The founding members of Para-Site Theatre Company met whilst studying for an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice at Central School of Speech and Drama in 2002. Each with their own interests and specialisms, the founding members, Lydia Fraser-Ward, Tamara von Werthern and Corin Rhys Jones all had a passion for devised theatre, ensemble working practices and new writing. In the beginning, the company focused on creating imaginative characters and stories through collaborative improvisation. This initial work led to a process of new writing and script-based performance. But they soon realised that their most exciting and creative work occurred when working without a traditional rehearsal room. Corridors, derelict areas and outside spaces stimulated the imagination and creativity of the group and opened up a whole new perspective on the narratives being developed. Within months, the company had reworked its thinking and objectives to focus entirely on creating new work and text-based performance for non-traditional venues.

Following some personal research, the members carried out a field trip to their 'dream locations' for the company's first professional full-length production. Wandering around London streets and alleyways, the company visited abandoned petrol stations, derelict hospitals, railway arches and The Strand Tube station. Immediate steps were taken to arrange a performance for the latter space, however, a culmination of performance licence rates, rental fees, marketing and production costs was too much to bear on the company's financial restraints at that time and unfortunately the production never went ahead, even though the venue was excited about working with Para-Site. It is still an aim of the company to work with The Strand, however, current projects and objectives are drawing the company to focus on other priorities at present.

Soon after the field trip, Tamara von Werthern received news about a brand new art gallery opening in Kingston-upon-Thames based in a former Ladies toilet. Following a visit to the space and conversations with The Toilet Gallery's board members, a production was soon scheduled for March 2003 even though it was outside of the gallery's remit and specialism. 'Missing Out' ran for three weeks and was a huge success, bringing in people directly off the street to watch the performance for free, gaining full-page spreads in local newspapers and convincing the gallery to invest in future performance work with other artists. Para-Site's relationship with the Toilet Gallery is still strong and thanks to their fantastic support and advice, Para-Site was launched into a long-term commitment to make accessible, exciting and thought provoking site-specific work in London and the UK.