable in size, nonprofit structure, and programming mix to YPC.
• Nashville Children's Theatre: Nashville, TN-based youth theatre producing mainstage productions and educational programming for children. Comparable in size, scope, and nonprofit structure to YPC, though serves a different regional market.

Broad incumbents

• Children's Theatre Company: Minneapolis-based, Tony Award-winning youth theatre company serving audiences since 1965. Operates at much larger scale than YPC with multiple performance spaces and broader national recognition, but targets the same Twin Cities youth audience with theatrical productions and educational programming.
• Seattle Children's Theatre: Seattle-based, larger-scale youth theatre company producing professional mainstage productions and educational programming. Operates at significantly greater scale than YPC but shares the core mission of theatrical productions and classes for young people.
• Guthrie Theater: Minneapolis-based, nationally recognized regional theatre producing professional productions for adult audiences. Not a youth-focused peer, but serves the same Twin Cities market and represents a broader incumbent in the local performing arts ecosystem that competes for donor dollars.

Others

• Minneapolis Institute of Art Youth & Family Programs: Mia's Youth and Family programs offer classes, workshops, and educational programming in the visual arts for Twin Cities youth. Not a direct theatre competitor, but competes for arts education dollars, donor contributions, and parent attention in the same regional market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/YPC_theatre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/YouthPerformanceCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/youthperformanceco
• Instagraminstagram.com/youthperformancecompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youthperformancecompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Youth Performance Company