Tom Paradise, M.F.A.

View Tom Paradise's CV

Tom Paradise (MFA in Professional Acting) is a 20-year veteran adjunct professor for the Theatre and Dance Department, a working actor, plays guitar, is a musicologist, an athlete, a past Karate instructor and a Trivia Bowl champion. 

Tom was awarded the Levin Scholarship (2 years) from Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he earned his MFA in Professional Acting under the tutelage of the legendary Bill Esper, who, at the time, was the premier teacher in the world of the Sanford Meisner Technique. Tom’s Acting Class Philosophy: For each student to achieve a better sense of self by taking part in theatre games, exercises, improvisation, monologues and duet scenes, which will improve listening and observation skills- as playing off a partner is a key foundation to acting.

“It’s all in the doing” ~ Bill Esper

Tom’s teaching focus is on the craft of acting, using the Meisner Technique, in which he was trained, along with other methods including Uta Hagan. He teaches/has taught classes in Acting Workshop One (current) and Workshop Two at UCCS, and Intro to Theatre, and Acting One and Two at Pikes Peak State College.

Tom is a working actor who has over 40 years of experience on stage, in film, TV, commercials, voiceovers (well over 50), industrials and audio theatre. He has over 100 theatrical productions to his credit, 70 of them alone on the nationally known TheatreWorks stage. In addition, 32 of those 100 plays were Shakespeare productions both in Colorado Springs and on the east coast. He has worked on both coasts and is currently represented by Farrell Talent Management in Denver. In 2000-01, he was honored to receive the Actor of the Year Award from the Gazette Telegraph.
A few of the notable directors and actors Tom has worked with include: Murray Ross, Bob Pinney, David Ogden Stiers, Ed Stern, Avery Brooks, Andre Braugher, Calista Flockhart, Tina Packer, Tim Dekay, Dee Baker, Wade Williams, and Molly Price.

With a passion for playing guitar (acoustic and electric), Tom specializes in the music of Rock ‘n Roll, Blues and Folk. As a musicologist, his vinyl collection contains over 30,000 records ranging from spoken word to exotica. He also has one of those memories that earned him a championship and a permanent place in the Trivia Bowl Hall of Fame at CU Boulder.

Tom’s athletic abilities led him to being on Colorado Springs Championship teams for Flag Football, Fast Pitch Softball, Volleyball and Basketball. As a young man, he was an Assistant Karate Instructor under the exceptionally talented Sensei, Charles Collinsworth, who ran a professional Dojo where it took years to earn each belt. 

Tom grew up in Colorado Springs and attended UCCS. where he earned a BA in Psychology and English Literature. After graduation, he continued taking grad level classes in English Literature and Acting, all the while working  a variety of jobs including: being a librarian, a construction worker, a retail associate and even a life guard, before attending Rutgers for his MFA.

• Acting