Summary
Organization name
Uptown Players
Tax id (EIN)
36-4591959
Causes
Arts & Humanities
Operating Budget
$500,000 - $999,999
Counties Served
Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall, Tarrant
Address
1327 Motor CircleDallas, TX 75207
Uptown Players is one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ focused professional theaters and a vital cultural pillar in Dallas. Since our founding in 2001, we have grown into a leading regional powerhouse celebrating our 25th anniversary season of producing high-quality, critically acclaimed performing arts.
Our mission is to provide a safe haven and a powerful platform for exploring LGBTQ+ identity, relationships, and values. By staging stories that champion equity, inclusion, and queer acceptance, we challenge and inspire diverse audiences—which proudly include nearly 50% heterosexual allies. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights face increasing challenges, our stage fosters the essential representation that helps individuals feel valued, seen, and connected.
Uptown Players is also a major economic driver for the local arts ecosystem. Each season, we provide meaningful employment to nearly 200 local actors, designers, directors, musicians, and technicians, keeping top-tier talent right here in North Texas.
Our production values rival national touring companies, earning Uptown Players over 25 Leon Rabin Awards, 30 Theater Critics Forum Awards, and consistent "Best in the Region" honors from D Magazine, the Dallas Observer, and Dallas Voice. Your North Texas Giving Day gift directly supports impactful art, cultural equity, and the local artists who bring these vital stories to life.
Our Needs
Your donation to Uptown Players for North Texas Giving Day 2026 directly offsets the rising costs of theatrical production while sustaining our commitment to equitable artist compensation. As we celebrate our landmark 25th anniversary season, these vital funds will bridge the gap between ticket sales and the operational costs of staging high-caliber, LGBTQ+-focused theatre. Specifically, your support helps us provide competitive wages for our local creative workforce, secure script licensing, and invest in the premium set, costume, and sound designs that our audiences expect. By investing in Uptown Players today, you are directly keeping premier talent in Dallas, protecting a vital safe haven for queer storytelling, and ensuring our stage thrives for the next 25 years.
Mission
The mission of Uptown Players is to present professional theatre that meets a rising demand in the LGBTQ+ community for audiences to see their life experiences represented on stage. We offer diverse productions focusing on contemporary and alternative lifestyle themes that explore subjects including diversity, relationships, family, prejudice, and social values. We present plays and musicals that challenge audiences artistically, strengthen cultural bridges with the LGBTQ+ community, and create greater positive public awareness and acceptance through the performing arts.
Needs
Small and mid-size theaters, like Uptown Players, rely on funding from individuals, corporations and grants to produce stories that align with our mission. Large-scale LGBTQ+ musicals – such as Fun Home, Kinky Boots, Head Over Heels, The Prom, and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – require significant resources to retain the high production values we strive for, and our audiences LOVE! Please consider giving today!
Equity Statement
UPTOWN PLAYERS EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
At Uptown Players, we are committed to creating a vibrant and inclusive theatrical community. We know that diversity and representation are essential to the theatrical community we are building to celebrate and uplift the voices and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. We are committed to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces individuals of all backgrounds. We will strive to do so through:
Diversity: We will seek a diverse range of experiences and perspectives in all aspects of our theater company and provide a safe and welcoming space for all to ensure we reflect the rich tapestry of society.
Equity: We will ensure fair access and opportunity and work to eliminate barriers that have prevented full participation and advancement to some groups in the past.
Inclusion: We will help everyone feel valued, heard and respected by engaging in dialogue and education to challenge biases and create a more inclusive theatrical community.
This is an ongoing journey of self-reflection, learning, and improvement that can only be achieved with the input and feedback of our casts, crews and patrons. We welcome the opportunity to engage in open dialogue with you to adapt our practices and ensure we build an environment where all feel included and can enjoy the performing arts. Together, Uptown Players believes we can create transformative theatrical experiences that inspire, educate, and build bridges of understanding.
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Ongoing
Dallas, TX
Organization Data
Dallas, TX 75207