About Us
Coal Creek Theater of Louisville (CCTL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all-volunteer community theater in Louisville, Colorado. Since 1990, we've been the founding resident theater company of the Louisville Center for the Arts, keeping live theater thriving across the Front Range. We celebrate local talent, stage bold and singular work, and develop new voices from our community.
Where We Started
In 1990, Louisville dentist Pasco Scarpella decided his town needed its own theater. He envisioned a space where local voices led, anyone could get involved, and the community could take pride in what they built together.
Louisville Community Theater's first production was Paul Sills' Story Theater, performed for free in Memory Square Park. Our second was Pasco's December in Louisville—1914, a series of vignettes depicting Louisville's part in America's defining labor conflict, performed at the Louisville Historical Museum.
In 1998, Coal Creek Community Theater moved into the Louisville Center for the Arts as its founding resident company. Built in 1894 as a schoolhouse for coal miners' children, it became home. We have since staged over 120 productions in our intimate, 55-seat house, including three world premieres and a regional debut — and we've never repeated a single one.
The Why Behind the Work
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Our Mission
Coal Creek Theater of Louisville keeps live theater thriving in Louisville and across the Colorado Front Range. We celebrate local talent, stage bold and singular work, and create space for our community to perform, build, and participate. We know we've done our job when you come back for another turn in the front row.
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Our Vision
Our Louisville champions live theater, develops new voices, and takes pride in what we build together.
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Our Values
We sustain community connection and legacy on a culture of openness and respect.
We embrace and nurture collaboration to elevate potential and explore unwritten possibilities.
We ignite and fuel creativity to develop singular work from bold, fresh ideas.
What We’re Up To
35 years in, the award-winning Coal Creek Theater of Louisville is not slowing down. Curtains rise and fall, faces come and go—and the mission remains the same. Volunteers build every aspect of CCTL, from front of house to the Board of Directors. Those who start in one role often take on others, building skills while becoming part of what we build together.
The Front Range Playwrights Showcase
Since 2007, CCTL’s Front Range Playwrights Showcase (FRPS) has developed new voices from across Colorado and beyond. Playwrights workshop new scripts with live audiences and professional adjudicators, then return the following year with fully staged one-acts. These productions account for much of our awards history.
The Wins Along the Way
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Reader’s Choice–Best Theatre Company in Boulder County
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1st Place Show
The Organist’s Daughter (FRPS) -
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National Finalist
The Organist’s Daughter (FRPS) -
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2nd Place Show
Dating Disconnect (FRPS) -
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3rd Place Show
Assisted Living (FRPS) -
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Excellence in Theatre, New Playwright
Karen Goodwin, Dating Disconnect (FRPS) -
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Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Greg Christopher, The Last Night of Ballyhoo -
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Excellence in Theatre, Directing
Lynn Fleming, The Organist’s Daughter (FRPS) -
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Excellence in Theatre, Acting
Pasco Scarpella, Working -
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3rd Place Show
Working
Where We’re Going
Some things in this town are built to last. This theater is one of them.
As your Board of Directors, we're focused on strengthening that legacy — keeping live theater thriving in this town, developing new voices, and making sure there's always a place for the community to create together. Like everyone else at CCTL, we're volunteers. We show up because we believe in what this theater means to Louisville.
From coal miners to curtain calls, Louisville has always had a story to tell. We're proud to be part of that tradition.