Staff & Advisors
Since joining the Theatre Within Workshop in the late 1970s, Joe Raiola has had a flourishing career as a comedian, comedy writer, producer, speaker on first amendment issues, and workshop leader.
For 33 years, through the end of 2017, Joe was an Editor at MAD Magazine, churning out a steady stream of pointed political satire and pure silliness.
As a performer, he continues to appear around the country in The Joy of Censorship, his long-running first amendment program, which he has performed at professional conferences, public libraries, colleges, and regional theaters in 44 states.
In addition, Joe has appeared in benefits for many non-profits and charitable causes, including the Henry Miller Memorial Library, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, and Stand-up for Charlie Hebdo, a benefit for families of the victims of the attack on the French humor magazine.
As a producer, Joe co-created the Annual John Lennon Tribute with Theatre Within Workshop Founder, Alec Rubin, in 1981.
Throughout his success, Joe has remained true to his Theatre Within roots. In 2006, shortly after Alec’s death, he established Theatre Within as a non-profit dedicated to having a positive social impact through its workshops and productions.
Under Joe’s visionary leadership, the Annual John Lennon Tribute soon evolved from a small neighborhood gathering to an important New York City charity concert, attracting top artists, fans from around the world, and raising funds for local and international charities.
In 2008, Joe brought Yoko Ono and WhyHunger together, resulting in the launch of the “Imagine There’s No Hunger” global campaign. In 2014, in recognition of his achievements, he was a recipient of TimeWarner’s prestigious Richard D. Parsons Community Impact Award.
In 2015, Joe set Theatre Within on a new course, focusing on providing ongoing, free workshops for those whose lives have been impacted by cancer at Gilda’s Club, NYC. Theatre Within now offers workshops in meditation, songwriting, art and more to children who have lost a parent to cancer and adult cancer survivors. For his overwhelmingly positive community impact, Joe was chosen as one of NY1’s “New Yorker of the Week” in 2017.
After 40+ years, Joe remains committed to furthering Theatre Within creative and life-affirming mission.
JoeRaiola.com
Barbara Pitcher has directed over 35 productions in NYC in over 25 venues and was awarded the Jean Dalrymple Award for Best Director in 1997 for Countenance and Heart Sounds. She has directed the works of Pinter, Chayesky, O’Neill, Shakespeare, Salinger, Chekov and opera composer Mark Grant, and has introduced over 18 new writers to the Manhattan theatre “scene.”
As a performer she worked in television for 11 years in The Doctors, Search For Tomorrow, The Haunting of Rosalind, Blessed Are The What, and many other day and prime time dramas.. Highlights of her theatre career include Y Is A Crooked Letter, opposite Al Pacino (directed by Alec Rubin), and the creation of Monica in Robert E. Lee’s Sounding Brass, Ariadne in Theatro. Her most recent film, Paté, has been seen worldwide, is an Official Sundance Selection, and has received over 15 awards, including The Grand Jury Award at Worldfest Film Festival, and was considered for an Academy Award. Significantly influencing her work both as a performer and director was her mentor, Lee Strasberg, (scholarship in famed Private Classes) and The Actors Studio where she “worked out” in the Actors, Directors, and Playwrights Units: exploring new or classical plays as an actor. Contrary to norms for Actors Studio work at he time, her involvement lead to the lead in the off Broadway play The Pearls Stay On.
She has served on the Board Of Directors for The New York Stage Company, as Vice President/Treasurer, The International Primal Association, and has been elected by membership to the Board of Governors for the National Television Arts and Sciences, one of two Actors, representing working members. Her invitation to be on the Blue Ribbon Panel judging Daytime Actors lasted 7 years and her judging extended on to the locals of Washington DC, Chicago and New York — in all areas.
For ten years she was Artistic Director and Director of Friends Theatre Company in Manhattan. She is currently a Permanent Resident Director of the American Theatre Of Actors, having directed 16 productions for them.
Barbara has a long history with Theatre Within as a performer and director. She has directed Joe Raiola in his solo shows Confessions Of An Ex-Standup, The Joy of Censorship, Almost Obscene and American Heretic. Her work at Theatre Within includes directing and collaborating on material with Alec Rubin, in dedication to the works of Anton Chekhov. She has conducted Theatre Within Workshops, performed in numerous early Annual John Lennon Tributes, and since 2005 has been the Production Director of the Annual John Lennon Tribute at Lincoln Center, Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Beacon Theatre, Le Poisson Rouge, and Symphony Space in NYC.
SAG-AFTRA, AEA. — Website: BarbaraPitcher.com
David Rosenbaum is CEO, president and chief technologist at RCS. He is a 30-plus-year veteran of the information technology field.
Since founding RCS in 1982, David has established a strong reputation for being able to identify and implement cost-effective ways for companies to use technology to increase efficiency and profits.
Prior to forming RCS, David worked at the Monchik-Weber Corporation where he managed many cutting-edge technology initiatives for a variety of prestigious clients including Merrill Lynch, Chase Manhattan Bank and First Wall Street Corporation.
David holds an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. in mathematics and physics from Adelphi University.
For the past decade, Ed Berenhaus has served as Marketing Consultant to Theatre Within and the Annual John Lennon Tribute. Prior to joining Halstead Manhattan as a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Ed was a marketing executive and creative producer with online media companies, television networks, syndicators and technology firms. Some of these companies include AOL, NBC, USA Network, Food Network, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Nick-at-Nite, Lifetime, Court TV, Tru TV, Regis & Kelly, Oprah, Martha Stewart and Joan Rivers.
