Actor, director and playwright Claudio Raygoza created ion theatre company in fall 2004. “I wanted to bring San Diego audiences live theater that focuses on intimate, electric and intensely-varied plays reflective of the progressive and experimental companies that have made cities like Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco artistic hubs for exciting new work and dynamic new artists,” he said. In the summer of 2006, Glenn C. Paris, actor, producer, director, joined the company as producing artistic director with extensive New York credentials and a resume that included the development of new work. Since then, the duo have continued to strive toward evolving a company that imagines, ignites and inspires audiences to expect more from a live theater experience than just a night out.

“What makes us unique is that ion explores what few, if any other theaters in San Diego dare. They shine a light on the ignored, they expose and examine unpopular truths and they engage sense and the senses to connect with audiences while never taking their intelligence for granted. We strive to do theater that charges people up and does what theater was intended to do,” the creative team said, noting the productions at ion guide the audience through the many journeys of the human experience.

Based on recent national articles, per capita, San Diego has the third highest ratio of theaters to citizens after New York and Chicago, according to Raygoza and Paris. “[Yet] when it comes to highlighting new work that is reflective of diversity and cutting-edge new work, our community does not fare particularly well,” they added.

ion however, continues to explore issues of poverty and racism, class struggle and identity – all while remembering to laugh and love.

“Great theater, like life, isn’t about happy endings. It’s about honest and electric connections that lead us and light us up for a lifetime – our community, the real audience, not our seating capacity, is always foremost on our minds,” Raygoza and Paris concluded.