Civic Intelligence

Optimist Theatre Inc

EIN 39-1769252 • 501(c)3 • Milwaukee, WI

Profile

Free Shakespeare in the Park, offered free of charge, in the summer, as a mobile touring production directly to neighborhoods in the greater Milwaukee area.

2010 N 1st StreetMilwaukee, WI 53212

www.optimisttheatre.org

Siviq Scores

Precomputed percentiles relative to similar nonprofits. These scores are descriptive rather than judgmental.

Liabilities / Assets

Score unavailable

No value available

Liabilities-to-assets requires both liabilities and assets on the latest valid filing.

Source year 2024

Liabilities / Revenue

Score unavailable

No value available

Liabilities-to-revenue requires both liabilities and revenue on the latest valid filing.

Source year 2024

Net Margin

18th percentile

-34%

Higher net margin than 18% of similar nonprofits.

501(c)3 • <$500k nonprofits • Source year 2024

Top Officer Pay

81st percentile

$0

Higher top officer pay than 81% of similar nonprofits.

Top officer pay equals 0.0% of source-year revenue.

501(c)3 • <$500k nonprofits • Source year 2024

Asset Growth

15th percentile

-69%

Faster asset growth than 15% of similar nonprofits.

501(c)3 • <$500k nonprofits • Annualized from 2023 to 2024

Revenue Growth

38th percentile

-14%

Faster revenue growth than 38% of similar nonprofits.

501(c)3 • <$500k nonprofits • Annualized from 2023 to 2024

Assets

Down

$19,236

Down $43,484 (-69%) from 2023

Liabilities

-

No earlier filing loaded for comparison.

Net Assets

Down

$19,236

Down $43,484 (-69%) from 2023

Revenue

Down

$128,803

Down $20,956 (-14%) from 2023

Expenses

Up

$172,287

Up $31,973 (+23%) from 2023

Net Income

Down

-$43,484

Down $52,929 (-560%) from 2023

Trend Graphs

Balance Sheet Trend

Grouped bars show assets, liabilities, and net assets across loaded filings.

$80K$60K$40K$20K$0Assets 2011: $11,029Liabilities 2011: $02011Assets 2012: $6,819Liabilities 2012: $02012Assets 2013: $39,434Liabilities 2013: $02013Assets 2014: $19,857Liabilities 2014: $02014Assets 2015: $19,396Liabilities 2015: $02015Assets 2016: $45,910Liabilities 2016: $02016Assets 2017: $27,227Liabilities 2017: $02017Assets 2018: $40,769Liabilities 2018: $02018Assets 2019: $32,059Liabilities 2019: $02019Assets 2020: $66,710Liabilities 2020: $02020Assets 2021: $66,229Liabilities 2021: $5,203Net Assets 2021: $61,0262021Assets 2022: $56,442Liabilities 2022: $3,167Net Assets 2022: $53,2752022Assets 2023: $62,720Liabilities 2023: $0Net Assets 2023: $62,7202023Assets 2024: $19,236Net Assets 2024: $19,2362024

Highlighted filing

2024

Assets$19,236
Liabilities-
Net Assets$19,236

Operations Trend

Revenue, expenses, and net income by year, with the latest filing highlighted.

$200K$100K$0-$100KRevenue 2011: $54,024Expenses 2011: $55,574Net Income 2011: -$1,5502011Revenue 2012: $63,962Expenses 2012: $68,173Net Income 2012: -$4,2112012Revenue 2013: $117,484Expenses 2013: $84,869Net Income 2013: $32,6152013Revenue 2014: $79,084Expenses 2014: $98,661Net Income 2014: -$19,5772014Revenue 2015: $96,595Expenses 2015: $97,056Net Income 2015: -$4612015Revenue 2016: $140,223Expenses 2016: $113,709Net Income 2016: $26,5142016Revenue 2017: $101,125Expenses 2017: $119,808Net Income 2017: -$18,6832017Revenue 2018: $156,510Expenses 2018: $142,374Net Income 2018: $14,1362018Revenue 2019: $124,892Expenses 2019: $133,602Net Income 2019: -$8,7102019Revenue 2020: $144,030Expenses 2020: $128,531Net Income 2020: $15,4992020Revenue 2021: $158,147Expenses 2021: $143,830Net Income 2021: $14,3172021Revenue 2022: $147,154Expenses 2022: $157,474Net Income 2022: -$10,3202022Revenue 2023: $149,759Expenses 2023: $140,314Net Income 2023: $9,4452023Revenue 2024: $128,803Expenses 2024: $172,287Net Income 2024: -$43,4842024

Highlighted filing

2024

Revenue$128,803
Expenses$172,287
Net Income-$43,484

Filings

Balance SheetOperations
YearAssetsLiabilitiesNet AssetsRevenueExpensesNet Income
2024Detailed filing. Detailed filing data is available for this year.$0.19$0.19$1.29$1.72$0.43
2023Detailed filing. Detailed filing data is available for this year.$0.63$0.00$0.63$1.50$1.40$0.09
2022Detailed filing. Detailed filing data is available for this year.$0.56$0.03$0.53$1.47$1.57$0.10
2021Detailed filing. Detailed filing data is available for this year.$0.66$0.05$0.61$1.58$1.44$0.14
2020Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.67$0.00$1.44$1.29$0.15
2019Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.32$0.00$1.25$1.34$0.09
2018Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.41$0.00$1.57$1.42$0.14
2017Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.27$0.00$1.01$1.20$0.19
2016Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.46$0.00$1.40$1.14$0.27
2015Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.19$0.00$0.97$0.97$0.00
2014Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.20$0.00$0.79$0.99$0.20
2013Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.39$0.00$1.17$0.85$0.33
2012Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.07$0.00$0.64$0.68$0.04
2011Summary only. Only limited summary data is available for this year.$0.11$0.00$0.54$0.56$0.02
Latest Filing Detail
Jump To
Filing Snapshot
Filing Period
Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024
Signed
Dec 17, 2025
Return Version
2024v5.1
Gross Receipts
$128,803
Mission and Program Overview

Mission

Free Shakespeare in the Park productions offered in public parks primarily in the greater Milwaukee area.

Program Services

DescriptionGrantsExpenses
Free Shakespeare in the Park productions offered in public parks primarily in the greater Milwaukee area.$101,500$139,300
Compensation and Service Providers

Employees

NameTitleFull / Part TimeBaseOtherTotal
Michelle OwczarskiPresident-$0--
Michelle YoungVice President-$0--
Emiliio DeTorreBoard Member-$0--
Tyler HullBoard Member-$0--
Azeeza IslamBoard Member-$0--
Ronald FryBoard Member-$0--
Debra FabianBoard Member-$0--
Susan FryBoard Member-$0--
Filing and Contact Details

Filer

Filer Name
Optimist Theatre
EIN
39-1769252
Phone
2624985777
Address
2010 N 1st Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212

Signing Officer

Name
Susan Fry
Title
Executive Director
Phone
2624985777
Signed
2025-12-17
Supplemental Narrative

Additional Explanations

Part I 16

Other expenses include materials needed to produce theatre such as sound system rental, costumes, props, scenic materials, signage, flyers, audience engagement supplies, van rental and park permits.

Part III 28

Optimist Theatre's flagship program, Shakespeare in the Park, provides free, professionally produced productions of Shakespeare's plays in public parks across Milwaukee, WI. In 2024, performances were all held on weekends throughout the summe, reaching thousands of attendees from diverse communities. The initiative fosters access to the arts, community engagement, and cultural enrichment by removing financial and geographic barriers to participation

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This appendix keeps the raw XML leaves available for debugging and edge-case review. The human report above is the primary experience.

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IRS990ScheduleO/SupplementalInformationDetail/ExplanationTxt1Optimist Theatre's flagship program, Shakespeare in the Park, provides free, professionally produced productions of Shakespeare's plays in public parks across Milwaukee, WI. In 2024, performances were all held on weekends throughout the summe, reaching thousands of attendees from diverse communities. The initiative fosters access to the arts, community engagement, and cultural enrichment by removing financial and geographic barriers to participation
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IRS990ScheduleO/SupplementalInformationDetail/FormAndLineReferenceDesc1Part III 28
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