Mission — Theatre Within

OUR MISSION

To provide ongoing, free workshops and programs in creative expression and mindfulness to communities in need.

***Participants from the first-ever John Lennon Real Love Project workshop held at Gilda’s Club NYC, October 2015.***

Workshops FOR THE CANCER COMMUNITY

Since 2015, in partnership with the Red Door Community (formerly Gilda’s Club NYC) and other regional cancer support communities, Theatre Within has provided countless workshops — including the John Lennon Real Love Project, MAD Art, plus workshops in singing, creative writing, meditation and more — for those impacted by cancer. Our workshops reach cancer patients, survivors and their family embers in nine states, plus Washington, D.C. and Canada.

John Lennon Real Love Project

Launched in 2014 at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, the John Lennon Real Love Project (JLRLP) is our award-winning songwriting workshop and program. Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we have provided over 250 JLRLP workshops for the cancer community. The JLRLP elementary and middle school program launched in June 2021. Since then, we have brought the program to 19 schools with more planned for the future.

***MAD Magazine Art Director Emeritus, Sam Viviano, with Covenant Houses’s Amethyst Dawson at the MAD Art Workshop, July 2023.***

workshops for youth in crisis

Since 2021, in partnership with Covenant House, the largest provider of services in New York City for runaway youth, Theatre Within has provided the John Lennon Real Love Project and MAD Art Workshop for teens experiencing homelessness. The workshops are held on site at Covenant House’s new facility on 41 Street in Manhattan, which serves over 1,600 young adults annually.

Annual John Lennon Tribute

Since 1981, our Annual John Lennon Tribute has celebrated John Lennon’s life, music and timeless message of peace and love. The Tribute began as a small neighborhood gathering at the Theatre Within studio on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and evolved over time into an important New York City cultural and charity event. Among the many top artists who have performed at the Tribute are Graham Nash, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Natalie Merchant, Patti Smith, Rosanne Cash, Donovan, Ben E. King, Bettye LaVette, Debbie Harry, and Joan Osborne.

***Mary Fahl at our Music of Bob Dylan & George Harrison concert, May 7 2023.***

OTHER Productions

Theatre Within has produced countless solo theater and dance works, new and classic plays, experimental workshop productions and concerts, from Why Is A Crooked Letter (1966) with a young Al Pacino, to The Music of Paul McCartney/80th Birthday Celebration (2022) and The Music of Bob Dylan & George Harrison: A Celebration of a Musical Friendship (2023).

Workshop leader Stephanie Carlin with child at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, October 2014. — **Workshop leader Stephanie Carlin with child at the first John Lennon Real Love Project program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, October 2014.**

Furthering Our Positive Impact

Theatre Within has occasionally partnered with other non-profits to help further their worthy missions. Previous beneficiaries of Theatre Within productions include Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, Clearwater, The Playing for Change Foundation, The Food Bank of NYC, Share Our Strength, The Yorkville Common Pantry, The Henry Miller Library and Friends of the Shawangunks. In 2008, by bringing WhyHunger together with Yoko Ono, we played a vital role in helping launch the “Imagine There’s No Hunger” global initiative.