Our Story
GIFT began with a small group of students bringing live theater, music, and comedy to seniors at care facilities across California’s Bay Area. From there, we grew quickly, performing plays, musicals, and original works at many other healthcare centers and even reaching audiences in New Orleans.
From ideas to action — our shows, programs, and projects have made a real impact.
GIFT was originally founded in January 2013 by Jack McCarthy.
The idea for GIFT came to Jack in 2012 at the International Thespian Society Leadership Conference at Santa Clara University. It was there that Jack realized theater could make a huge difference, especially for seniors like his grandparents in care homes.
In February 2013, we performed our first show, “GIFT’s Comedy Collection” .
The show was a series of one-act comedy scenes, juggling, and musical performances by students from 6 different schools across the Bay Area.
By 2014, GIFT had grown to perform for dozens of healthcare facilities with over 50 students from middle and high schools from all over the Bay Area.
We performed classic one-acts, plays, musicals, as well as original scripts. We also brought live musical accompaniment – piano, violin, and harp.
Within the first year and a half, we had raised nearly $12,000 for charity projects, homeless causes, and children’s hospitals.
In 2016, we expanded into the New Orleans area, and performed shows for healthcare facilities there for close to 5 years.
In 2018, our 16-member New Orleans cast of Into The Woods Jr. had over 150 audience members at the public show, where they raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society!
During the COVID pandemic in 2020, when the world went remote, we got creative!
GIFT produced a 1947-style radio play series on YouTube over the summer, keeping the stage alive for teens and audiences everywhere.
The series, inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes stories, was performed and shared weekly.
In 2023, GIFT turned 10!
Alumni from New Orleans and the Bay Area joined current GIFT members online to celebrate a decade of shows, music, and memories.
In 2025, our team launched a theater workshop series to help teens build skills in all aspects of the art and the industry — from performance to production— so young artists can explore their interests, build real-world skills, and discover where they shine.