Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sean Cawelti, Executive Director / CEO ($30,876) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Sean Cawelti — reported title “ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/INTERIM BOARD CHAIR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to CA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yard Theater Inc | CA | $296,182 | President | $31,150 | $32,070 | 2023 |
| Improv Utopia | CA | $289,594 | Presidentceo | $50,417 | $50,417 | 2024 |
| Theatre Dybbuk | CA | $314,939 | See Sch O | $65,149 | $65,149 | 2024 |
| Lights Up Theater Inc | CA | $315,600 | Vice President | $75,000 | $75,000 | 2024 |
| Murphys Creek Theater Conservatory | CA | $286,025 | Vice President | $65,000 | $66,920 | 2023 |
| Lower Bottom Playaz Inc | CA | $273,901 | Executive Director | $111,275 | $114,562 | 2023 |
| Musical Youth Artist Repertory Theatre | CA | $332,871 | President | $75,955 | $78,199 | 2023 |
| Los Angeles Theatresports | CA | $333,547 | Board Member | $780 | $803 | 2023 |
| The Roots And Wings Project | CA | $270,111 | President | $20,000 | $20,000 | 2024 |
| Theatre Rhinoceros Inc | CA | $336,121 | Executive Dir. | $78,500 | $76,477 | 2025 |
| Childrens Musical Theatreworks Inc | CA | $336,869 | Executive Dir. | $12,000 | $12,000 | 2024 |
| Jean Shelton Foundation | CA | $338,712 | Executive Director | $15,000 | $15,000 | 2024 |
| Theatre Forty | CA | $343,128 | Secretary | $61,354 | $59,773 | 2025 |
| Common Ground Theatre | CA | $252,965 | Artist Director | $30,280 | $30,280 | 2024 |
| New Art City Theatre | CA | $352,132 | Founder/arti | $23,500 | $23,500 | 2024 |
| Act Out Theatre Company | CA | $237,977 | Executive Director | $51,923 | $51,923 | 2024 |
| Ensemble Studio Theatre The La Project | CA | $372,384 | Artistic Director | $14,500 | $14,928 | 2023 |
| Golden Thread Productions | CA | $374,921 | Exec Artist Dir | $72,000 | $72,000 | 2024 |
| Lobster Theater Project | CA | $221,947 | Executive Dir. | $60,708 | $60,708 | 2024 |
| Northern California Dance Collective | CA | $220,351 | Treasurer | $1,550 | $1,550 | 2024 |
| Sonoma Arts Live | CA | $387,782 | President | $3,325 | $3,325 | 2024 |
| Yorba Linda Spotlight Theater Company | CA | $391,469 | Studio Manager | $69,564 | $69,564 | 2024 |
| Lunchtime Productions | CA | $209,049 | Executive Dir. | $42,834 | $44,099 | 2023 |
| Santa Monica Theatre Guild | CA | $397,778 | Member | $27,615 | $27,615 | 2024 |
| Skylight Theatre Company | CA | $405,316 | Executive Director | $85,000 | $85,000 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to CA cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 35th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 35th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 35th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 35th |
If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.
Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:
Draft board minutes — executive compensation
Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.