Form 990 for tax year 2024

Totals

Total revenue

$20,417,623

Total expenses

$25,021,598

Contributions and grants received

$8,009,990

Grants paid

$89,838

Program service revenue

$10,834,462

Investment income

$465,535

Other revenue

$1,107,636

Total assets, end of year

$65,453,793

Total liabilities, end of year

$18,013,008

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$47,440,785

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$17,279,165

Management and general expenses

$5,153,684

Fundraising expenses

$2,588,749

Program service expenses (Part III)

$17,279,165

Program services were 69.1% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2024

• PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAMS: AT STC, A CLASSICAL PLAY IS DEFINED NOT ONLY BY THE CALIBER OF ITS LANGUAGE, BUT BY THE TIMELESSNESS OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCES AND DILEMMAS IT ADDRESSES AND THE PROFOUND QUESTIONS IT POSES. FAMILY, LOVE, POWER, CORRUPTION, ARE ALL THEMES WITH RELEVANCE TO PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND, WHICH ARE ESPECIALLY TIMELY IN LIGHT OF CURRENT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1985, STC HAS STAGED MORE THAN 150 PRODUCTIONS, INCLUDING EVERY PLAY IN SHAKESPEARE'S RECOGNIZED CANON, AND REACHED OVER 2.5 MILLION AUDIENCE MEMBERS. STC PRODUCES 6-7 MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS ANNUALLY. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SIMON GODWIN CULTIVATES A SEASON OF NEW AND CLASSIC THEATRE RANGING FROM SHAKESPEARE PLAYS TO NEW REVIVALS AND WORLD PREMIERES, NEW COMMISSIONS, MUSICALS, AND INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS, TELLING VITAL STORIES IN AUDACIOUS, NEW WAYS THAT SPEAK TO A WIDE AUDIENCE.SHAKESPEARE IS OUR MUSE, AND STC'S FRESH TAKES ON WELL-KNOWN PLAYS SOLIDIFIED STC'S REPUTATION AS T "THE NATION'S FOREMOST SHAKESPEARE COMPANY" (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) (PRODUCING "A REPERTORY OF CLASSICS THAT NO NEW YORK THEATRE OF SIMILAR SIZE AND SCALE CAN MATCH" (THE NEW YORK TIMES). STC HAS ATTRACTED MAJOR RECOGNITION INCLUDING THE 2012 REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD AND 100+ HELEN HAYES AWARDS.THE THEATRE COMMISSIONS ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC PLAYS SUCH AS AESCHYLUS'S "THE ORESTEIA" IN 2019, ADAPTED BY ELLEN MCLAUGHLIN AND "PETER PAN AND WENDY," AN ADAPTATION OF J.M. BARRY'S EARLY 20TH C. NOVEL BY AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT LAUREN GUNDERSON. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SIMON GODWIN HAS EXPANDED INTO AMERICAN CLASSICS, PRODUCING JAMES BALDWIN'S "THE AMEN CORNER" IN 2020, THE FIRST MAJOR PRODUCTION SINCE ITS 1955 PREMIERE AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THORNTON WILDER'S PULITZER PRIZE WINNING OUR TOWN IN 2022. EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY ARE CORE TO STC'S MISSION. TO MAKE THE THEATRE MORE ACCESSIBLE, STC OFFERS FREE OR DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO STUDENTS, VETERANS, SENIORS, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT COULD NOT ATTEND OTHERWISE. STC'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND INCLUDE DISCUSSIONS CURATED BY STC'S STAFF, PODCASTS FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS AND DIRECTORS FROM CURRENT PRODUCTIONS, PERFORMANCES BY LOCAL ARTISTS AND ART ORGANIZATIONS, WORKSHOPS, AND MORE.OUR TICKET AND SUBSCRIPTION SALES SHOW WE'RE DOING WORK THAT AUDIENCES ARE CLAMORING FOR: BETWEEN FY19 AND FY24, OUR SINGLE TICKET SALES ROSE 194% AND SUBSCRIPTIONS INCREASED BY 122%, BUCKING NATIONAL TRENDS IN THE THEATRE INDUSTRY.

  Expenses $16,004,043 · Revenue $9,531,341

• EDUCATION PROGRAMSSTC'S LEARNING DEPARTMENT HAS PROVIDED ARTS EDUCATION EXPERIENCES TO MORE THAN 100,000 CHILDREN AND ADULTS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES. THROUGH ACCESSIBLE, HIGH-CALIBER EDUCATION PROGRAMS LED BY PROFESSIONAL TEACHING ARTISTS, STC TOUCHES PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS, AND THROUGH STC ACADEMY, ITS GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM, STC FOSTERS THE NEXT GENERATION OF CLASSICAL ARTISTS. RENAMED STC LEARNING, THE LEARNING TEAM MAINTAINS LONGTIME PARTNERSHIPS WITH ALL DC PUBLIC AND PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS SCHOOLS IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA. WORKING WITH LOCAL TEACHERS, STC INTEGRATES COMMON CORE-ALIGNED THEATRE ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMMING INTO INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOMS. FOLLOWING SUCCESS DURING THE PANDEMIC, STC HAS DEVELOPED INNOVATIVE ONLINE PROGRAMS TO SERVE STUDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. STC OFFERS A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING. THE LEARNING DEPARTMENT OFFERS THREE LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: 1) STUDENT MATINEES, THE LARGEST EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, BRING STUDENTS FROM THE DC, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA TO THE THEATRE FOR AN STC MATINEE AT VERY LOW COST, PROVIDING MANY STUDENTS THEIR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO LIVE THEATRE. PERFORMANCES ARE SUPPLEMENTED BY PRE-SHOW EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND POST-SHOW TALKBACKS; 2) WORKSHOPS PROVIDE TEACHING ARTISTS TO LOCAL CLASSROOMS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS STUDYING SHAKESPEARE, USING PERFORMANCE-BASED ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE ACTIVE LEARNING; AND 3) RESIDENCIES PROVIDE A CLASSROOM WITH 10 TEACHING ARTIST-LED WORKSHOPS, DURING WHICH STUDENTS EXPLORE PLAYS THROUGH A VARIETY OF LENSES INCLUDING SET DESIGN, COSTUMES, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, TEXT DISSECTION, AND MORE. STUDENTS THEN CHOOSE ONE OF THESE PLAYS AND CREATE A SCENE BASED ON WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED IN THEIR WORKSHOPS; THE WORK CULMINATES WITH STUDENTS FROM EACH CLASS PERFORMING THEIR SCENE AT A "FESTIVAL DAY" FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. STC ALSO OFFERS A VARIETY OF YEAR-ROUND ACTING CLASSES FOR YOUTH AND ADULTS, 10 WEEKS OF CAMP SHAKESPEARE EACH SUMMER FOR AGES 5 18, AND ADULT CLASSES IN ACTING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR BOTH AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL ACTORS. REGULAR FREE PROGRAMS INCLUDE DISCUSSIONS AND "ASIDES," STC'S DRAMATURGICAL MAGAZINE PRODUCED FOR EACH PLAY.STC'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH DC RESIDENTS AND LOCAL ARTISTS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC PROGRAMMING WAS PROVIDED THROUGH A MONTH-LONG "AMEN BALDWIN! FESTIVAL" TO COMPLEMENT THE FIRST PRODUCTION OF JAMES BALDWIN'S AMEN CORNER SINCE IT PREMIERED AT HOWARD IN THE 1950S. THE FESTIVAL OFFERED A FILM SERIES, PERFORMANCES, EXHIBITIONS, LECTURES, AND MORE. STC REGULARLY PROVIDES DEMONSTRATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR LOCAL FESTIVALS AND OFFERS VOLUNTEER AND APPRENTICE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, STC HAS A MASTER OF FINE ARTS DEGREE TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF ACTORS. THE ACADEMY FOR CLASSICAL ACTING (ACA) IS FULLY ACCREDITED AND HIGHLY COMPETITIVE. NOW IN ITS 25TH YEAR, THE ACA TYPICALLY ACCEPTS ONLY 18-20 APPLICANTS EACH YEAR TO ENSURE RIGOROUS, INTENSIVE TRAINING. STUDENTS OFTEN SERVE AS UNDERSTUDIES IN MAJOR STC PRODUCTIONS, AND ALUMNI PERFORM IN PROFESSIONAL THEATRE COMPANIES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

  Expenses $1,275,122 · Grants $89,838 · Revenue $1,303,121

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us.

Schedule J

Part I's answers as filed. A line not listed was left unanswered; on lines 1a and 3 that means the box was not checked.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Taxable family on this return

Schedule R Parts I, III and IV, as filed. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money moved.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2024

Filed

15 December 2025

IRS schema version

2024v5.2

Source object

202543509349300114

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