Company History

Since its inception in 2000, Paragon has produced 24 plays ranging from classics to world premiers. The company has revived challenging classics with vigor: Jean Sartre's No Exit, Tennessee Williams' Vieux Carre and The Glass Menagerie, and John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. Paragon continued this dedication to excellent, established storytelling by including works by recent Nobel Prize laureate, Harold Pinter, and the "father of modern realism," Henrik Ibsen, in the company's 2006 season. Paragon's 2007 season included award-winning productions of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune and Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The company's ensemble serves as the creative core for Paragon's collaborative mission. In its second season Paragon introduced The Trench: Paragon's New Play Development Series as a vehicle for aspiring Colorado playwrights to develop and refine their unpublished plays. As a result of a 2003 submission, Paragon fully mounted Denver actor/playwright, Tracy Schaffer Witherspoon's original script, Saints & Hysterics in 2004. Another local playwright, Ellen K. Graham, worked with the ensemble in 2005 and 2006 to develop a world premiere script entitled How We May Know Him for production in 2007.

Paragon is driven to serve the patron community by hosting a variety of programs that make the company more accessible. 2-for-1 tickets and educational outreach make it possible for underserved populations to see productions for a reduced or complimentary admission. Similarly, Paragon donates many tickets to ArtReach each year. Patrons may participate in weekly talk-back sessions that probe deeply into Paragon's creative and logistical processes. During the run of each production, the company also donates a portion of one night's performance to a local non-profit in an effort to foster a stronger sense of community and support the numerous organizations serving disadvantaged populations in the Front Range area. Paragon takes risks. As Denver's premiere ensemble theatre, Paragon has welcomed increasing numbers of audience members eager to enjoy the bold, intimate productions Paragon has to offer.