Where is US Theatre Thriving? Small, Grassroots Organizations

I used to believe it was essential for the theatre field to “institutionalize community,” meaning large organizations must place community engagement at the forefront of their existence. However, after not seeing a plethora of successful examples and seeing lots of harm caused along the way, I’m now confident that the most important work is happening at the grassroots level, by small organizations who can address local needs.

“Nonprofitism” isn’t always the answer to starting organizations.

While an undergraduate student in rural Humboldt County, California (a five-hour drive North from San Francisco), I founded a theatre company, Lime Arts Productions, because I wanted a vehicle for me and my friends to experiment and create. During the height of the pandemic, when theatre education moved online and young artists had scarce opportunities to network, meet industry professionals, and create new work, we stepped up. Through three iterations of the virtual Twenty By Twenty Fringe, we served hundreds of artists in their twenties—a demographic that many institutions lost sight of. Starting this small company catalyzed my understanding of the necessity of valuing young voices, especially in theatre, where we should look to them for new stories, ways of working, and ideas. As a limited liability company (LLC), it also affirmed that “nonprofitism” isn’t always the answer to starting organizations.

I was certainly not alone in seeking to create something new during the height of the pandemic. An October 2024 New York Times article titled “Pandemic Start-Ups Are Thriving, Helping to Fuel the Economy” noted,

Few predicted it at the time, but the pandemic proved fertile ground for would-be entrepreneurs. The break in their routines gave some people the chance to pursue long-delayed dreams, or to consider possibilities they might otherwise have dismissed.

In the theatre industry, these new organizations are not just surviving—they are redefining the US theatrical landscape in a time when the landscape is evolving every day. Many of them are, unsurprisingly, led by commercially under-resourced community members—whether rural, young, and/or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). In the fall of 2024, I met with the founders of six new organizations from Sacramento, California to Quincy, Massachusetts to grasp what led to their impulses to start companies in a post-lockdown world.

Among the many thriving start-ups reshaping the landscape is the South Carolina New Play Festival (SCNPF). Founded in 2021 by West Hyler and Shelley Butler, this organization addresses two tangible needs in the ecosystem: offering opportunities for Greenville, South Carolina artists and audiences and facilitating professional experiences for writers to workshop ideas. The latter is even more crucial in light of the closures of national leaders in the new play space, such as the Humana Festival of New Plays, Sundance Theatre Program, and The Lark. SCNPF’s business model is unusual—they offer free tickets to all shows, cast around 50 percent local talent, and rely on roughly 90 percent contributed income. Testaments to the success of their model include selling out their festival in twelve hours with six thousand audience members, increasing their budget over four years to $250,000 to support the mission, and workshopping plays that have moved on to regional theatre and commercial success across the country.

Two other organizations founded by creatives under the age of thirty to make space for other emerging artists are The Larking House and Good Apples Collective. The Larking House (originally founded as Garage Theatre Ensemble in 2020) in Anaheim, California, is a sole-proprietorship led by Lizzy McCabe that operates with an annual budget of less than $8,000. Good Apples Collective was founded in 2022 by Nina Goodheart and Sophie McIntosh in New York City as an LLC, currently operating with an annual budget of less than $50,000. I find both organizations’ commitment to emerging artists, often those who recently graduated from higher education, to be demonstrable and praiseworthy. The Larking House receives consistent recognition through Orange Curtain Awards, an independent awards system and ceremony in Orange County, which illustrates an acknowledgement from their local community. This is not an easy feat. Lizzy reminds herself, “When you’re trying to get your footing in as a new organization, it’s essential to be in front of everyone, to connect with our neighbors and community.” Each year, they receive hundreds of applications from young artists around the country seeking their year-long professional development and playwriting workshop opportunities.

Good Apples Collective prioritizes paying artists, which is contributing to a larger arts ecosystem and allowing opportunities to springboard into the New York City indie theatre scene. Over the years, they’ve meaningfully addressed areas of professional development for young creatives through their low-stakes offerings such as Director-Playwright Speed Dating sessions, Artist Website Coworking Day, and an online rehearsal space database.

These two groups provide possibilities that are appealing to young creatives. When I spoke with these leaders, each acknowledged the challenges of balancing small budgets, securing venues, and receiving adequate administrative support. Yet, they persevere, serving their distinct communities with passion and resourcefulness.

Also noteworthy are the contributions from other emerging organizations who are serving their communities through such diverse missions. In 2023, Boxcar Stage Company was founded in Quincy, Massachusetts by friends who met as teens and now address a missing gap in their local arts ecosystem. They work with youth in their area to provide opportunities to train, create, and perform through high school partnerships and a private studio. Challenging the perceptions of “just doing high school theatre,” they create professional-level experiences for their students. Not dissimilar, Bramble Theatre Company (BTC) is an ensemble organization started in 2021 in Chicago, Illinois by nineteen classmates from the School at Steppenwolf. BTC’s leadership remembers advice given by creative producer Matthew Lunt’s former supervisor: “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, bring your friends.” This ethos, coupled with the founders’ shared ensemble training, influences their values and programming. Through a model that mirrors how a plethora of corporate entities thrive, BTC has a nonprofit and for-profit status, which provides the tools (including their booming Bramble Arts Loft) to truly catalyze their ensemble’s work.

Egg and Spoon Theatre, founded by Liam Lonegan in New York City, and Matriarchy Theatre Company, founded by Nicole C. Limón in Sacramento, are also experimenting with traditional producing models with their respective communities. Egg and Spoon Theatre commits to producing one show a year, through a flurry of local support such as New York State Council on the Arts funding and guidance from board member Bob Moss, the founder of Playwrights Horizons. Their recent production of The Voices in Your Head (which I attended and found to be an unexpectedly hysterical and heartwarming experience) was enthusiastically received by the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Vulture. Nicole’s ability to partner and co-produce with other mission-aligned small-sized organizations, while also creating a pipeline for California State University at Sacramento alumni, has been an enormous success, nearly selling out every production Matriarchy Theatre has programmed. Nicole values decolonizing how theatre is produced. She told me,

I’m most proud of the faith that the community has in us…we’ve been true to our mission, to center women+ stories and voices, by bringing indigenous theatre to the community…and making space for everyone along the way.

Despite their differences, all of these companies face shared challenges: financial precarity, burnout among leadership, and the systemic barriers of adequate operational support. Many depend on unconventional models, such as fiscal sponsorships or LLC frameworks, to get started—a conscious effort to avoid the more common nonprofit model. The teams at Bramble Theatre Company and Boxcar Stage Company have experimented with ensemble-led or shared leadership models, lightening the workload for leaders and sharing responsibilities. While these leaders are putting in over full-time hours, they rely on other day jobs and gigs to supplement their personal incomes, working more than a combined sixty hours a week.

There is no shortage of challenges these theatres have faced. Many describe themselves as “scrappy,” operating on shoestring budgets, with most of their funding going toward artists. There are admittedly knowledge gaps in areas of operational support such as grant writing, managing cash flow, contracting with unions, and marketing. Liam determines,

We can’t grow our financial foundation (board members, donors, grants) without producing more work; and we aren’t able to produce more work without a solid and more reliable financial structure. It’s a catch-22.

But their successes—artistically and in audience impact—are undeniable. They prove that theatre remains vital to local and national communities alike. These companies challenge the industry to reconsider its bias against emerging organizations and those led by young, ambitious artists. Supporting their growth is not just a matter of survival; it’s a necessary investment in the future of US theatre. Organizations once essential to our ecosystem—like New Ohio Theatre, California Shakespeare Theatre, and the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab—have closed, and these emerging companies are bravely addressing the needs of their respective communities.

We, as an industry, will strengthen if we give room for this movement of new organizations to thrive. If addressed, we will all reap the rewards. Many of these startups are providing vital opportunities for early-career artists and, without them, the gap between training programs and a sustainable career widens. These companies are actively building new diverse audiences that, if ignored, will have little attraction to our field. Several of these groups are experimenting with new leadership and organizational models—if not supported, our industry will remain stuck in outdated, unsustainable business models.

Resources and support are essential to the sustained success of these smaller organizations. They are in dire need of resources—everything from funding to real estate to political sway. Equally crucial, community-driven support is as strong a driver as any other variable —word of mouth is one of the most reliable marketing and outreach tactics.

As we rebuild, we must ask: How can established institutions and funders better empower these organizations to thrive? How can we, as individual members of the arts ecosystem, support emerging movements in the same way we once embraced the groundbreaking ideas of Zelda Fichandler, Nina Vance, and Molly Smith? The answer perhaps lies in creating pathways for sustainability. Can larger theatre institutions share resources and mentor these organizations? Can funders prioritize the growth and professional development of these types of organizations? Where can service organizations aid efforts of advocacy and outreach?

The next great leap in theatre is already taking root in the smallest, scrappiest spaces.

More pointedly, it is essential for all of us to champion the belief that the next great leap in theatre is already taking root in the smallest, scrappiest spaces. Let's go check them out.