In 1994 actor-teacher Sam Schacht started a collective of theater artists to meet informally and read new plays. Eventually, the group secured a fifth floor walk-up on 42nd Street. We held regular meetings and began to stage readings and modest productions of projects created by company artists and established writers.

In 1997, our Board of Directors was created (advised by Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Israel Horovitz and Joy Behar, to name a few) and The 42nd Street WorkShop Inc. received non-profit status. The WorkShop began creating the process through which we develop projects. We set aside Monday and Tuesday evenings for in-house readings to give writers feedback on new scripts. Company writers such as Murray Schisgal and Allan Knee created new work with working actors and directors from stage and film. We established a Sunday reading series, with a talk-back, to include our audience in the creative process. Outreach projects like "ACT-SO Evening of Theater", in affiliation with the NAACP, became a regular feature of our calendar.

By 2002, the company had so grown in size and scope that, as the redevelopment of Theater Row loomed, we needed a new home. Since we moved from 42nd Street, we changed our name. WorkShop Theater Company pioneered the new Off-Off B'way scene in the Garment District. We built our current home (in what is now known as "The Theater Building") on 36th Street. Company members constructed two new, handicapped-accessible spaces: the Jewel Box, a 30-seat theater for developing new work, and the 65-seat Main Stage, where we produce shows comparable to Off-Broadway.

In 2004, the release of the film "Finding Neverland", based on Allan Knee's play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan", marked the first time members of the WorkShop developed a project into a major motion picture (earning two of them Oscar nominations).

While our company has grown and evolved since the 42nd Street days, our basic mission has remained the same. We constantly re-examine our process, refining and adapting it to the changing needs of our artists and audience. As a result, the Jewel Box Playwrights Development Program encompasses a time-tested, yet flexible process for the development of new plays. We are always working to reach the broadest possible audience and to include them in our process. Our members, staff and board devote their time, talent and resources to maintain the WorkShop as an open, vital and creative theatrical home in New York City.