The Collaborator Party Returns For Its Fourth Year With New Co-Hosts

Today, The Collaborator Party, headed by theatrical sound designers Lindsay Jones and John Gromada, announced that their event will return for its fourth year in New York City, after three years of the now legendary sold-out parties across the country. The Collaborator Party is the official Tony night party for the entire theatre community. This year, the main party will be held June 10, 2018 at Houston Hall (222 W. Houston St. in New York City) from 7pm-11pm EDT, with additional parties taking place simultaneously in Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A full video invitation for this year's event can be viewed at https://youtu.be/3hpjMkxngZM or http://www.collaboratorparty.com.

The Collaborator Party began in 2014, and quickly grew into a nationwide grassroots community that was founded in mutual celebration of everyone working in professional theatre. As word spread across social media about the original event, "satellite parties" became commonplace in various cities, and the entire event has been livestreamed around the world to thousands of online attendees.

This year, in an effort to further expand their reach into the theatre community, The Collaborator Party is pleased to announce brand new co-hosts for the event: Rick Sordelet (fight director), Caite Hevner (projection designer), Jay Duckworth (props designer), Amanda Spooner (stage manager), Rona Siddiqui (music director), Jeff Harris (production manager, The Public Theater), Carol Fishman (general manager, Playwrights Horizons), Nikiya Mathis (hair designer), Jared Mezzocchi (projection designer), Barbara Cohig (scenic artist), and Cheryl Mintz (stage manager).

"The founding principle of The Collaborator Party is that theatre is community," said Jones. "We are so excited to welcome all of these amazing people to the party, and are really looking forward to working with them, and connecting with the job communities that they are a part of.

"This really seemed like the next step for us," said Gromada. "From the beginning, we've worked hard to create an environment where all collaborators in theatre were welcomed. And now, with these new co-hosts, we're able to really say to the entire theatre community: 'This is a party for all of us. We want you here.'

When asked about the idea behind the party, Jones said "Every show that you see anywhere in the world is the result of a team of people working together to make great art. And it's always struck me as strange that we only celebrate theatre every year by singling out individuals and giving them awards, rather than celebrating the entire team. That's what The Collaborator Party is, it's a chance for everyone who works in theatre to come together and celebrate each other."

Admission to the event in all cities is free, but all attendees must sign up in advance at www.collaboratorparty.com in order to attend.

The parties will be held in the following venues:

New York
Houston Hall
222 W Houston St
NYC, NY 10014
7-11pm EDT

Chicago
Steppenwolf Theatre
1700 Theatre (enter through front bar)
1700 N. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60614
6-10PM CDT

Houston
The Alley Theatre
615 Texas St
Houston, TX 77002
6-10PM CDT

Los Angeles
Casa Del JonSound
Los Angeles, CA
4-11PM PDT

The online social media component of the party will continue this year, courtesy of primary sponsor USITT. Online attendees are encouraged to visit www.collaboratorparty.com to download this year's sign to take photos and videos with, and then to post them on social media networks using the new hashtags: #collaborator and #collaboratorparty. The Collaborator Party can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, and there will be special filter made especially for the party's Snapchat attendees.

More information on the event can be found at www.collaboratorparty.com.