Collaboraction's 2019-20 Mainstage Season To Be Presented In Englewood At Kennedy-King College

Collaboraction Theatre Company announces its 2019-20 season, themed We Are Each Other's Business, which will be staged at Kennedy-King College in Englewood at 63rd and Halsted in the college's state-of-the-art, 292-seat mainstage and black box theaters.

Collaboraction's 2019-20 season includes The Light, a new summer youth festival, the fourth annual Peacebook, Book of Peace at Cloudgate Plaza (aka The Bean), a holiday devised play called All I Want for Chicago Is..., Encounter Series and the world premiere of Red Island by Anthony Moseley and Carla Stillwell next spring.

Peacebook, Encounter and Red Island will all be staged at Kennedy-King College Theater, 740 W. 63rd St. This move to produce in Englewood is a critical step in year three of Collaboraction's five-year One City plan to use theater to incite healing and transformation in Chicago. It also activates Kennedy-King College's state-of-the-art theaters as growing cultural destinations on Chicago's South side and Englewood.

"We are elated to welcome Collaboraction to Kennedy-King College for what promises to be a spectacular season and collaboration benefitting our students, faculty, staff and community," said Dr. Gregory Thomas, President, Kennedy-King College.

Collaboraction's season starts with a new Chicago youth theater festival called The Light which has 16 world premiere pieces of short theater, dance, and spoken word split into two programs: Radiance and Brilliance. The Light offers Chicagoans the opportunity to step in the wisdom and hopes of Chicago artists 21 and under. The Light runs July 11-14 in the Pentagon Theatre at Collaboraction Studios in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.
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The Light

?In August, Collaboraction launches the third annual Peacebook Festival at Kennedy-King College (KCC) August 15-17, before touring to LaFollette Park in Austin, September 13-14; Douglas Park in Lawndale, September 20-21; and Hamilton Park in Englewood September 28-29 as part of the Chicago Park District's Nights Out in the Parks.

Peacebook will feature 21 world premiere short plays about peace in Chicago from a diverse collection of Chicago artist/activists such as Bril Barrett, Nambi E. Kelley, J. Nicole Brooks and Sir Taylor. Peacebook is free and includes interactive workshops, panels and community meals. For more information, visit collaboraction.org/peacebook-2019.

The Example Setters will return to perform in Collaboraction's third annual Peacebook Festival.

On October 4-6, Collaboraction will produce Book of Peace at Cloudgate Plaza as a part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre, presented the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the League of Chicago Theatres. Book of Peace will include highlights from Collaboraction's last five years of peace-focused work including theater, dance and spoken word. Each performance will also include music, audience interaction and Crucial Conversations about building peace and equity in Chicago.
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Collaboraction is one of nine Chicago theater companies presenting works in the Millennium Park Theatre Series this fall as part of the 2019 Year of Chicago Theatre.

In December, Collaboraction will produce a world premiere devised piece from their Peacemakers Ensemble titled All I Want For Chicago is..., exploring teens' relationships with social media and each other over the holidays. This production marks the first youth-devised, full-length show at Collaboraction. It will be presented in the Pentagon Theatre at Collaboraction Studios in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.
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All I Want For Chicago is...will be Collaboraction's first youth-devised, full-length show.

?In January 2020, Collaboraction will present their third annual Encounter Series featuring theater, film, dance, and spoken word exploring equity and inclusion with new works of 20 to 80 minutes in length. Encounter will be presented at Kennedy-King College, and will include a new devised piece about the residents of Englewood, partially supported by a VAM grant from Illinois Humanities.

South side dance artist Elysia Banks (above) created Of Wine and Chocolate, a dance piece about racial healing, as part of Collaboraction's Encounter Series last season.

In the spring, Collaboraction will produce the world premiere of Red Island by Anthony Moseley and Carla Stillwell which will explore racism in America through the lens of John Punch, Donald Trump and Jussie Smollet. Red Island is a sequel to 2017's A Blue Island in the Red Sea and will employ a similar meta-realism, pulling heavily from social media as a reflection of our culture of oppression and systemic racism.
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Collaboraction's 2017 production of A Blue Island in the Red Sea was a
precursor to the company's spring 2020 world premiere, Red Island.

Each performance in the entire season concludes with a Crucial Conversation, moderated by Managing Director Dr. Marcus Robinson and Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, about the themes of the shows, where audience members are able to reflect and share their views on healing Chicago from our history of oppression and systemic racism.

A pass to Collaboraction's entire "We Are Each Other's Business" season sells for $100 and includes a collector's edition t-shirt and special access to the artists and events of the season. Collaboraction is also launching a Share The Love to help the public directly contribute to Collaboraction artists through collaboraction.org.

"In so many ways, our 23rd season speaks to our unwavering commitment to using theater to create new careers for underserved artists and, in doing so, create space for all Chicagoans to connect, heal and transform our city and ourselves."

Collaboraction, Chicago's social contemporary theater, collaborates with a diverse community of Chicagoans, artists and community activists to create original theatrical experiences that push artistic boundaries and explore critical social issues. Since the company's founding in 1996, Collaboraction has worked with more than 3,000 artists to bring more than 60 productions and events to more than 150,000 audience members.

For the past five years, Collaboraction has partnered with the Chicago Park District through their Night Out in the Parks program, returning each year to cultivate relationships and theater in Englewood, Austin and Hermosa through the Crime Scene, PEACEBOOK and Encounter tours. Production highlights also include its series of Crime Scene productions responding to Chicago's crime epidemic; 15 years of the SKETCHBOOK Festival; and the YO SOLO Festival of Latino Solo Shows, co-produced with Teatro Vista.

Collaboraction is led by Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, Managing Director Dr. Marcus Robinson, a company of 20 talented Chicago theater artists, and a dedicated staff and board of directors. The company's vision is to utilize theater to cultivate dialogue and action around our most critical social issues throughout Chicago.

Collaboraction is supported by The Chicago Community Trust, The Joyce Foundation, The Field Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, DCASE and the Wicker Park & Bucktown SSA #33 Chamber of Commerce. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

For more, visit collaboraction.org