Aurora Women's Empowerment Foundation Awards Paramount Theatre $1 Million Gift

The Aurora Women's Empowerment Foundation has committed a transformative $1 million gift for downtown Aurora's Paramount Theatre to support two of its cornerstone programs: Paramount's New Works department and the Paramount School of the Arts (PSA).

“This incredible investment will empower us to continue nurturing creativity and innovation through the development of new plays and musicals, while also expanding opportunities for young artists to thrive at Paramount School of the Arts and within our community,” said Jonathan Jensen, Chief Development Officer, Paramount Theatre. “AWEF's generous support is a powerful affirmation of the vital role Paramount Theatre plays in fostering artistic expression and education in our community.”

“We've seen Paramount's exemplary work and the undeniably positive impact they continue to have on Aurora,” responded Amy Baudouin, Board Chair, Aurora Women's Empowerment Foundation (AWEF). “With this grant, we're excited to see how Paramount will elevate and empower the Aurora area and Aurora-area women in particular.”

Part of the gift will support Paramount's New Works Department and its new play development program, the Spark Lab Series. Through Spark Lab, Paramount plans to further develop three or four diverse new works-in-progress in 2025, with a goal of contributing to the national catalog of new theatrical works. 

The first Spark Lab event, this Saturday, February 8, was a staged reading of Blood of My Mother's, a new play focused on two Filipino-American sisters, written by Karissa Murrell Myers, directed by Denise Yvette Serna, and produced by Kara Davidson, Paramount's Director of New Works. To learn more, visit ParamontAurora.com/NewWorks.