Paradaisos/Paradoxon by Damian Young and Welker White is a staged reading of a work-in-progress, exploring one man’s thwarted passion for a perfect world. As part of our yearlong exploration of Paradise, Young and White posed the question: 

Presiding at a spotlit desk surrounded by piles of old papers and documents, Damian joins the audience in watching video of his 90-year-old father railing at the failure of government, education and all those around him to achieve the pinnacle of imaginative brilliance he craves. Damian provides a wry running commentary of the story of his father, whose dreams of achieving happiness slipped further and further from reach, mired as he was in a house crammed with 40 years worth of unfinished papers, newspaper clippings and mementoes that prevent even his own children from coming to call. After the performance, Welker and Damian will welcome feedback and reaction as they work toward the development of a complete performance of Damian’s struggle to better understand the complex and powerful character of his father.

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What Happened