Years active 1997-Present | ||
Address 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave, 3rd Floor
Chicago
United States | ||
Collaboraction is a company of creative people organized as a non-profit corporation, which acts as the hub of a large and fluid Chicago-based artistic community to create unique artistic experiences through theater and multidisciplinary collaboration in order to celebrate the human spirit. Founded in 1997, the company has created over 35 productions, representing a wide variety of genres, that have garnered 14 Joseph Jefferson nominations and four Joseph Jefferson Awards. Collaboraction has worked with over 2,500 artists and volunteers in dozens of venues in the Chicago area. Collaboraction has established two theatre venues and operation headquarters in the historic Flat Iron Building, in the heart of Wicker Park. By incorporating innovative artists and interdisciplinary collaboration, Collaboraction creates groundbreaking theatrical and art-based experiences.
Contents
Founded by Chicago theatre director Kimberly Senior, the company has been led by Executive Artistic Director Anthony Moseley since 1999.
Collaboraction also has a robust contract services department called Experience Design that partners with private and civic clients, such as the Art Institute of Chicago and Bucktown Arts Fest, to create unique event theatre.
Each year one of the highlights of the Collaboraction Season is the SKETCHBOOK Festival. Sketchbook has been produced in past years at the Garage at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chopin Theatre, and the Viaduct Theatre.
Past company members include John Cabrera.
In 2008, Collaboraction produced a stage adaptation by Seth Bockley of Jon, a short story by George Saunders, and in January 2009 premiered Goldbrick, a musical based on the songs of Jon Langford.
Collaboraction produced Crime Scene: A Chicago Anthology, a piece exploring the violence that is occurring within the city of Chicago. Each performance was followed with a post-show discussion of the problem at hand. Following positive reviews the original run was extended. For the summer of 2013, Crime Scene: Let Hope Rise toured the Chicago Park Districts bringing the show to areas heavily impacted by the violence described in the show. Community members contributed and added 'chapters' of their own stories to the show.
Sketchbook
Since 2000, Collaboraction has annually produced Sketchbook, a festival of short plays performed in collaboration with visual artists, musicians and designers. The festival has expanded to include additional programming of full length world premiers.
Playwrights produced at Sketchbook include Rebecca Gilman, Sean Graney, Wendy MacLeod, Itamar Moses, Brett Neveu, Adam Rapp, Jose Rivera and Regina Taylor.
Actors at Sketchbook have included Michael Shannon.
Artists participating in Sketchbook have included Krista Peel, Wesley Kimler and Tony Fitzpatrick.