Theatre Galleria, DRF New York’s newest investment is an online marketplace where theatres, theatre professionals, and production companies can rent, buy, sell, and list items and services for hire. Founded by three women with extensive backgrounds in theatre, Jackie Kroeger-Donovan (CEO), Alix Claps (COO), and Bryna O’Neill (CMO), Theatre Galleria aims to unlock the sizable supply of existing production materials and resources to create an increased opportunity for recirculation and the monetization of assets for players in the live production space.
DRF was impressed by the zeal and deep sector expertise shown by the founders of Theatre Galleria. The founding team is composed of former thespians with significant ties and experiences in the theatre industry. Jackie Kroeger, the CEO, earned her undergraduate degree in Musical Theatre from NYU and saw firsthand significant areas for business improvement for live theatre. After deciding on returning to NYU in order to pursue her MBA Jackie found a team of like-minded individuals who saw the waste and opportunity in the industry including one of her former undergraduate professors.
“Having participated in theatre productions for most of my life, I began to notice how prohibitively expensive production costs can be,” founder Jackie Kroeger explained, “Theatres often build all their production materials from scratch, and then once the show is complete, these expensive costumes, sets, and props often go in the trash or are stored somewhere, unused.”
Theatre Galleria is creating tools specifically catered to the needs of businesses and organizations in the large and growing market in live ensemble productions as well as ancillary markets. By connecting production communities across theatre, film, tv and live events, Theatre Galleria ensures that producers are able to gain true value in not only a “one stop shop” in their pre-production process, but a lucrative revenue stream in the post production process.
DRF is very excited to be a partner to Theatre Galleria and to be a continual supporter of entrepreneurship at NYU. We’re keen to see where Jackie and her team takes the company from here.
Are you a student entrepreneur? Working on a startup? Dorm Room Fund would love to hear from you. You can get in touch with us here.
