$5,601 raised by 23 donors
22% complete
$26,000 Goal
Join The Cats as we wield adventurous theatre to make a more imaginative community. At world and regional premiere productions of boundary-pushing plays and immersive theatre experiences, at our singular FEED events, and in empowering educational programs, we're using theatre to increase our connection to one another and celebrate being alive.
The Catamounts create audacious contemporary theatre, empowering arts education programs, and singular community events. A not-for-profit organization, we believe in the necessity of new work, the power of collaborative creation, the constant innovation of artistic forms, and in the role performance plays in enriching and inspiring our communities and our lives.
The Catamounts were founded in 2011 by Amanda and Ben Berg Wilson after a decade honing a multidisciplinary creative approach and education methodology in Chicago.
In The Catamounts' early years, they specialized in regional premieres of audacious plays and in programs leading young artists in creating and performing their own work. Nurtuing the brainchild of company member Lauren Shepard, the company also developed FEED, an original event designed to expand the company’s appeal for Colorado residents who are not regular theatregoers. FEED features short theatrical works created by artists in collaboration with local food and drink artisans that are integrated with seated dinners at community spaces. FEED honed the company’s ability to produce in nontraditional spaces, skills which led them to the next phase of their work.
In 2017, the company began to create site-specific, immersive full-length productions. These caught the attention of the City of Westminster, which since 2019 has commissioned the company to create annual immersive works which encourage greater public use of City-owned spaces, ranging from historic farms to transit parks to golf courses.
In 2023, by popular demand, FEED was expanded to include multiple weekends and since has enjoyed sold-out theatrical runs at the Dairy Arts Center and Lone Hawk Farm.
Commissioning local playwrights is a priority–18 Colorado writers have been commissioned to create 26 original short and full-length pieces since 2019, including the 2022 world-premiere of ONE WAY-BACK DAY, an original adaptation of Black American folklore; the True West-awarded LAND OF MILK AND HONEY; and the Best of Westword IMPOSSIBLE THINGS.
The Catamounts have now produced 35 world and regional premieres and 29 FEED events. With the hiring of Education Director Caulene Hudson, they have expanded their in-school residencies to four local elementary schools in their 2025-26 season, in addition to their annual summer Camp Catamounts. Awards include Henry nominations; Westword “Best of Denver” awards, including 2025 Best Immersive; Camera Eye Awards, True West awards; and a 2024 No Proscenium “Immy” Nomination. Catamount productions have been performed throughout Boulder County and in Aurora, Basalt Denver, Thornton, and Westminster.
Organization name
The Catamounts, NFP
2011
Tax id (EIN)
27-4435878
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
3550 Frontier Avenue, Ste A2Mailing
3550 Frontier Avenue Ste A2Boulder County, CO, US