YouthPLAYS

What YouthPLAYS does

YouthPLAYS is a privately held, Los Angeles-based publisher and licensor of plays and musicals written specifically for young actors and audiences. Founded and operated by working playwrights — co-founded by Jonathan Dorf — the company curates a catalogue spanning one-act, full-length, short, and musical works across genres (drama, comedy, horror, musical, adaptations), serving high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, community theatres, colleges/universities, and professional theatres for young audiences. Distribution is operated through a self-serve e-commerce storefront at youthplays.com with a one-business-day licensing turnaround, a free monologue/scene library for top-of-funnel acquisition, and a New Voices annual competition that feeds the content pipeline.

The underlying platform is a web-based digital licensing and distribution system supporting printed scripts, digital perusal scripts, production and classroom PDF + copy licenses, and tiered streaming/video packages (Bronze $60 through Diamond $215) integrated with third-party streaming platforms ShowTix4U, On The Stage, BookTix Live, and AnywhereSeat by Ludus. Revenue is generated entirely through transactional licensing and unit-priced product sales rather than subscriptions: per-script unit pricing ($7.25-$9.50 print; $7.50-$8.50 digital), one-time performance royalties ($22-$50), production and classroom reproduction licenses ($68-$90), streaming packages, and book sales (e.g., Go Solo monologues, Young Playwrights 101), with professional rights negotiated directly for larger productions. Select plays are documented as having been produced across all 50 US states and 68 countries, but no revenue, headcount, or funding figures are disclosed.

Name

YouthPLAYS

Legal name

YouthPLAYS

Website

https://youthplays.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YouthPLAYS is a privately held Los Angeles-based publisher and licensor of plays and musicals written specifically for young actors, serving schools, community theatres, universities, and professional young-audience theatres through a self-serve digital licensing storefront with one-day turnaround and streaming integrations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Play Publishing and Theatre Licensing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Digital & Interactive Publishing (E-books, Apps, Enhanced Content) (MPAJAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Middle Grade Publishing (MPAJAFAC), Children’s Audio Publishing (Audiobooks & Podcasts) (MPAJAFAI), Children’s Licensed & Media Tie-In Publishing (MPAJAFAK), Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE)

Keywords

• Play publishing
• Youth theatre licensing
• Script licensing
• Performance royalties
• Monologue collections

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Script Sales: Sale of printed scripts and digital perusal scripts for individual use. Printed scripts range from $7.25-$9.50; digital perusal scripts range from $7.50-$8.50.
2. Performance Royalties: One-time performance royalty fees required for productions, typically ranging from $22-$50 for standard productions.
3. Production Licenses: Production PDF with copy license ($68-$90) and Classroom PDF with copy license ($70-$90) for educational institutions to reproduce scripts.
4. Streaming and Video Packages: Video and streaming packages (Bronze $60 to Diamond $215) for virtual productions, with various streaming platform integrations.
5. Books and Anthologies: Sale of monologue collections (Go Solo Volume 2 at $10.47 during sale), play anthologies, and educational resources for classroom and competition use.
6. Professional Rights: Professional rights for major productions negotiated directly with YouthPLAYS for special arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YouthPLAYS publishes and licenses plays, musicals, and theatrical books written specifically for young actors, sold through a self-serve e-commerce website to schools, community theatres, universities, and professional theatres for young audiences. Offerings include one-act, full-length, and short plays, musicals, performable collections, the Go Solo monologue book series, Young Playwrights 101, with printed scripts, digital perusal scripts, performance royalties, production and classroom PDF licenses, and Bronze-through-Diamond streaming packages.

Product overview

YouthPLAYS is a publisher of plays and theatrical content for young actors and audiences, serving schools, youth theatres, universities, community theatres, and professional theatres for young audiences. The core product portfolio consists of individual plays (one-act, full-length, and shorts), musicals, and performable collections/anthologies across genres including drama, comedy, horror, and adaptations of classic literature. The company also offers books for monologue collections (Go Solo series) and playwriting education (Young Playwrights 101), along with free resources including monologues and scenes. Licensing options include printed/digital scripts, performance royalties, classroom and production PDF licenses, and streaming packages through platforms like ShowTix4U, On The Stage, BookTix Live, and AnywhereSeat by Ludus. A New Voices competition provides a pathway for young playwrights to get published.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• One-Act Plays Licensable one-act plays for young actors across genres including drama, comedy, horror, and musical theater. Available in printed script, digital perusal, and various licensing tiers, priced at $7.25-$9.50 for printed scripts and $7.50-$8.50 for digital perusal scripts.
• Full-Length Plays Licensable full-length plays for young actors, with options for high school, middle school, and community theater productions.
• Short Plays Short plays typically under 15 minutes, suitable for competition, classroom use, and one-act festivals.
• Musicals Licensable musical theater productions for young actors, including original works and adaptations.
• Performable Collections Anthologies of multiple short plays that can be performed together or separately, covering themes such as bullying, mental health, classic literature adaptations, and more.
• Go Solo: Contemporary Monologues for Young Actors A collection of more than six dozen monologues from YouthPLAYS plays, ideal for auditions, classroom work and competition. Available as paperback or ebook with classroom photocopy license.
• Go Solo, Volume 2: More Contemporary Monologues for Young Actors Successor to Go Solo, featuring more than six dozen monologues for young actors ranging from middle school through university, ideal for auditions, classroom work and competition. Available as a paperback book for individual use or as an ebook that includes a photocopy license for classroom use. Priced at $10.47 during 30% off sale.
• Young Playwrights 101: Revised Edition A complete course guiding young writers from initial idea to submission, with practical exercises to hone writing skills, authored by YouthPLAYS co-founder Jonathan Dorf.
• Streaming and Video Packages Streaming packages for virtual and hybrid productions, available in Bronze ($60), Silver ($80), Gold ($105), Platinum ($155), and Diamond ($215) tiers, with integration support for streaming platforms including ShowTix4U, On The Stage, BookTix Live, and AnywhereSeat by Ludus.

Quantifiable outcome

• Plays produced in all 50 US states and 68 countries
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Music Theatre International (MTI): MTI is the leading licensor of musical theatre rights to schools and community theatres worldwide, including junior and youth editions of major titles. Directly competes with YouthPLAYS' musicals category and shares the school/community buyer base, but at much larger scale and with marquee IP.
• Concord Theatricals (formerly Samuel French): Concord Theatricals is the largest play licensing and theatrical publishing company in North America, serving schools, community, and professional productions across a much broader catalog. Overlaps directly with YouthPLAYS in K-12 and community licensing but operates at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Dramatists Play Service: Dramatists Play Service is a long-established play licensing agency representing a wide range of contemporary playwrights to schools, community, and professional theatres. Comparable in core licensing business but skews toward adult/professional repertoire rather than youth-specialized content.

Regional players

• Lazy Bee Scripts: Lazy Bee Scripts is a UK-based play publisher and licensor offering scripts for schools, youth groups, and amateur theatre. Comparable product and business model but primarily serves the UK and Commonwealth rather than US-centric YouthPLAYS buyers.

Direct peers

• Dramatic Publishing: Dramatic Publishing licenses plays and musicals for educational and community theatre production, with a long-standing catalog and similar per-production royalty pricing structure. Comparable licensing model and target segments.
• Playscripts, Inc. Playscripts licenses plays and musicals for educational, community, and professional theatre via a self-serve online platform with a similar one-stop licensing model. Directly comparable in product, buyer persona, and distribution approach to YouthPLAYS.
• Heuer Publishing: Heuer Publishing licenses short and full-length plays for school, church, and community theatre productions. Closely comparable in niche youth/school play licensing and low per-production price points.
• Pioneer Drama Service: Pioneer Drama Service publishes and licenses plays and musicals specifically for schools, churches, and community theatres — a near-identical target buyer to YouthPLAYS. Strong overlap in K-12 and youth-theatre use cases and pricing tiers.
• Theatrical Rights Worldwide: Theatrical Rights Worldwide represents musical and dramatic performance rights for educational, amateur, and professional productions. Comparable licensing model and overlapping K-12/community buyer segments.

Emerging players

• Stage Partners: Stage Partners is a digital-first play licensing platform for schools and amateur productions with a self-serve online storefront. Comparable to YouthPLAYS in PLG/digital distribution and K-12 buyer focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youthplays

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 YouthPLAYS