The Ross Valley Players has a long history of supporting original theatrical work. In the 1930s, members submitted scripts for competition with the winners being presented at the annual membership meetings. The 1950s saw staged readings and in the 1980s RAT (Ross Alternative Theatre) presented both readings and full productions of plays by local playwrights.

In 2000, the idea of reading new scripts was revived as a membership perk and in 2004, RAW (Ross Alternative Works) was formed. It began in conjunction with HAVEN. In the 1990s, late actor/director Ben Dickson spearheaded HAVEN to facilitate theatre artists practicing their craft in a non-critical, open and creative atmosphere; a safe haven.

RAW continued in that spirit while presenting a series of readings coinciding with the RVP season for five seasons. The new format of two mini festivals per season began with RVP's 80th consecutive season.