YouthPLAYS
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
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.
YouthPLAYS firmographics
Firmographics- 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
YouthPLAYS industry classification
Industry- 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
Where YouthPLAYS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
YouthPLAYS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- Performance Royalties: One-time performance royalty fees required for productions, typically ranging from $22-$50 for standard productions.
- Production Licenses: Production PDF with copy license ($68-$90) and Classroom PDF with copy license ($70-$90) for educational institutions to reproduce scripts.
- Streaming and Video Packages: Video and streaming packages (Bronze $60 to Diamond $215) for virtual productions, with various streaming platform integrations.
- 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.
- Professional Rights: Professional rights for major productions negotiated directly with YouthPLAYS for special arrangements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Printed Script |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Digital Perusal Script |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Performance Royalties |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Production PDF + Copy License |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Classroom PDF + Copy License |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Streaming Packages |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Go Solo Volume 2 Book |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
YouthPLAYS product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use YouthPLAYS
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
YouthPLAYS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
YouthPLAYS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
YouthPLAYS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
YouthPLAYS social profiles
Digital presenceYouthPLAYS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
YouthPLAYS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
YouthPLAYS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
YouthPLAYS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about YouthPLAYS
What does YouthPLAYS do?
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.
Is YouthPLAYS a public or private company?
YouthPLAYS is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was YouthPLAYS founded?
YouthPLAYS was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is YouthPLAYS based?
YouthPLAYS is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does YouthPLAYS make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Script Sales are the primary driver. The others are performance Royalties, production Licenses, streaming and Video Packages, books and Anthologies and professional Rights.
Who are YouthPLAYS's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Music Theatre International (MTI), Concord Theatricals (formerly Samuel French) and Dramatists Play Service. Lazy Bee Scripts is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Dramatic Publishing, Playscripts, Inc., Heuer Publishing, Pioneer Drama Service and Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Stage Partners is listed as an emerging player.
Does YouthPLAYS have an API?
No public API is recorded for YouthPLAYS.
What industry is YouthPLAYS in?
YouthPLAYS's product category is Play Publishing and Theatre Licensing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAFAJ, Children’s Digital & Interactive Publishing (E-books, Apps, Enhanced Content), with a secondary code of MPAJAFAC, Middle Grade Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.