Everyday Theatre was founded in 2002 by Tim Barsky & Jess Ivry to create new works integrating jewish folklore & hip-hop theatre. It soon grew to involve acclaimed beatboxers Kid Beyond, Infinite & Soulati, and bassists Shree Shyam & Safa Shokrai. With a mission to create high-quality, low-cost art that was both politically radical and broadly accessible, the company utilized tactics drawn from activist and hip-hop communities. Instead of conventional funding methods (corporate underwriters, subsciber base funding etc.), Everyday began to engage support from audiences which had been largely ignored by "legit" theatres. The company also began to work closely with Epic Arts, a grassroots non-profit that promotes community development through the arts. This led to Epic Arts' Justin Katz, Tanya Hurd, Melanie Undem and Will Chase joining the company as production staff.

In late 2003 Everyday presented The Bright River at Epic's 1923 Teahouse, a tiny 35 seat living room theatre. A hip-hop re-telling of Dante's Inferno with a live soundtrack, the show received a stellar response, with waves of audience members turned away for lack of seats. As a result Everyday restaged "River" in the spring of 2004 at The Ashby Stage. The success of this staging led to Traveling Jewish Theatre's 2004-2005 co-production of the show in San Francisco at Project Artaud and in Berkeley at the Julia Morgan Center, followed by an 18-week extension at The Oakland Metropolitan Opera House. Over 7000 people saw the show, & it received rave reviews in publications including the SF Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, & SF Examiner. The show employed over two dozen artists, and in 64 performances has received 61 standing ovations.